SkyPix

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

Electric Scrub

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Tucked into a marvelously banded notch between a tail-end supercell's main updraft base and the rest of a line of storms, an electrically active area sparked several cloud-to-air discharges.  I managed to capture this odd one that resembled a scrub brush—but one you wouldn't want to touch! Yet another unique Great Plains skyscape, among countless more... 6 ESE Anton CO (23 Jun 13) Looking … [Read more...]

Sunset at Carhenge

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An earlier supercell storm, which had formed a fantastically shaped wall cloud, soon heaved forth a pool of cold air.   That may have been the cooldown for a storm chase, but it was just the warmup for the evening's photography.   Above the old storm's puddle of outflow, and above the whimsical western Nebraska monument known as Carhenge, these warmly toned chunks of scud rose at sunset.   Part … [Read more...]

The Ray of Hope

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A big, bright crepuscular ray with fainter, adjoining, smaller ones, formed between towering cumulus along the dryline in northeastern Kansas.  Major supercells 450 miles to the north, in the eastern Dakotas, produced violent "wedge" tornadoes this day; but they were far out of reach for me.  Still, the scene and this image that preserves it have served as a spiritually inspiring metaphor for me … [Read more...]

Red Glow under the Dark Deck

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Sunset looked like it would be basically a non-event, until a sliver of clearing pried opened along the western horizon just in time.  This deep zoom cuts directly across the miles at light's speed, plunging straight into the distant, deep reds lining an altostratus deck's fringe, pulling out and hauling back a tone reddened even more by passage to the lens.  Peak color lasted less than … [Read more...]

Rain Foot

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When precipitation cores hit the ground, some of it spreads outward along the edges, forming a flared bottom, also known in storm observers' lingo as a "rain foot."  Rapidly moving ones—especially if they raise scud clouds or dust, or are accompanied by power flashes—signal damaging downbursts.  In this case, however, the foot was kicking only slowly, and the outward rush of winds away from the … [Read more...]

Sunset Cirrus, Contrail and Sun Pillar

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For a meteorologist and sky aficionado, few events are more leasing than a wonderfully colorful sunset packed with fascinating weather elements.  Not only did a long-lasting contrail crisscross the scene with its varying thickness and light-shadow effects, but a faint sun pillar developed as well (up and down the middle of the shot).  Meanwhile, distant cirrus assumed a brilliant yellowish glow, … [Read more...]