Two supercells, in close proximity to each other and about 15–20 miles to my NNW–NE, joined forces for a lightning show aloft that was not to be forgotten by those of us who sat on that big signal hill E of Anadarko to watch the sky erupt. The flurry was so furious that 24-mm wide-angle exposures averaged more than a flash every second, without fail. Relentless and continuous discharges flung … [Read more...]
Spider Lightning
Filamentous lightning that visibly spreads out beneath a storm's anvil canopy is known as anvil crawlers, or "spider lightning". Here, the latter moniker is more appropriate than usual, given the arachnid geometry of the discharge. This electricity burst forth in quick shots downshear from a supercell that was being overtaken by a bow echo. Individual lightning tendrils spread much more … [Read more...]
Two Tails
Every supercell intercept offers something at least a little different about storm behavior and structure. Here, the storm had a common but still nicely defined tail cloud extending rearward of its "flanking line"; inflow parcels there rose upward on a low slope, beneath a weak capping inversion, then reached the bulk of updraft mass which forced them above the level of free convection. … [Read more...]
Bright Night
If it weren't for the underexposed appearance of the ground, this scene almost glows like daytime. Instead, multiple channels of lightning coursed through the thick middle-upper level cloud deck trailing a small, nocturnal thunderstorm complex, brilliantly illuminating sky and land. The ground wasn't so underexposed after all! Some of the "anvil crawlers" can be seen at moderately distant left … [Read more...]
White Rock Lightning
Awakening from a nap to notice a bunch of flashing in the southern sky, I quickly shook off the mental cobwebs, grabbed the camera, and headed to a known high spot with an unimpeded southward view: Boy Scout Hill on the north side of White Rock Lake. Most of the lightning by this time was faint or unimpressive, but these quick-succession blasts carved white ribbons across one frame of my … [Read more...]
Harrisburg Arcus: Left Side
Here is the east (left, from my vantage) end of a tremendous outflow surge across the wheat fields of the Nebraska Panhandle, thanks to a former heavy-precip supercell now evolving into a small bow echo. This storm produced reports of almost hurricane-force gusts near our location, and rocked the vehicle strongly as the core roared past. The right (west) side was also quite photogenic. 7 SE … [Read more...]
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