One of the more common cloud types you will see during severe weather season here in Northern Ohio is called a shelf cloud.
Shelf clouds are horizontal, wedge-shaped clouds attached to the base of a storm or line of storms.
They form along the leading edge of a squall line or a large supercell thunderstorm.
Shelf clouds form when cooler winds from a storm reach the ground and fan out ahead of the storm itself.
These cool winds work to lift the warm, moist air feeding into the storm.
Once the warm air rises, the moisture condenses and forms the shelf.
Usually, the taller and larger the shelf cloud, the stronger the winds you will encounter as the storm arrives.
In fact, when the News 5 Weather Team sees viewer pictures of shelf clouds, we can usually predict strong straight-line winds will be the result!
Sometimes, viewers mistake a shelf cloud for a tornado-producing wall cloud.
Remember, shelf clouds form and live on the leading edge of a squall line.
Wall clouds form on the back side of the storm.
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