SkyPix

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

Cirrus Uncinus, Large

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A strikingly large and outstanding specimen of uncinus (mare's tail cirrus) sweeps across the Pacific offshore from the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula, framed by chunks of cirrus fibratus and some old beach logs.  This cloud seemed to scream, adamantly and irresistibly, for a photo.  It was distinctly different from any uncinus I had seen before, not only in its size and delicate beauty but … [Read more...]

Canadian (Texas) Rope-Out

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Mercifully for those menaced, the gradually narrowing Canadian tornado finally dissipated with this last ropy cloud stage, no more debris evident hereafter.  A new wall cloud and associated mesocyclone, partially seen developing to the right, would rotate for a spell but produce no tornadoes.  A separate storm later merged with the slowly ENE-moving Canadian supercell, the combined updraft region … [Read more...]

Black Hills Supercell

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Rising up to about 4,000 ft above the base elevation at Rapid City, the Black Hills actually are a low mountain range that initiates thunderstorms regularly in the spring and summer before the surrounding High Plains.  This happens in two main ways: 1.  Upslope lift of a moist boundary layer, especially in an east or northeast wind (which also lengthens shear vectors to favor supercells under any … [Read more...]

Electrical Question

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"Anvil zips" flash across the sky above a low/middle-level cloud deck, while distant cloud-to-ground strokes accompany a tornadic storm located over the southeast side of Wichita.  This sort of filamentous lightning flickers frequently along the underside of many supercells' anvils, just above and beyond their vault regions.  Here, one of the filaments bears a loose resemblance to a question … [Read more...]

Double Rainbow, North Dakota

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We found this double-arching optical gem while penetrating the back fringes of a storm whose entire western side later would come alive with light and beauty across the western Dakota sky.  Colors in the outer rainbow always are reversed in order from those of the main arc, and are dimmer, because the light has been double-reflected off the inside of drops before escaping to reach our … [Read more...]

Storm Light at Hettinger Equity

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Darkness of a high-based storm and its precipitation core, infused subtly by the early stages of a double rainbow, make a splendid backdrop for the illuminated wooden bulk of the abandoned Hettinger Equity grain elevator.  Unfortunately, the following October, most of the town of Bucyrus was burned up by a wildfire, except for a few buildings and this old grain elevator. Bucyrus ND (13 Jun 12) … [Read more...]