April 13th (part 4): Monster Shelf Cloud, New Forest

A new storm developed late in the evening near sunset. I didn't go out to intercept as I thought the end of the day and lack of surface heating would soon bring an end to it:

As the sun went down, a classic anvil positioned itself just in the right place:

Meanwhile, the storm to the north appeared to be creating an outflow boundary, just like the storm earlier that day. Here, cumulus towers can be seen rapidly building with the parent anvil behind:

After seeing this, I decided to go and see what was going on and drove a couple of miles to a spot with a view. I got there just in time to see the biggest, most impressive shelf cloud I've seen. Lightning flickered from behind it as it raced towards me:

It looked evil as it approached, turning any sunset light into darkness. The towers above the gust front can be seen above the shelf:

It soon rushed overhead, here's the final shot to the east as I took some video:

The view to the west as it advanced:

Behind the shelf cloud, an excellent 'whale's mouth':

Looking out to the southwest from within the storm:

One of the best weather days in the last few years today, and it's only April. Hopefully more to come this summer.