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
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...]
Electrified Squall Line
There is a lot happening in this seemingly innocuous night lightning slide: an overshooting top lit from within, silhouetted smoke from a lightning-started fire (at bottom left), precip cores glowing from frequent lightning within, and the loopy cloud-to-cloud strike at lower right. This was one segment of a squall line which was sparking almost continuously from the northeast to the … [Read more...]
Red-Lined Whale’s Mouth
A couple minutes after the setting sun first splashed red-orange rays across the bottom inner rim of a large arcus cloud, or "whale's mouth", its final paintbrush feat made even more deeply textured, redder patches, before vanishing entirely. The dense storm cores were west and northwest of the lit section of the arcus, with the sun setting in the southwestern late-November sky. Such a geometry … [Read more...]
Sunset Arcus Texture
This marvelously developed and turbulently constructed formation, an underside of an arcus cloud that first moved over me west of Bridgeport, surged eastward ahead of its fast-moving storm cluster. That compelled quick transit to a known high spot on the west side of the Canadian River Valley in hope of good light. Right as the sun set from my vantage, and for just a couple minutes, it lit up … [Read more...]
Wind Farm in Whale’s Mouth
Outflow from a severe storm hoisted a turbulent arcus cloud's underbelly into a classical "whale's mouth" formation, ironically sending a potent current of wind through turbines that were braked for unknown reasons. Had they been functional, this would have chipped a bit of juice into the Oklahoma power grid. I've seen unbraked turbines generating power in other thunderstorms—even in a … [Read more...]
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