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These stunning pictures show a 100-mile (160km) long cloud that looks just like bubble wrap blanketing the sky.

Hundreds of round 'balls' of cloud are seen hanging at sunset, during a storm in the US.

The spectacular bubbly clouds are officially known as mammatus and are extremely rare because they can only be seen when they are low in the sky and lit up by sunlight.

Storm chaser Mike Hollingshead from Nebraska has captured incredible photos of 'bubble clouds' in the sky (shown). Known as mammatus clouds the amazing structures form behind storms. While most clouds have wispy edges, mammatus lobes, which are usually stable for only a few minutes, have unusually sharp and well-defined boundaries. Each lobe can be up to a mile (1.6km) in diameter

The extraordinary bubble wrap clouds were taken by storm chaser Mike Hollingshead who lives in Nebraska. 

The 38-year-old was out chasing storms when he decided to try his luck at seeing the mammatus clouds.

He said: 'They're amazing, especially when they are highly pronounced like these.

'They look even more amazing when there is good sunset light on them, it makes the colours look better.'

The clouds, which are formed after a sharp change in temperature or moisture, can sometimes be a sign of an approaching thunderstorm or, in some cases, a tornado. 

'Turbulence within a cumulonimbus cloud may cause these clouds to form, especially on the underside of the projecting anvil,' the UK Met Office told MailOnline.

A cumulonimbus cloud is a dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms. 

The agency explained that the bumpy, multi-lobed features are most prominent when the sun is low in the sky.

Often, streaks of precipitation that don't reach the ground, known as virga, can be seen within the mammatus clouds. 

While they are most common in large continents such as the US, they are very occasionally seen in the UK as well during severe thunderstorms.

The name is derived from the Latin for breast. 

Mammatus clouds are associated with powerful storms that can occur in the summer, and are a sign of the massive quantities of water vapour that are held in the languid summer air.

While most clouds have wispy edges, mammatus lobes, which are usually stable for only a few minutes, have unusually sharp and well-defined boundaries. Each lobe can be up to a mile (1.6km) in diameter.

They take the appearance of hundreds of little balls caused by turbulence within a cumulonimbus cloud. While most clouds have flat bottoms, mammatus have round pouches that are caused by sinking air. Often, streaks of precipitation that don't reach the ground, known as virga, can be seen within the mammatus clouds

The clouds, which are formed after a sharp change in temperature or moisture, can sometimes be a sign of an approaching thunderstorm or, in other cases, a tornado. The name is derived from the Latin for breast

The bumpy, multi-lobed features are most prominent when the sun is low in the sky. While they are most common in large continents such as the US, they are very occasionally seen in the UK as well during severe thunderstorms

Mr Hollingshead continued: 'Sometimes when there is a storm I get much more motivated to go to the back of it to see the mammatus clouds.

'They're really incredible to see, the lighting was so nice too because it was at sunset. Here in the plains of the US you could probably see one a year.

'They usually will stay like that for hours. The problem is often you can't see them until the sun dips further out west.

'When looking for them you have to wait until the sun gets below a certain point.

'You can see them after sunset through twilight into dark. Some of the coolest scenes are just city lit ones at night. But it's so hard to get really clear skies behind storms to really view them.'

'They're amazing, especially when they are highly pronounced like these,' said Mr Hollingshead. 'They look even more amazing when there is good sunset light on them, it makes the colours look better'

'Turbulence within a cumulonimbus cloud may cause these clouds to form, especially on the underside of the projecting anvil,' the UK Met Office told MailOnline