Spooky mushroom cloud has locals fearing a nuclear bomb

By The Siberian Times reporter

29 August 2016

Emergency services received calls from worried residents concerned that doomsday had arrived.

'Local emergency services report receiving a high volume of calls by petrified town residents fearing that the end of days was upon them.' Picture: Typical Kemerovo

The clouds matched the hallmark of a nuclear explosion, or so it appeared to watchers in Kemerovo on Sunday.

'Local emergency services report receiving a high volume of calls by petrified town residents fearing that the end of days was upon them,' said news agency Sputnik.

But officials insisted that the spectacle was an anvil thunderstorm cloud. They explained it was a natural weather-related sight.

Spooky cloud

'A mushroom cloud has grown today so this is probably a hint that the 'mushroom season' is in full swing. It is time to pick mushrooms. So beautiful!' Pictures: Sergey Zmaznev, Alexey Melnikov, Typical Kemerovo

Residents had been concerned there had been 'a nuclear blast or an explosion at one of the coal mines in the Kuzbass region', said the report.

One user had a different notion: that the cloud was a sign that the time is right to pick mushrooms.

'A mushroom cloud has grown today so this is probably a hint that the 'mushroom season' is in full swing. It is time to pick mushrooms. So beautiful!'

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Very likely a towering cumulus cloud at roughly 40,000 to 60,000 (light level 400 to 600) feet - around 12,200 to 18,300 metres in altitude. See these quite frequently here in the Great Lakes area and had weather training when I was in the Coast Guard and later joined Skywarn as a weather spotter 11 years ago submitting severe weather conditions to the weather office in Detroit.

Arthur Boyko, Lakeport MI U.S.A.

07/09/2016 00:41

Shouldn't somebody go out there and look for a really big Siberian methane vent?

bernie, 30 degrees north/ 90 degrees west

31/08/2016 00:36

Thank you to Sergey and Alexey for the wonderful pictures of the spectacular and impressive mushroom/anvil cloud formation. I agree that it is a good sign of a bountiful mushroom season. I hope to come and pick mushrooms in the future as well as they are not only delicious but also very nutritious (as long as everyone knows which ones to safely pick of course which I am sure that all of you do).

Pamela Tetarenko, League City, USA

29/08/2016 20:44