I.D. this structure

[Nick Parker]

Date: 5/25/2006
Time: 8:15 P.M.
Location: Downtown New Grand Chain, IL 62941
Looking: North-Northwest

Was digging through some old shots and wanted to try and figure this thing out. Any replies appreciated.

 

[Danny Neal]

If I am seeing this correctly there is a storm to the north. The updraft is visible in the far right and mid level debris in the bottom of the picture. I would go on a limb and say it is probably scud rising into the updraft tower, or a very sad looking mid level shear funnel. I am guessing motion in this picture was from bottom left to top right?

 

[Kurt Hulst]

It could be a mid level shear funnel.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Another "tough to say" picture. To me it doesnt look very well attached so I would say just an interesting scud tag. If you can recall what it looked like before and after the picture perhaps that would shed some light, if it were better attached I would agree with it being a possible shear funnel...

 

[Terry Tyler]

kinda looks like a shear funnel to me, could just be a wicked chunk of scud...

i cant really tell for sure without it in motion...you didnt see it moving any did you?

 

[Scott Taylor]

I'd vote for scud crud, just based on the other structures just above and to the upper right in the picture.

 

[David Drummond]

As others have said without seeing motion (and I am pretty sure anyway). Scud "cloud tags". This is most likely given all the other low level cloud debris in the area anyway.

Was it rapidly rotating? That's about all you need to know to answer your question. SKYWARN 101: Look for rapid, PERSISTENT rotation when deciding if a feature that looks like a funnel cloud really is a funnel cloud.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

If you watched it at all when you took the picture, you should have enough information to answer your own question.

If it was rotating, it could be a mid-level funnel or shear funnel.

If it was not rotating, it was a scud/cloud tag.

Maybe you just stuck the camera out and snapped the photo when driving or something, but I'd think that if it was interesting enough to grab your attention, you probably watched long enough to judge if it rotated or not. If not, there's no way we'd be able to tell you any better than you could guess. Pictures are poor for displaying motion.

 

[Brian Stertz]

I would say this is definitely convective left over debris. It's not connected to the updraft and is far enough removed of the main updraft to say this is cloud debris. If this feature was in closer to the updraft, and more towards the inflow side of things, an argument could be made for a mid-level funnel possibly.

 

[Nick Parker]

Thanks guys. Yes, it WAS rotating, not very well but doing it. I was just curious since it really wasn't associated with anything i'd ever seen. A shear funnel sounds interesting. Can't really remember anything specific that day anyway. Figured i'd just throw this out and see what you all thought. Thanks again.

Nick

 

[Maggie Kahman]

Amazing coloring....

 

[Paul Knightley]

It does look very much like rain-cooled scud, with perspective giving it more of a funnel look. As most of our UK storms are outflow dominant, this kind of sky is pretty common, with tons of scud present!

 

[Martin North]

I reckon that's Scud alright.

Over the water we have a nickname for these FC look-a-like scud fragments.

Scudsucker.

 

[Paul Knightley]

not all of us use it, mind!

 

[Martin North]

Ah...but you won't use Landspout, Waterspout etc either...

Strange you won't use those when you'll willingly use 'Brown Willie Effect' and the 'Pembrokeshire Dangler' for certain Convective Wx events....