People in Australia were probably terrified when they saw this apocalyptic-looking storm cloud rolling toward the coast of Sydney on Friday.
Sydney was battered by heavy rain and strong winds throughout the day, along with other areas along the east coast, despite severe-weather warnings being canceled.
The suburb of Mona Vale recorded 27 millimeters of rain in three hours after the eerie approach of this wedge-shaped spectacle, commonly known as a shelf cloud or a tsunami cloud.
Australia is no stranger to the shelf-cloud phenomenon and can experience a few such clouds in a year.
These bizarre clouds essentially take the shape of the thunderstorm by forming along the leading edge of the gust front. They can be as low down as a few hundred feet, and Accuweather says a lot of false tornado alerts can be linked to sightings of shelf clouds.
According to ABC News, there have been no reports of damage so far, but at least 44 people sent out calls for help along the coastline.
A severe-weather warning is still in place for locations further north, with residents being told to prepare for large hailstones, more heavy rain, and potential damage from gale-force winds.
Sydney residents took to social media to post spectacular pictures of the incoming storm, and in true Australian style, one Facebook user even asked whether anyone would like to join him in surfing out the storm.
Check out the insane time-lapse of the storm below:
#Bondi #storm #weather #sydneystorm #Sydney pic.twitter.com/OLPp5Y1lSm
— Andrew Jones (@lowredshift) November 6, 2015Massive #shelfcloud from a #Sydney #storm moving up the coast line intimidates a tiny boat pic @nampix pic.twitter.com/337cFyBRgj
— Nick Moir (@nampix) November 6, 2015Who wants to come ride out this storm with Andrew "Reidy" Reid and Yatsey in the Tama Tower?
Posted by Bondi Rescue Lifeguards on Thursday, November 5, 2015
