What’s that scary-looking cloud spotted in Cobb County?

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — If you saw a large, funnel-looking cloud in the sky over metro Atlanta on Tuesday night, no, you didn’t spot a tornado.

We’ve heard from several Channel 2 Action News viewers who saw the cloud, many of whom were at Truist Park.

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Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz says what you saw was a scud cloud.

While it might be a little scary-looking, Nitz says a scud cloud is completely harmless.

That’s a scud cloud. Warm moist air rising in a thunderstorm updraft and the water vapor condenses. It’s harmless, but scary looking. No rotation is the key to recognizing scud, not tornado. pic.twitter.com/HPmJmZ8Lgd
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) July 1, 2025

He says a scud cloud forms from warm, moist air rising during a thunderstorm. Air condenses very close to the ground, below the cloud deck, creating a vertically stretched cloud.

Nitz says that the key to recognizing a scud cloud over a tornado is that it’s not rotating.

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