A grieving South Carolina woman experienced what some might call a “sign” when she looked up and saw something dubbed “the angel cloud” on social media.
Karen Harman says it appeared in a largely cloudless sky over her home in Myrtle Beach, and she managed to get a single photo showing it appeared to have wings and a face the color of a rainbow.
That photo has gotten about 7,500 reactions and comments on social media, including some who say it appeared to be glowing.
“At first glance it was just a plain white wispy cloud, which I said to myself that it looked like an angel,” she told McClatchy News.
“I immediately snapped a picture of it. Only seconds and I mean seconds later, a rainbow ‘face’ appeared. As quickly as I snapped it, it disappeared. My hands were shaking, fumbling with video mode, picture mode, trying my hardest to not miss the opportunity of capturing it.”
The cloud materialized Jan. 26, just after Harman and her husband, Jim, said “last goodbyes” to a friend who ended up on life support after a routine medical procedure went wrong, she says.
”At only 57 years young, they were going to ‘set him free’ (Jan. 26) after they organized his organ donations. Imagine seeing this beautiful angel on that very day!” she said.
“I immediately sent the picture to his wife to let her know what I just witnessed back at my home in SC. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that make the biggest impacts. It’s these out-of-thin-air signs that allow us to know all will be okay, even when life seems so heavy.”
The photo started spreading online Jan. 29, when it was shared by WPDE chief meteorologist Ed Piotrowski, who called it “an angel in the sky over Forestbrook.” His post had been shared 1,600 times as of Feb. 6.
Some commenters said they also saw the cloud and found it uplifting. Others called it an omen.
“Powerful, and just beautiful!” Pamela Hitchcock wrote on Facebook.
“I think God is trying to tell us something,” Agnes Adams posted.
“Amazing how the exact face area is glowing with cloud iridescence! Beautiful,” Connie Carter said.