What's the difference between a scud cloud and a tornado?

AccuWeather

As people at an Atlanta Braves game on July 1 experienced, scud clouds can be a very scary sight. If you're looking at the sky and think you see a tornado, how exactly do you tell the difference?

Transcript

00:01Did you think this was a tornado behind Atlanta Braves Stadium?

00:04You're not alone. Plenty of people across Atlanta thought the same thing.

00:08But the scary sight from July 1st? Just a scud cloud.

00:12Scud clouds look intimidating, but they're actually harmless.

00:16They're low-hanging, ragged-looking clouds that form during thunderstorms.

00:20Usually when warm, moist air rises and condenses at lower altitudes.

00:24Kind of like fog. They're often hanging below the main storm cloud

00:28and can even appear to swirl. Especially when humidity is high.

00:32That's why they're so often mistaken for tornadoes.

00:36But here's the key difference. No rotation.

00:40No spin means no threat. Just a weird, fascinating product

00:44of the atmosphere doing its thing.

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