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Weather phenomenon

2K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  StormBay 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone seen this before?



It was reported that the cloud was rolling like a horizontal twister, crossed over the city of Durban in South Africa and was followed by winds of 60kn to 70kn.





This last picture is on the opposite side of the city to the ones above - I'm not sure which way the system was moving, I suspect the first two pictures are the earlier ones.

I'm not sure I'd want to see one of these approaching whilst at sea.
 
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#4 ·
That looks more like a cloud created over a body of water by a land breeze. There is an explanation here:
Cliff Mass Weather Blog: Cold Facts and Coastal/Oregon Snow

Last night that happened: the water temperature is roughly 50F while the land temperatures dropped into the 20s. Air from the cold land moves towards the water. The land breezes on both sides of the Sound converged over the central Sound and rose, producing a line of clouds.
 
#7 ·
If I ever see that, my sails are coming down and I'm clipping in.

What direction does the wind usually blow relative to the cloud line?
 
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#11 ·
Saw something that looked more like the Belgian one on our way back from Bermuda in 2010. It was black. According to BDA weather, it was a front about 500 miles long, with 50 knot winds and 20+ foot seas right over the Gulf Stream. We stayed about 20 or so miles from it by just jigging along at 2 knots for about a day, and it moved on. Heard reports of three other boats that "toughed it out" and injured members in their crew.
 
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