Very active afternoon draws to a close - Possible gustnado funnel captured

Some very intense thunderstorms will make July 8th 2016 one of the highlighted severe days of this year. This system really amped up as it approached Michigan this time around, which is exactly what we're going to need going forward if we want to get out of the drought.

This picture sums up the day for me. Thanks to Brenda Kelley for the awesome photo - I got video of this but no pictures. I called this one in to NWS Detroit as it appeared at the time to be a textbook funnel/wall cloud. I was told that it was probably a shelf cloud, but I know my shelf clouds, and this it was not. Looking at it now, though, I do think that it WAS part of a shelf cloud; this is a phenomenon known as a gustnado (or gust funnel, since there's no evidence that it touched the ground). Shearing winds along the gust front of a storm can generate these phenomenons, which can touch the ground and produce damage similar to a weak to moderate tornado. They usually don't last very long. Either way, quite the sight!