SkyPix

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

Fiery Front Range Sunset

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The last rainy vestiges of a dying storm cast the setting sun's warm glow across a mountainous landscape.  Many late-spring and summer days feature afternoon eruptions of high-based thunderstorms over the Colorado Front Range, leaving behind cloud debris that beautifies and imparts rich textures to the sky.   On this day, the storms went up late, thanks to a reasonably strong cap above the moist … [Read more...]

Bear in the Cage

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Although a gust front was wrapped well out ahead of the mesocyclone, which itself was enclosed in a cage of rain and hail, somehow enough unstable air still was available to permit a tornado to persist within, the figurative bruin of "bear's cage" storm-chaser slang.  I've posted a zoom taken shortly beforehand; and this wide-angle view was the last act before heading out of the way of both the … [Read more...]

Montana Sparkle

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Out on the northern High Plains, there's little to divert one's attention from the "Big Sky" as befitting Montana's moniker.  When big storms course across that big land with big strokes of lightning, they may be noticed by only a few, but those few definitely notice.  A stark, palpable sense of isolation and vulnerability pervade this place, compelling respect for that vast sky and its fickle … [Read more...]

Hail-Hurling Hook around Sulphur Tornado

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Once the vegetation-filled part of the "atmospheric blender" largely had passed, the precipitation hook surrounding the Sulphur tornado got more dense for a time, including the cluster of hailstones being flung across the right-hand side of the shot.   [Click on the image to see the larger version and a better look at the centrifuged and falling hailstones.]  Meanwhile the tremendous roar of the … [Read more...]

Atmospheric Blender

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As the Sulphur tornado neared Highway 177, its circulation became more rain-wrapped, roaring loudly while an intense rear-flank downdraft slammed across the scene.   These winds just outside the tornado contained a blend of heavy rain, small hail, and assorted tree debris, from leaves to small twigs, flying past at highway speeds.  It was hard to tell what of this debris was caused by the … [Read more...]

Tornadic Funnel Tip

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A relative gap in the near-ground precipitation curtains certainly was convenient for continued monitoring of the Slapout tornado's surface whereabouts.  Its condensation form began to look rather tubular, its visible form stretched vertically and still bending with height back into the mid-level mesocyclone, as the moat of occlusion-downdraft scouring of surrounding clouds continued.  Make all … [Read more...]