This fat-cone-with-spike shape probably was the cleanest presentation of the 2024 "Union City" nighttime tornado, from my perspective south of town and on the north-facing southern slope to the Canadian River Valley. Having stairstepped down to this spot from the northwest, in front of the long-lived, complex supercell, I chose this location specifically for the safe vantage it would have toward … [Read more...]
Lower Marymere Falls
On the way to bottle-shaped (upper) Marymere Falls, in the northern Olympic Mountains, this smaller waterfall nonetheless expressed its delicate beauty in tumbling between a fallen rain-forest log and a boulder. Lush growth of ferns occurs under tall conifers that shade the stream almost constantly, year-round. The shadows make waterfall photography straightforward by forcing longer exposure … [Read more...]
North City Supercell, Twilight
Soon to be absorbed into a building line of thunderstorms on either side, an autumnal, twilight supercell made a showy grand finale while passing just north of the northwest fringe of Oklahoma City. Just a decade ago, this area was entirely rural. The storm-damage cost to the nation as a whole is increasing rapidly as development expands into areas previously traversed by severe weather like … [Read more...]
Sunrise off Virginia Beach
Curses to blessings: a night of very shallow, choppy sleep at a conference, just a few days after a truncated set of overnight shifts, turned into an unexpected opportunity to experience and photograph a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. "I can't sleep, and have to get up soon anyway, so...what the hell!" A mighty fine sunrise it was indeed, with a gentle surf washing at my feet and seabirds … [Read more...]
Mature Tornado and Supercell Vault
This is my favorite of many enjoyable views and shots of the Midland/Odessa tornadic supercell from 2024. It's not hard to see why: a well-developed and likely strong tornado (ultimately rated EF3), situated classically in a mesocyclone with a rear-flank/occlusion downdraft and clear slot, a low-level tail cloud back toward the forward-flank core, some texturing of the boundary layer by … [Read more...]
Indirect Route
The juxtaposition of two electric sources highlights the stark differences between them. While the half-second lightning flash contains 30,000 amperes of direct current, along a tortuously shaped plasma "wire" carved through the air by the invisible step leader, the physical wires supply only enough continual alternating current to support 15- to 30-amp outlets in the house. The pole-mounted … [Read more...]