Wall/Shelf Cloud - Severe Thunderstorm - September 13, 2011

[actionadventures]

Thumbs up for a nice drive in the rain. Always loved Southern California rain.

[CaStormChaser]

@actionadventures Thanks Linc! It's always a treat, ain't it? : )

[JazzyL8888]

Excellent footage Sean and fascinating to watch ! Love your videos my friend !

[CaStormChaser]

@JazzyL8888 Thank you so much Jazzy! I always love reading your comments too! :)

[CaStormChaser]

@kzweather Haha...Thanks Kelton! To tell you the truth, I considered this storm a last ditch effort to save the chase season. I would have been happy enough with nickel-sized hail if that was all I saw! :)

Thanks for watching!

[tatride]

@CaStormChaser Im so happy when I cheased that storm I am glad that I was not only on seeing the cloud lowering thanks and greet job and continue cheasing :D

[CaStormChaser]

@tatride Thank you very much for your kind comment! It was one of my most exciting chases all year (thus far!). I am glad I also wasn't the only one seeing this!

Take care! :)

[tatride]

@CaStormChaser thank tou for the great vid also its rare to see a severe thunderstorm warning in ca

[ExtremeSpinner99]

Very cool and beautiful video capture, my friend, Sean ! If is possible, I am curious to know about this wall cloud, that dark extension it was a funnel cloud or the inflow tail.

Thank you very much.

[CaStormChaser]

@ExtremeSpinner99 Thank you very much my friend!

After I spoke to our weather service meteorologist, he informed me that it is likely a wall/shelf cloud with a tail cloud in the updraft.

The interesting part is that the wall cloud's tail usually points towards the rain shaft (which would be to the right in my video) while the shelf cloud usually occurs in the front of the storm (in my video it was in the rear). That is why I was so confused, but my meteorologist and friends were very helpful!

[ChaseSevereWeather]

Impressive structure, Sean! That core looks very intense! Awesome footage!

[CaStormChaser]

@ChaseSevereWeather Thanks Jess! The core was very intense! I contacted the warning coordinating meteorologist at the NWS in San Diego and he felt the cell was capable of producing up to 1.25" hail! Thanks again :)

[ChaseSevereWeather]

@CaStormChaser Wow no kidding! Was it Miguel Miller? Or I think he's the Forcaster. Nevertheless, golf ball size hail is definitely insane for CA. Use to only seeing dime and pea size.

[CaStormChaser]

@ChaseSevereWeather It was actually Alex Tardy. Just recently he took over the duties of Miguel as the Spotter program coordinator. Miguel Miller is still forecasting at the San Diego office though!

[ChaseSevereWeather]

Please disregard that last message as I didn't quite read the rest of the info until AFTER I had watched the video lol I will reiterate in another comment :D

[ChaseSevereWeather]

Very impressive structure! Any indications of hail in that core? Great footage!

[CaStormChaser]

@KansasStormChaser What an honor! Thanks man!

I actually had a guy email me the night I posted the video asking if I knew I caught a possible funnel cloud in my video! I was unsure, and still am...But it helps to get feedback from people like yourself! I might run this by the NWS to see if they can decipher the video and give me another possible explanation. :)

Thanks again my friend!

[StormChaseArizona]

Absolutely amazing - that storm was pretty crazy! I'm jealous, because all we seem to get here in AZ are dust storms!!!

[CaStormChaser]

@StormChaseArizona Haha...Thanks! You guys did have a crazy few days last week!

[StormChaseArizona]

@CaStormChaser You're right! A tornado warning for metro Phoenix, a couple of dust storms.......it was an amazing week of weather here in AZ!!!

[54spiritedwill54]

Wow, an awesome storm indeed! I saw on satellite that there were many thunderstorms that formed around the SoCal area that afternoon. Nice anvil formation near the end. Up north here in San Jose, we had thunderstorm pass through just north of my area, I believe last Friday (Sept. 9, 2011). Lightning was almost constant, averaging about 1 lightning flash every 30 seconds. It was crazy. Pretty unusual for us especially for September. I managed to get some footage of the storm.

[CaStormChaser]

@54spiritedwill54 Thanks for watching! It was a fantastic day, for sure! Most of the severe storms kicked off around sunrise to our east just past the Palm Springs area, but the afternoon brought some surprises to the west!

I am totally jealous of your lightning storms. It is always fun to chase the storms, but I'll take a close to home opportunity any day! :)

[CaStormChaser]

@KansasStormChaser Thank you Nathan! I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time (about a 1hr 20 minute drive from my home with good traffic) but I was happy to catch some of the storm before it dissipated completely. I had a fun time, but the best part of the day is always reading yours and everyone else's comments! That really makes my day...Thanks so much!

[anonymousstormchaser]

Epic storm, looks like it was rotating.

[CaStormChaser]

@anonymousstormchaser Thanks Chris! I saw some weak rotation on it, but as time went on it started to dissipate. Always appreciate your comments man!