Cloud 'holes' spotted over Miss., La., Ala.

While the rest of the country went wild Thursday overllamas and the color of a dress, keen weather watchers in the Southeast got a treat with several sightings of hole-punch clouds, also known as "fallstreak holes."

The cloud holes were spotted in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

"Hole punch" clouds are so named for the gaps in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds that appear to be made by a giant hole punch, below which dangle trails of ice crystals. They have fascinated and worried people around the world for decades, leading to speculation about UFOs and other sinister plots.

A 2011 study found that airplanes taking off or landing through the cloud layer are the likely cause of some of these cloud holes.