Ever seen a "shelf cloud"?

Photo by: J.F. Phelan

The above picture depicts a shelf cloud looming over homes out in Syosset during the strong T-storms that crashed through our area this past Monday. 

Shelf clouds are always impressive, often resembling tsunamis or a large cliff, and since they are  usually low hanging, sometimes only several hundred feet above the ground, they can sometimes frighten people who have never seen this type of cloud formation before.