Clouds of the Beast?

06/06/2006 @ Appx. 5:30 - 6:00 PM MDT
Leaving work at 5:00 on June 6, 2006, I immediately noticed a circular-looking structure I thought might be a wall cloud. I rushed home and made this short time-lapse movie which shows some rotation. But Keith Hayes at NWS ABQ explained why it was more likely outflow turbulence:

Overall the atmospheric conditions yesterday were not favorable to producing a deep layer mesocyclone or rotating updraft. Generally the convection that supports a mesocyclone is many thousands of feet thick (typically 20,000+), but more importantly we have to have a strongly sheared vertical wind profile (the winds both change in direction clockwise and increase in speed with height).

Yesterday's situation favored elevated or high based and rather shallow convection and this can often lead to very turbulent situations and lots of swirling cloud. The vertical wind profile was rather disorganized (wind directions and speed were not consistent with height) and not a model for the classical mesocyclone signature profile.