A newly released image shared by NASA shows a fascinating cloud formation rising vertically above the Bahamas.

Called a cloud tower, the formation seen in the image above occurred at the edge of Andros Island, the largest inhabited island in the Bahamas, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. The image was captured from the International Space Station by a member of the Expedition 48 crew on July 19, 2016, NASA said, but the photo was not released until Monday.

"These nearly perfectly vertical towers are quite common as you approach the equator," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman. "With lighter winds both near the surface and aloft, and little variation in wind speed or direction with height, warm, humid columns of air condense into clouds and rise nearly exactly straight up."

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(MORE: Southern California's Deadly Mud Flows Seen from Space)

These towering vertical clouds are known in the meteorology community as either Altocumulus castellanus or Stratocumulus castellanus, NASA said. They're typically associated with thunderstorms, so it's likely that this cloud formation led to a stormy day on the ground.

The cloud tower rose above the northwestern part of the island, where West Side National park is located. It formed near Williams Island, but weather observations are not available in that part of Andros Island.