The nasty looking underside of a shelf cloud overrunning the city of Medina, Ohio the evening of May 19, 2026. Behind it were spotty torrential rains, and a brief period of gusty winds, the remnants of an expansive squall line that developed just west of Ohio in the afternoon heat. Photo by James Guilford.
An approaching squall line, the evening of May 19, looked promising so as the storm approached, I dusted off my drone to get a peek. After some panic due to low battery power levels, and an outdated USB cable, I stepped outside and launched just in time to see the storm’s arrival. I haven’t seen a shelf cloud in some time, so it was great to witness this one. It was also quite some time since I’d flown my drone and that was fun! I must get out more often.
The shelf cloud of May 19, 2026 as it neared the city of Medina. This view, shot earlier than the one above, displays more of the grand structure that makes shelf clouds an attractive subject for me. Photo by James Guilford.
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