SkyPix

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

High Plains Fog

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In the parlance of aviators, this definitely represents IFR (instrument flight rules) conditions. This air mass lay about 50 miles north of an outflow-reinforced stationary front, a boundary that soon would focus supercells to the south. For now, however, it simply focused fog and sporadic drizzle on its cool side, cloaking one of the many commercial wind farms of the Texas Panhandle. An older, … [Read more...]

School’s Out

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Eight years (minus four days) earlier, Elke and I had noticed this beautifully constructed but long-abandoned schoolhouse, while riding out a hail core and photographing the aftereffects on the back side of the "Aroya Antisupercell". Right then, we decided that if we ever had the opportunity to shoot that schoolhouse in front of a storm, we would. While staying ahead of a severe thunderstorm … [Read more...]

Altocumulus in the Big Sky

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A flock of altocumulus crossing the midday sky represents instability in the middle troposphere, and when low-level conditions are favorable, often portends an active afternoon and/or evening of convection. Indeed, a tremendous, significantly severe supercell, at the tail of a larger storm complex, rolled across the northern tier of Montana into Glasgow late that afternoon. The clouds at lower … [Read more...]

Olympic Mountain Mist

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A day of rain, following a rather long and wildfire-promoting dry spell, gave way to areas of stratus and fractostratus brushing the mountainsides of the northern Olympics. Having been choked in smoke as recently as earlier the same Sunday, these mountains and their inhabitants welcomed the rejuvenating moisture, with drizzle still falling at the late-afternoon hour of this shot. The Elwha River … [Read more...]

Coming Down Soon

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One way or another, this abandoned barn was doomed to fall, shortly. If the storm's potentially severe outflow winds didn't haul it down, the farmer would the next day with a bulldozer—as he told us within less than a minute of this image. As such, this is likely the last photograph ever taken of the pioneer relic, first constructed by homesteaders in the late 1800s, with add-ons and … [Read more...]

Entry Way to Storm

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[Part 4 of 4] Once the ridiculously complicated mesocyclone/tornado system west of Vigo Park invariably got deeply wrapped in heavy rain and hail, it was time to get out of the way before that dense precip created dangerous driving conditions. A long line of traffic (chasers) with the same idea formed on the east road, moving slowly enough as to nearly prevent escape. Fortunately I got ahead of … [Read more...]