#Shelf cloud signs of a tornado full
#Shelf cloud signs of a tornado free

I estimate that during the entire period of observation when I first spotted it earlier, it must have been rotating for 1.5 hours, probably longer. The cell slowly drifted away from me and the view was obscured by new showers and I never seen it again. Recalling the sferics earlier it could have produced some lightning or hail, even a tornado over the hills but no one would have seen it. There would have been very few people out there on this wet day except a few farmers or hikers, so who knows what it was doing during that period. These mountains and the country beyond are just miles of mountains, hills, fields and marsh land. Further W it would have resided miles away over the Sperrin Mountains. However, it would have formed long before it arrived over Maghera. It didn't produce any severe weather that I know of except rain. This cell had an obvious Mesocylone, this combined with the structures has convinced me that this is a good case for an LP Supercell over N. I hope the images, video, and written description help to recreate what it was like to see this thing. You can't see the rotation in the video due to the wide angle lens. Check out around 2 min's 50 sec's when the camera pans from the updraught base up to the plume overhead. Each clip shows just how much the cell had changed during the period. This is a youtube video I made consisting of seven video clips I put together taken at various times. I think this the closest I have come to seeing a strong tornado form to date. It was boiling and turbulent showing signs of rotation in a horizontal and vertical plane.

#Shelf cloud signs of a tornado free

This is a large wall cloud hanging down from the rain free base. This was taken earlier when the cell was approaching from the NW. Imagine standing under them and seeing a dense curtain of rain rotating around you. By that I mean that the curtains of rain are rotating. Precip is falling near the updraught now. By looking at that area of country I would estimate that the area of rotation is longer than two football pitches end on end. I have annotated this image to help new people visualize what's going on here. The villages of Swatragh and Garvagh are miles beyond this. That's Willow Glynn in the foreground where I live. The enormous Meso is now directly N and rotating over those fields above Blue Bell Forest. Others big showers have moved in from the SW behind me and are hitting the camera lens. It's producing rain in the sky sector to the NE. I think the supercell (?) is now outflow dominant.

#Shelf cloud signs of a tornado full

The full length of the shelf and inflow bands are now apparent. Look at the rotating Meso on the L, you can now see inside it. At this point in time it's extending from the W to NE sector!.Ī rare image free from rain drops on the lens. Note that the entire thing doesn't fit in the super wide angle lens.

The Meso slopes down on the R side and is tilted towards me. Perhaps as many as five inflow bands now. Behind this curtain the tornado would be waiting to take you literally by surprise.

You would see the big gust front and then get hit by the precip curtain which would reduce visibility. If that Meso had dropped a strong tornado and you where located further N you would be unaware of what was coming.

It just goes to show the potential danger with these cells. If I was located further N on the other side I would have seen a stunning shelf/gust front heading my way. The cell is moving from L to R but also away from me into the distance. I'm not sure what the bulges are on the inflow bands. Since moisture condenses into cloud, this forms bands. By that I mean it's drawing in moisture from the air around it. The inflow bands are the visual indication that the storm cell is feeding. You can see that the inflow bands are curved due to the rotating cell drawing the bands in as the Meso cranks around. I have marked three of the main inflow bands. To the R near the ground is the back of a giant shelf cloud/ gust front where precip is now falling. To the L is the danger area with wild rotation. I have annotated this image so show the main storm structures. This could be a Low Precipitation (LP) Supercell. Huge rotating updraught, inflow bands etc.