However, when meteorologist Paul Schlatter posted an image on social media and asked birdwatchers if they could identify the kind of bird forming the swarm, it didn’t take long for people in the area to reply that they were seeing a huge swarm of not birds, but butterflies.
The butterflies were identified as painted ladies, similar in appearance to the well-known monarch butterfly. Apparently, they have been massing in “clouds” along Colorado’s Front Range over the past few weeks to feed on flowers. It’s probably safe to say that the National Weather Service will not be predicting any rain or snowfall from these particular clouds.