Ominious Shelf Cloud moves over Waukesha, Wisconsin

Jun 21, 2013
A beautiful shelf cloud moved through the Milwaukee metropolitan area this morning. I was able to shoot video and photograph the shelf cloud moving through southern sections of Waukesha during the late morning hours.
This shelf cloud's characteristics provided a leading edge of cool, sinking air from the storm's downdraft that undercut the warm, moist air ahead of it. This process is what usually fuels storms and help drive their longevity.

As the shelf cloud passed overhead, there was a period of gusty winds, followed by by heavy rain, but it had failed to contain any severe weather criteria. Of note, was the frequent amount of cloud to ground lightning on the backside of the storm.



These thunderstorms originated in North and South Dakota late last night, traveled east and held together. These storms are known as a Mesoscale Convective Complex. Additional strong to possibly severe thunderstorms will remain in the forecast for the next few days across the plains and upper midwest states.



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