Overview

• Residents across Provence spotted the oval gap late Saturday morning, sharing dozens of photos from towns including Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Marseille, Cavaillon, Salon-de-Provence, Arles, Forcalquier and Digne-les-Bains.
• Météo-France explains that falling ice crystals in a mid-level cloud layer cause surrounding droplets to sublimate, leaving a clear opening.
• The agency notes that the necessary disturbance is uncommon in nature and can be initiated by an aircraft producing a short, localized pressure and temperature change.
• Images circulated widely on social platforms, with reports spanning the Gard, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône departments and reaching into Ardèche.
• A witness in Rognes estimated the phenomenon lasted about twenty minutes, and meteorologists emphasized it is rare locally and not hazardous.