A few weeks ago, my wife and I made the nine-hour drive to Lubbock to drop our daughter off at Texas Tech University. On the way, we talked about a lot of things, but of course, we talked about the weather in the Texas Panhandle. I told her about dust storms, dry lines, and the severe weather she might encounter. She was excited and ready to begin this new chapter of her life.
Fast forward to the first football game of the season. Abby was texting the family group chat, giving us her own play-by-play of the night. Then she sent this: “It’s all fun and games until the apocalypse.” She followed it up with, “There is an insane storm with 60 mph winds coming our way.”
That’s when I shifted immediately into “chief meteorologist, severe-weather-tracker dad mode.” I told her to get inside right away, then pulled up our KPRC 2 weather app. Sure enough, a strong cluster of thunderstorms was bearing down on the stadium.
I was given permission to share the striking photo above from Ty Kaplan, who captioned it: “Alien invasion in Lubbock, Texas.” And the video below comes from Riannon Bell, who was running one of the broadcast cameras that night. When she saw the storm overtake the stadium, she pulled out her phone and captured a stunning time-lapse of the moment.
One thing that stands out in both the photo and the video is that fans are still in their seats as this massive “mothership cloud” rolls over the stadium. Moments later, the stands were cleared as the storm moved overhead.
That cloud is known as a shelf cloud:
They look dramatic, sometimes otherworldly, but the appearance is often more menacing than the reality. Shelf clouds can bring heavy rain, lightning, gusty winds, and even small hail, but they’re not the kind of storms that usually cause major damage or produce tornadoes.
I spoke with my daughter, Ty, and Riannon afterward, and they all told me the same thing: when the cloud arrived, the winds picked up, the rain came down hard, and lightning lit up the sky. But once the storms passed, they agreed it really wasn’t as bad as it looked. In fact, there was no damage reported near the stadium.
So how do these impressive clouds form? Shelf clouds develop along the leading edge of a storm’s gust front. As cool air rushes out from the storm, it undercuts and lifts the warm, moist air near the ground. That lift creates a long, wedge-shaped cloud that stretches horizontally across the sky, an intimidating sight, but not always the severe threat it seems.
Shelf Cloud facts:
- Shelf clouds are attached to the storm’s base (unlike roll clouds, which float freely on their own).
- They often look like giant horizontal wedges, smooth in front and messy underneath. That turbulent underside is air mixing and rising. (The picture below is a perfect example.)
- You’ll often see them with strong thunderstorms, or squall lines, and sometimes along cold fronts.
- They look dramatic (and let’s be honest, a little scary), but shelf clouds don’t mean tornadoes are coming. That’s a wall cloud you’re thinking of; different cloud, different setup.
Severe, disruptive and dangerous weather:
Let me ask you a question: What exactly is “severe weather”?
If you ask a meteorologist, you’ll likely get a very specific answer: a storm with wind gusts of at least 58 miles per hour, hail at least one inch in diameter (about the size of a quarter), or the potential to produce a tornado. In other words, a storm that poses a clear threat to life and property.
But I’m guessing that’s not how you would have defined it. And here’s the catch: storms don’t have to meet that technical definition to be dangerous, or even deadly. Notice what’s missing from the criteria? Lightning!
That’s why, when I saw lightning moving toward the stadium, I immediately told my daughter to get inside. You’ll never get a lightning warning. But the rule of thumb is simple: When thunder roars, go indoors. And sure enough, as lightning approached the stadium officials cleared the stands.