By Mike Busch

I hoped to capture another shelf cloud last night if the storms held together and the timing worked out.  Unfortunately, the storms came in quicker than expected, and I didn’t have time to get to Robert Moses, my  favorite storm location.  I took a much shorter ride to Stony Brook from my office and still ran into a very impressive line of storms with some mesmerizing clouds boiling just above the ground before the skies opened up.  As I got closer to Stony Brook, a saw the shelf edge of the shelf cloud go over my head but still had some time before the sky opened up to capture some video and images.  These wild-looking clouds are sometimes referred to as Whales Mouth Clouds, associated with the turbulent mixing of the cool and warm air aloft associated with a severe thunderstorm’s updraft and downdraft.

More Images on Page 2