Vortices form below Guadalupe Island.

Like, whoa.

NASA's Aqua satellite on Friday captured this image of the wind sculpting the clouds at and near Mexico's Guadalupe Island. The National Weather Service in Rancho Bernardo posted the photo on its Facebook page, saying: "An excellent example of a von Kármán vortex sheet forming downwind of Guadalupe Island (roughly 250 southwest of San Diego). Von Kármán vortex sheets often form downwind of isolated islands and mountains."

When asked by a reader for a bit more explanation, the weather service said: "These vortices form as wind flows around a barrier (in this case, Guadalupe Island). As the wind flows around the island, a circulation forms on the downwind side. The alternating pattern is due to the fact that the eddies are being produced continuously on each side (west and east) of the island. After they form, they move with the direction of the mean wind (south-southeast here), which is why there is a 'street' of them as opposed to a single pair of vortices".

The sight is a familiar one meteorologists, but it's rarely seen by the general public.