What is this cloud? Mother Nature shows interesting cloud formation in the Houston area

HOUSTON – Thunderstorms swept through the Houston area Friday morning, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.

The storms have now moved offshore, but in their wake they have left ideal conditions for Mother Nature to display a certain type of clouds.

Viewers posted several photos via Click2Pins showing the horizontal cloud.

This cloud is called a roll cloud. The National Weather Service defines a roll cloud as “a low, horizontal, tube-shaped arcus cloud associated with a thunderstorm gust front (or sometimes a cold front). »

Although they may appear ominous, rolling clouds are harmless most of the time. They can sometimes foreshadow the arrival of a thunderstorm, however, in the absence of thunderstorms, roller clouds can sometimes form over certain types of area boundaries.

From personal experience, wind can sometimes suddenly increase behind a rolling cloud. I personally experienced a rolling cloud over Lake Conroe several years ago. Even though there was no associated storm, I remember it being very windy once the cloud passed.