SkyPix

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

Outflow across White Sands

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The collapse of a mid-afternoon, multicellular thunderstorm cluster in the Sacramento Mountains (to the east) sent a magnificent outflow arc across the Tularosa Basin, including White Sands National Monument.  The outflow winds were strong enough to whip grains high off the dunes, reducing visibility and getting into eyes, hair and clothes, even as these were no ordinary "sand" particles.  These … [Read more...]

Fractocumulus of the Low Level Jet

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When middle–upper-level troughs or lows move toward the Rockies and adjoining Great Plains, pressure at the surface falls, and a strong southerly to southwesterly current sets up just off the surface across parts of the plains and eastward—the low level jet (LLJ).  Two common effects of a moist LLJ are visible in this shot.  The first is obvious: scuddy low clouds, which evolve, come and go … [Read more...]

Road to Desert Storm

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A thunderstorm, bringing much-needed early-monsoon rains to this patch of orchard-planted desert, drifted westward toward the Dragoon Mountains, while pastel hues of the sunset hour faintly illuminated cloud and core.  Just at the right time and place, lightning split the sky and the view right down the middle and the road.  This storm flung electrical jabs across the southeastern Arizona … [Read more...]

Underwater Woodlands

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A temporary embayment of Fort Gibson Reservoir that closed state highway 80 also extended into the lowland forests abutting the Ozark plateau.  This wasn't the first time these trees had been so dampened by overly swollen lake levels; indeed, after this event, and with winter closing in, they had plenty of water to last for many weeks or even months to come. 3 WSW Hulbert OK (16 Oct 9) Looking … [Read more...]

Incomplete Return Stroke

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Aside from the striking aesthetic beauty of the High Plains skyscape and landscape with this young, high-based summer storm, the lightning flash here presents a bit of a mystery.  At first I thought the dark gap between bright return stroke and ground was a cellular or radio tower, or similar.  When I zoomed in:  no!  It just stopped being bright and resided atop fainter leaders, touching ground, … [Read more...]

Blast in Trailing Precip

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The trailing precipitation region of thunderstorm complexes sometimes produces tall, bright, intricately forked, cloud-to-ground lightning...like this!  [I specifically didn't include "stratiform" in the phrase "trailing precipitation" because it's an unnecessary and misleading word; the precip arises not from stratiform, but convective processes!]  This positively-charged discharge sent a booming … [Read more...]