What the hel type of cloud is this anyways?

[Chaharly]

Well last sunday was a beautiful day, it was hot, windy and there were all sorts of clouds in the sky. I put on about 140 miles and decided it was time to head home. I'd been listening to a tape all day so i turned on the radio to hear a severe weather outbreak warning for my area. Actually, not my area, more like about 30 counties surrounding me. They warned of torrential winds and baseball sized hail, so i decided to book it home. I got to a town that was 16 miles away from home and a big black wall cloud was the only thing stopping me from being in a cage, actually able to run into the thing. I decided if i go real fast i might get through it before it gets bad.

 

Do things really turn out like that in life? I should be the one to say hell no. It was a downpour, which didnt bother me (what are the fairings for anyways right?), but then i noticed everything around me getting louder, and the bike getting pushed off the road. I then heard a slight *chink sound, and then another and another. I managed to pull over, do a quick U-Turn and gunned it straight back into the town i was just in. I managed to get out of the storm, which was predominately moving north, as i was moving east and this sort of caught my eye.

 

The part on the right of the picture was on the ground, pushing winds at well past 70 and indeed throwing hail sideways. I was lucky i didnt get in the middle of it. But i put the bike under a lean-to and also watched to funnel clouds rotating from the ground up across the road from me. Needless to say it was a wet and wild ride

[ragtop69gs]

It;s rides like that, that really make you enjoy the nicer days.

[aharbi]

Arcus (shelf) cloud.

[dynodon]

there are two types of Arcus clouds. Shelf clouds and what you ran into, a roll cloud.

 

In my 64 years I could never remember seeing one, but last year I was riding North near Champaign IL and there was one all the way across the horizon from my left to right (W to E). It was about 90 degrees, and I thought I could get off at the next exit and maybe ride West under the cloud, but it moved south faster than I could move, as I approached the exit, the temp fell in less than a mile from 90 to about 65. Winds were picking up and vehicles going south in the other lanes were wet and swaying more and more. I got to the exit and the wind was wild. had to be 40+ and rising fast. I did a quick u-turn (in the cloverleaf) and at 80 mph went back south a couple exits, and this time did manage to get far enough West to cut through a small gap and get home.

 

Roll cloud for sure is what you had, and they are nasty!

[Chaharly]

there are two types of Arcus clouds. Shelf clouds and what you ran into, a roll cloud.

 

In my 64 years I could never remember seeing one, but last year I was riding North near Champaign IL and there was one all the way across the horizon from my left to right (W to E). It was about 90 degrees, and I thought I could get off at the next exit and maybe ride West under the cloud, but it moved south faster than I could move, as I approached the exit, the temp fell in less than a mile from 90 to about 65. Winds were picking up and vehicles going south in the other lanes were wet and swaying more and more. I got to the exit and the wind was wild. had to be 40+ and rising fast. I did a quick u-turn (in the cloverleaf) and at 80 mph went back south a couple exits, and this time did manage to get far enough West to cut through a small gap and get home.

 

Roll cloud for sure is what you had, and they are nasty!

 

Is it basically a big, slow rolling sideways vortex of doom? Cuz thats what it looked and felt like

[RedRider]

That's the iCloud. You weren't supposed to see that. Don't tell anyone.

 

RR

[The Marshal]

Coming home from a Maintenance Day in Arlington, TX, I got caught on the open Interstate (I-635, Loop around D/FW) in the only area that has no frontage roads or exits. And then it started hailing. I actually thought my finger was broken on my left hand from one little feller that hit me as I was de-accelling. I do NOT want to experience that again. The downpour after the hail was nothing compared to being in the open when you are getting popped with pea-sized hail!