OLASER / GETTY IMAGES
Reef sails for storm!
Miniaturised by an advancing supercell storm and its menacing shelf
cloud, a sailing fleet – and lonely outlier sloop – brace for heavier
weather near Sydney, NSW. Characterised by a persistently rotating
updraft (vortex), supercells are the rarest, but potentially most
damaging, of thunderstorms. They can dump immense volumes of rain
or hail and, in certain areas and conditions, form tornadoes. Shelf
clouds form when cooler air flows beneath the supercell’s warmer,
moisture-rich air. To learn more about clouds go to page 99.