SkyPix

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

Fractocumulus with Funnel Cloud

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Funnel-producing convection can be in the form of a supercell, any thunderstorm, even a volcanic cloud, wildfire plume, shower, towering cumulus, or small cumulus.  Any convective cloud or plume that stretches vorticity enough can spawn a funnel, if the pressure, temperature and humidity are right for the tube of air to condense cloud droplets (or in the case of fires and volcanoes, flame, smoke … [Read more...]

Horseshoe Vortex

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A broad field of cumulus humilis and fractocumulus raced northward, almost at our own interstate highway pace, on a very dynamic day of high severe weather risk.  An environment of strong vertical shear is good for the formation not only of supercells, but of much smaller vortices for much different reasons.  Horseshoe vortices are harmless, but interesting to watch.  Spinning tubes of air that … [Read more...]

Storm of Eden

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We had been observing another well-structured supercell from the E, near a little settlement called Knickerbocker, when the dryline jumped past our storm and left it to die in the moisture-starved air. Meanwhile, convection to our SE that had been bubbling rather innocuously for almost two hours exploded into the longest-lasting supercell of the day.  Thus outflanked, we had to take a dreadfully … [Read more...]

Inflow Sector

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I appreciated the honor and privilege of watching this western Kansas supercell for its entire lifespan, from first towers north of Dodge City to mature, well structured storm here, to producer of a pleasant little tornado E of St. Peter, to a rain-enshrouded mess shortly before dark, SE of Hill City.  There's a wholeness of conceptual grasp, a completeness of comprehension nearly unmatched in … [Read more...]

Superior Little Cb

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This scene typifies a small cumulonimbus moving mostly toward the viewer, its anvil beginning to spread almost symmetrically off the top of the convective towers.  A rocky beach along the northeast corner of Lake Superior framed this shot, beneath a fortunate northwesterly flow regime that kept ambient skies clean of haze, and visibility sharp.  A small stratus deck in the low foreground hid the … [Read more...]

Shark’s Fin Sunset

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An unusual annular solar eclipse swept across the western sky of the Texas South Plains region in May 2012, along the New Mexico border.  This was the day after a fruitful supercell intercept in western Oklahoma, and Rich Thompson and I were there to witness the spectacle.  The eclipse wasn't yet finished by sunset time, creating this rarely photographed effect of the shark-fin shaped solar … [Read more...]