A wall cloud (or pedestal cloud) is a large, lowering cloud formation that develops beneath the base of a cumulonimbus cloud that often forms tornadoes. It is typically beneath the rain-free base (RFB) portion of a thunderstorm, and indicates the area of the strongest updraft within a storm. Wall clouds are sometimes an indication of a rotating mesocyclone in a thunderstorm, and most strong tornadoes form from wall clouds. However, wall clouds do not always rotate.
Read more about Wall Cloud: Genesis, Structure, Supercell and Tornado Significance
Famous quotes containing the words wall and/or cloud:
“I discovered
the colors in the wall that woke
when spray from the hose
played on its pocks and warts....”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Perhaps I stand now on the eve of a new life, shall watch the sun rise and disappear behind a black cloud extending out into a grey sky cover. I shall not be deceived by its glory. If it is to be so, there is work and the influence that work brings, but not happiness. Am I strong enough to face that?”
—Beatrice Potter Webb (1858–1943)