On an uncommonly clear day, the hillside Vik i Myrdal Church, serving the Icelandic seaside village of Vik, can be seen for many miles. Here a laminar, lenticular wave cloud, formed by flow over interior mountains, acts as a backdrop in the deeply azure sky of the subpolar North Atlantic. Well-known for its scenic setting and historic significance, the church serves as the gathering place for … [Read more...]
Cotton Candy Sky
Sometimes a sunset looks so delicious that one wants to reach into the sky, grab it and eat! Cirrus clouds spread themselves in candy filaments through a deepening twilight blue, cast in that memorable hue for just a fleeting moment, yet long enough to evoke a sudden craving for a childhood carnival treat. Norman OK (9 Nov 14) Looking SW 35.1816, -97.4404 … [Read more...]
Thunderbird Frozen
Strange ice forms like this come about only through uncanny event sequences: a brutally sharp cold blast flinging lake water against the shoreline with its logs already stained red by iron-rich mud, wave after wave splashed over until even the runs and drips solidified in single-digit to subzero temperatures. Then as the winds calmed, the lake water itself froze, locking this surreal scene in … [Read more...]
After the Corner Flow
In meteorology, "corner flow" usually refers to the area of upturning of inward-spiraling flow in an intense vortex (such as a tornado). Here I make a bad pun of it, since this actually was the result of nontornadic, downburst flow at a (street) corner! The lush thickness of green grass belies the very severe winds that blasted through southern Nebraska and northern Kansas the night before, … [Read more...]
Looky Thar Pardner, A Storm over Yonder!
The backdrop of a supercell, with ragged wall cloud and wild, banded cloud formations overhead, offers a unique interpretation of two-dimensional art on the High Plains of eastern New Mexico. This is one of two cutout-mural cowboys at the hilltop location astride US-285, each signed and designed by artist John Cerney. 9 NNW Ramon, NM (7 Jun 17) Looking NW 34.3447, -104.9694 … [Read more...]
Radial Rise
This display of cirrus radiatus was one of the most visually peculiar and symbolically striking sunrise formations I've ever witnessed, but the physical explanation is easy. Nearly evenly spaced cirrus bands, aligned south to north across the southern sky, actually were parallel to each other. As with slats in a set of vertical blinds, but more translucent, each shaded the next to its right … [Read more...]
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