wall cloud

American  

[wawl klaud] / ˈwɔl ˌklaʊd /

noun

wall clouds plural

1. a large, localized cloud that usually develops at the rear of a storm, sloping inward toward the precipitation and, when rotating, signaling a potential tornado; one of the two main types of arcus. Compare shelf cloud.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• wall clouds
  plural

Example Sentences

Chasing tornadic supercell in the San Joaquin Valley with developing wall cloud.

From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2023

Forecasters regularly talk about parts of the storm like the eye, the eyewall and the wall cloud:

From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2021

We watch in awe as the rotating wall cloud, now above us like a huge spaceship, sucks in air around us.

From The Guardian • Jun. 2, 2016

His intuition proved correct as a “caterpillar line” of vehicles formed to watch the first tornado drop from its wall cloud and develop into a swirling funnel.

From Washington Times • Aug. 22, 2015

A wall cloud, which often produces twisters, was reported in Cherokee Village, where trees were scattered along roads, the weather service said.

From New York Times • Feb. 29, 2012