SkyPix

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

Sunset on the Range

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Anvils and trailing precip regions from organized, eastward-moving, forward-propagating thunderstorm complexes usually slope upward gradually with westward extent, the rain gradually becoming lighter.  That was the case here, where the resulting large area of the fuzzy cloud underside, and of precipitation aloft, caught the setting sun's light and diffused it marvelously across a big sector of the … [Read more...]

Snow Divots

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After one of the snowiest winters and springs on record, mid-July found fields near Lake Tipsoo that normally are verdant and profusely carpeted in wildflowers still buried in deep snow.  By this time, the old snow had gotten dirty and granular on top, covered with windblown deposits and plant material, and pockmarked with remarkably regularly spaced and sized divots.  Dark material accumulating … [Read more...]

Stromsburg Rope-Out

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Less than a full minute elapsed between the tubular phase in the previous shot and the final rope stage shown here.  Even though the visible part of the tornado vortex no longer was connected to the cloud base, it's obvious from ground contact of the condensation vortex, with debris, that a tornado still was (barely) underway.  Even at this final, last-gasp stage, mere seconds from dissipating, it … [Read more...]

Backwards Damage Process

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What's backward about the tornado damage at this site, and how did this happen?  Please stop and ponder this for a few moments, then continue.  The garage door of this small, open-span metal structure tells all you need to know.  The force responsible had to come from within, and the only other entry point for the needed blast of air is the missing roof. [The wall unseen at right was intact, as … [Read more...]

At Glacial Pace

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Alaska's Smith Glacier looms cold and blue in its blanket of mist and fog.  As our vessel drifted quietly across the water through the still, damp air, every groan, creak and crackle of the ice could be heard.  Water flows downhill even in solid form, because under enough pressure, ice starts behaving like a very slow-moving fluid.  Powerful erosion agents, glaciers grab rocks and boulders, then … [Read more...]

High Bases over the High Plains

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Even nonsevere storms under weak shear can add to the grandeur of a High Plains sky, with the southern rim of the Black Hills lining the eastern horizon.  Such did this fascinating multicell formation developing right alongside our travels toward Montana for  future days' supercellular potential.  Occasional crackles of distant thunder reverberated sharply as gunfire across the grasslands, as the … [Read more...]