SkyPix

A digital photographic storybook of clouds, weather and water by Roger Edwards.

The North Faces

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Woods of the Western Crosstimbers stood in a forlorn and shadowy beauty, in the final flurries of a New Years Day snow dump.  Riding a north wind, some of the very wet, sticky snow accumulated on the sides of the trees, as well as atop and beneath.  At the bottom of the snow lay a soaked layer that dripped when shoveled, while even the top parts oozed water when squeezed—testament to both ground … [Read more...]

A Supercell’s Sunset Dawn

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This cumulonimbus had a narrow updraft and forward-flank core area,  opaque enough to see the subtle refracted reds of sunset through both the updraft tower and precip core at right. But it was merging with a larger cell just to its north (right side, out of picture); and the combined storm would rapidly wind up into a tornado-producing supercell after dark.  Just when I thought I was taking in … [Read more...]

Mammatus Field over Wheat Field

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Ripening wheat waved in the inflow of a supercell whose updraft whirled eruptively to my back.  The storm pumped out an extensive anvil with rings of mammatus, and commanded due attention to its rotating base, except for a few moments now and then, when an observer was compelled to look around and appreciate the entire panorama of cloud forms. 6 NW Ryus KS (19 Jun 7) Looking SE 37.5618, … [Read more...]

Lowering Funnel

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[Part 1 of 3]  This funnel cloud was growing vertically, with the condensation soon to rise directly off ground several times in a circulation that was tornadic throughout.  Funnel clouds and tornadoes, in fact, don't "touch down".  That's because the air in them is rising.  What happens is that a lowering in pressure, and/or an increase in humidity of the inflow air, causes the bottom of the … [Read more...]

Two Condensation Funnels

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[Part 3 of 3]  As the original condensation funnel for the Belmont tornado (left) became ragged, with its dust/mud sheath weakening, another formed separately to its north, from a newer (yet also rain-wrapped) mesocyclone.  The older vortex, originating in an earlier mesocyclone, was starting to orbit the southeast side of the newer one, behaving somewhat like a satellite funnel (even though it … [Read more...]

Tornado behind Rain

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[Part 2 of 3]  The Belmont tornado's condensation funnel barely could be viewed through curtains of rain wrapping around what was left of the low level mesocyclone.  A wide-angle view reveals surrounding supercellular structure.  This condition is uncommon but not rare in Kansas, where visibility typically is good.  Imagine this in the eastern U.S., however, hidden behind trees, making for … [Read more...]