Looking like the megatsunami moment from sci-fi disaster flick Deep Impact, these startling pics are thankfully not chronicling imminent catastrophe for the residents of Panama City.
Rather, they record the progress of a far less devastating Act of God as waves of thick fog prepare to engulf the Floridan city.
The sweeping murkiness was captured by helicopter pilot J.R. Hott after he was told about the panoramic view by a colleague returning from a flight on Sunday.
Determined to snap the low-lying clouds of fog clouds, he made a hasty journey upwards to get as good a vantage point as possible.
“We jumped into a helicopter and took off,” he said.
“Within a few minutes after we landed, it covered up the helipad.”
Meteorologist Dr Greg Forbes is reported as explaining the formations as occurring due to warm, moist air coming together "just right" as it blew into the coastline to create a low-elevated fog that scatters as the air cools with altitude.
He said: “You see the clouds forming off shore as the winds from south to north push them toward and then up over the high rises as the air rises and reaches its crest.
“We don't see this kind of a picture every day.”
Just as long as it is only thick mist rather than salt water overflowing from the Gulf of Mexico, this epic sight is one we can all enjoy.
