BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - It was quite the stormy August across the Brazos Valley, so I thought it was only fitting to give the shelf cloud a special spotlight this month!

Even if you’ve never heard the cloud “shelf cloud,” chances are you’ve seen one stretched across the horizon just before a thunderstorm rolls in.

Ahead of squall line moving into Houston, TX (KBTX)

These ominous clouds are low, horizontally shaped clouds that appear along the gust front ahead of a strong thunderstorm.

So, what exactly is a gust front? In strong thunderstorms, there are powerful updrafts that are often matched with equally strong downdrafts. These downdrafts push rain-cooled air toward the surface, out ahead of the storm, behaving like a weak front. This cold air forces warm, moist air outside of the st

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