SCUD CLOUDS are low, sometimes detached, cloud fragments caught in the outflow beneath a thunderstorm.

They form as cold air first reaches the ground, it often swirls or rolls back skyward. This process lifts relatively warm air from the surface as well. The moisture in the warm air condenses forming a ragged, often elongated, cloud called a SCUD CLOUD.

If you see a scud cloud, the thunderstorm will almost always have outflow winds.

Scud clouds are often mistaken for wall clouds and funnel clouds especially if they are attached to the cloud base.

The difference is always rotation. Scud clouds will often move quickly across the sky AWAY FROM THE RAIN.

Wall clouds stay in the same position relative to the rain and will be rotating around a central point. Take a few minutes to observe the cloud formation. Watch for rotation. Which way is the cloud moving in respect to the rain shield?