The circular clouds that formed over Newcastle on Saturday were quite the sight. They definitely caught our attention.
Combined with the sunset, we thought the apocalypse might have been on its way.
Thankfully, the world didn’t end. But those clouds were unusual.
Some call them bubble clouds. But in meteorology circles, they're known as mammatus clouds.
This basically means “mammary clouds”. The name comes from the Latin word mamma, which means udder or breast.
“Obviously they were named by a male,” Weatherwatch meteorologist Don White said.
Don said the clouds were formed by “instability and little thunderstorms that were around, and a bit of turbulence at the level at which they form”.
“They’re quite an unusual formation. You often don’t notice them, except if they’re around at sunset. The setting sun can reflect on their bubbly nature and make them quite spectacular.”
Chief Supporter
Jets CEO Lawrie McKinna really is a man of the people, isn’t he?
There he was in the crowd with fans during the Jets’ 8-2 mauling of the Central Coast Mariners on Saturday night.
Topics reckons there wouldn’t be too many chief executives of sporting clubs who would swap a suit for a T-shirt and get amongst it with the fans.
Awesome Sauce
New Lambton's Ross Greig was also among the Jets fans in Gosford.
Before we tell you this story, keep in mind that Masterfoods sponsor the Mariners.
Each game, they have inflated sauce bottles behind the goal.
You’ll also find people walking around at Mariners’ matches dressed as sauce bottles.
You might remember back in October when the BBQ sauce bottle got into trouble for giving Jets fans an impolite, middle-fingered sign.
Anyhow, back to Ross and the 8-2 win.
“At one point when the Mariners got back to 3-1 in the first half, I said to my mate Bob, ‘geez they’re making a comeback. They’re trying to play catch-up football’.”
Bob started to laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Ross said.
Bob heard “catch-up football” as “ketchup football”.
Ross told Topics: “Now and again when you’re not trying to be funny, you are.”
Jets fans had great fun watching their arch rivals get trounced.
One clever fan wrote this on social media: “I would 8-2 be a Mariners supporter this weekend”.
Meanwhile, former Mariners star Daniel McBreen tweeted this.
“2017 - Jets get wooden spoon. Sign experienced manager. Invest in quality experienced players. Finish 2nd in 2018.
“2018 - CCM get wooden spoon. Sign experienced manager. ...........?”