In northern WA and the western and central parts of the Northern Territory, thousands of Cumulus Clouds formed in the sky, creating a pattern that looked a little like a traditional Aboriginal dot painting.

Because the clouds had a very unusual source of moisture, that’s why.

Cumulus clouds are the puffy “cotton wool” clouds with which we are all familiar, and they require heat and moisture to form.

Heat in that part of Australia is a given at this time of year, but moisture is usually lacking in a region that includes parts of both the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts.

All that extra rain made lush grass grow in areas where the ground cover is usually dusty or stony when the springtime heat arrives, and this week’s clouds dots drew their moisture from the unseasonably lush vegetation.