'Fognado' sweeps over Santa Cruz

Sky watchers reported seeing a "fognado" blow through the east and west sides of Santa Cruz Wednesday afternoon.

Julia Elman shot the video above at Natural Bridges State Beach.

​The freaky, fast-moving cloud formation​ packed powerful wind gusts.

KSBW Facebook fan Ingrid Schmidt-Wagnaar said, "All of a sudden the trees were bending. Waves of the fog (were) wafting through the garden and it got a bit chilly, whereas it was a balmy 85 degree just moments ago. It was over in less than 3 minutes, and blue sky was again upon us, and it got warm again. Nature's phenomenon​."

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Photo: Nicholas Steinberg Photo: Nicholas Steinberg Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close 'Fognado' sweeps over Santa Cruz 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Monsoon moisture caused the Central Coast's weather to be uniquely muggy over the past two days.

The National Weather Service wrote, "In additional to low clouds (stratus) over the coastal waters, note the widespread lumpy mid and high level clouds (convective clouds). These clouds have light showers embedded within them and are associated with monsoon moisture that is moving to the northeast. Gravity waves (are) propagating northward through the stratus clouds. These gravity waves form when descending air from high-based showers/thunderstorms intersect the stable boundary layer (marine layer). The process can be likened to dropping a stone in a pond.​"