SkyPix

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

Sea Foam

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Never the same as ever before nor ever again, swirling forms of foam on the ocean twist themselves into an infinite variety of shapes, shapes within shapes, and shapes still deeper.  I could have taken a thousand unique photos; but this among a few will suffice.  When I was a child, I sometimes would blow on a foamy cup of hot chocolate or bowl of soup to watch the fluid spin little cyclones and … [Read more...]

HP Drum

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This large supercell sported an intense, nearly circular, heavy-precipitation (HP) core of flooding rain and severe hail (reports to near 1.75-inch diameter).  Had there been a tornado in there, we couldn't have seen it safely, and HPs with drum-shaped cores like this rarely "recover" back to classic structure with better visibility.   As such, we soon left this big, dark mess for another storm to … [Read more...]

Surf the Fog

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Ocean, land and air diffuse together into the distance, a symbolic (and partly literal) testament to their interdependence.  These quiet beaches along the Strait of Juan De Fuca, the northern edge of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, are wonderful for losing oneself in the fog.  This might be a pleasant dream for the seeker of solitude; but for many a ship captain, such a scene is a nightmare. 2 NE … [Read more...]

Ada Adieu

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We had spent much of the afternoon on a separate supercell farther south, watching its tornadic exhibition.  Although we missed (by mere minutes) getting a shot of the Ada supercell's last tornado, its twilight structural extravaganza didn't disappoint.  On the southern outskirts of town, we found a vantage to view the storm's colorful splendor.  A ragged funnel cloud dangled from the base, … [Read more...]

Stack of Plates

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In June 2003, this skeletal supercell erupted on the High Plains plateau of northeastern New Mexico, between Abbott and Mills, then twisted its way conveniently south-southeastward beside the only paved road in the region.  For the few fortunate enough to witness its whole evolution, it will be remembered for a lifetime, despite never having a reasonable chance of producing a tornado.  Beauty was … [Read more...]

Mesocyclone Tandem

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This southeastern Oklahoma supercell—here seen in an uncommonly open view for that area—was more complicated than it may appear!  Despite the promising look of this wall cloud, and the fact that it was indeed rotating in real time, the supercell was between tornadic cycles.  The first we barely missed; the second would start to our east in a road hole, unseen.   What cut short the mesocyclone in … [Read more...]