Clouds are fun. They can be white and fluffy or grey and wispy or dark and horrible. And they’re all just made of the same ol’ water vapor that’s in boring boggy fog (sorry Froggy).
That’s something good to keep in mind when you see something super extra crazy roaming the sky like a roll cloud.
Oh, hi. Don't mind me. I'm just a vortex to an alternate universe. Cold fusion works there. Nothing interesting really.
Yes, roll clouds act like they’re boring. They just laze around and roll over and over. They don’t really connect with other clouds. But don’t let them fool you. Roll clouds are a kind of Arcus cloud, which means there’s bound to be a thunderstorm hiding close by.
Arcus clouds form from the downdraft around a thunderstorm. This is different from their distant cousins, tornadoes, which form from updrafts. So feel free to gawk and stare and snap pics with your i-telephone. There’s no chance that funnel you see at the end of the cloud is going to dip down and throw a house at you.
Still, according to ’90s styled website, Weatherscapes.com, a roll cloud can be “both a fascinating and menacing sight while it is approaching at high velocity.”
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And if you want to learn more about roll clouds and other arcus clouds like Shelf Clouds, the more modern Weathersavy.com should have everything you need.
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