SkyPix

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

Electric Ray

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No, this isn't electric ray, the fish.  Instead it's a literally true, English-language representation of the Spanish word commonly used for a cloud-to-ground lightning stroke:  rayo (ray).  A single, non-forked lightning discharge—much resembling the stereotypical energy ray of science fiction—blasted past the edge of a supercell's forward-flank core, with mesocyclone region mostly unseen off the … [Read more...]

Change of Direction

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Icicles, dangling off the limb end in the form of a comb, didn't develop sideways.  Instead, the branch hosting them had been horizontal, 90 degrees to the right, until the cumulative weight of ice broke it off the tree trunk.  Slight curvature in the prongs, before the sudden turn downward following the breakage, signals the gradual lowering of the branch before it failed.  This was a destructive … [Read more...]

Surf into Devil’s Punch Bowl

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Devil's Punch Bowl is a churning cauldron of turbulent surf, especially at high tide and when cool-season, storm-generated swells batter the headland holding the hole.  The formation is in young (15-million-year-old) marine sandstone, formerly a couple of closely spaced sea caves whose walls and roof weakened and collapsed, later to be busted back into boulders, stones, and ultimately sand again, … [Read more...]

Tail Lightning

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Metaphors abound for this title, as we see red tail lights in front of one of the final visible lightning strikes in the storm's lifespan, and on its back end.  A long-lived supercell, that had been tornadic briefly before sunset, was being absorbed by a line of thunderstorms; and the entire complex was losing organization.  This was a beautiful farewell and grand finale for a fine chase day in … [Read more...]

Flow Slopes

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Though obviously still convective (especially in the lowest tier), the flow into this old supercellular updraft was getting more laminar by the minute, forced to rise through increasingly stable layers by the residual vertical pressure-gradient forces of the midlevel mesocyclone.  The result was smoother, sloped ascent of air, with the lowest tier resembling an inverted boat hull.  Recognizing … [Read more...]

Nimbostratus over Two Nations

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The back side of a shallow but strong squall line manifested as a dark mass of nimbostratus in the distance, with a border-straddling fountain of the International Peace Garden in the foreground.  For this shot, I was standing in two nations at once: the U.S. (right of centerline in the pavement bricks) and Canada (left).  The marvelously landscaped and planted park also has many acres of natural … [Read more...]