Photography: Tornado or Shelf Cloud?
An ominous cloud near Springfield, Va.
I was driving home from a soccer game yesterday afternoon as the sky began to darken to the west. As I drove over the mixing bowl, I got a good view of an impressive thunderstorm. As I continued west a few miles I took the above photo from 495. It appears to be a funnel cloud, but looks can be deceiving.
Keep reading for more photos that give a better view of the cloud type and the storm. See Brian's full forecast for the outlook into early next week.
A wide view of the thunderstorm from atop the mixing bowl.
A well defined shelf cloud moves toward Springfield, Va.
Shelf clouds form with a gust front ahead of a thunderstorm. They are usually caused by downdrafts from a thunderstorm and typically proceed the heavy rain. The first photo in this post was taken as I drove under the shelf cloud with the camera pointed parallel with the shelf cloud, giving an illusion of a funnel cloud. The second and third photos were taken as I approached the shelf cloud. I suppose I should note that I was careful to watch the road, not the camera, and I just snapped a few shots in the general direction of the storm. Wide angle lenses and automatic exposures help.
Ian Livingston took this photo of the shelf cloud and storm approaching Washington, D.C.
By Kevin Ambrose |
June 1, 2008; 12:00 PM ET
Photography
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Posted by: Anonymous | June 1, 2008 1:33 PM
Actually, many of the shots yesterday were taken by my passenger while I drove, however, I did click off a few shots myself. I'm quite careful, watching the road, not the camera, and making sure no cars are around me. It's probably safer than the multitude of drivers that operate a cell phone, but I also don't make a habit of it.
Posted by: Kevin, Capital Weather Gang | June 1, 2008 1:37 PM
We saw a pretty cool shelf cloud over the Safeway near the McCoart building in Woodbridge yesterday. Then all heck broke loose and it poured so hard you couldn't see 20 feet in front of you.
At least all the cars are clean! :)
Posted by: weatherdudeVA (Lake Ridge) | June 1, 2008 1:41 PM
The channel 4 weatherman said we got 1.46 inches of rain yesterday in Washington. Is that enough to put us over the top for the wettest May recorded so far?
Posted by: Al | June 1, 2008 4:39 PM
We're receiving a VERY heavy storm right now. Lots of cloud to ground lightning and heavy wind and rain. A repeat of yesterday....
Posted by: David A. in Stafford | June 1, 2008 5:22 PM
That photo was a classic shelf cloud, not a funnel. It went over me at the Vienna Metro station easrly yesterday afternoon, then, just as you said, all hell broke loose with wind and heavy rain.
Posted by: Mike | June 1, 2008 5:39 PM
My car was parked under a small tree yesterday and it is almost sparkling today. That was heavy rain.
5:30 pm
Posted by: Murre | June 1, 2008 6:29 PM
Al, It turned out to be the second wettest May. We missed #1 by a few hundredths of an inch. We did a post on this. Scroll down two posts beneath this one or click here.
Posted by: Jason, Capital Weather Gang | June 1, 2008 8:08 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Please tell me "I was driving home" meant "I was in the passenger seat coming home when I took these photos in a vehicle moving on a major highway"