Huge 'shelf cloud' hovers over Melbourne looks like something from Independence Day

A massive shelf cloud hung eerily over Melbourne on Thursday (2 December) reminding many people on social media of the alien spaceships featured in Will Smith’s 1996 smash hit Independence Day.

Shelf clouds are a type of arcus cloud and take a low, horizontal formation giving them the appearance of hovering eerily over the landscape.

Arcus cloud formations normally take place at the leading edge of a thunderstorm, so their menacing appearance isn’t entirely deceiving.

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