Thousands of miles away and three years before, I had photographed a similar altocumulus mix over the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Proving that the physics of the atmosphere don't care about national borders, a fine blend of translucidus, floccus, and castellanus formed in the sky over this monument at Borgarnes, Iceland. Known as Brakin, the sculpture is a tribute to Thorgerdur Brak, the … [Read more...]
Artesia Supercell
This supercell formed north of the Capitan Mountains (northwest of Roswell), producing a brief tornado near El Capitan Peak that dense precipitation hid from our view, before diving southeastward for a few hours through the vast oil-patch scrublands between there, Artesia and east of Carlsbad. All along the way, it offered splendid and fascinating structures, including the "ground-scraping" wall … [Read more...]
Hvita Meltwater Torrent
Every spring and summer, the Hvita River swells high and mighty with snowmelt and silty glacial effluent, tumbling through a short canyon in southwestern Iceland in a series of cascades known as Gullfoss. The better-known, higher dropoffs reside just below the cataracts here, yet I also found these interesting and photogenic because of the eye-level, seemingly "in the water" perspective one can … [Read more...]
Lenticular Day at an Icelandic Church
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...]
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