SkyPix

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

Crosstimbers Encrusted

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Looking across a meadow, the Western Crosstimbers glisten in a casing of ice, courtesy of yet another central Oklahoma freezing-rain event.  The branches sparkled and crackled with even the faintest passing breeze, collectively exuding a pained, strained, arthritic sound while reflecting thousands of points of light. Norman OK (24 Dec 13) Looking ESE 35.2133, -97.3704 … [Read more...]

Waterfall Rainbow

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A rainbow and hints of its double float in the dancing spray of Seljalandsfoss—one of Iceland's and the Earth's most majestic waterfalls, and one offering no shortage of visual effects from front to rear to side (as here).   The greatest challenge to photographing this world-class cascade, in all its personalities, was keeping spray off the lens...the second greatest, thinking to shoot in the … [Read more...]

Bradshaw: Cone and Sheath

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After observing a rain-wrapped tornado crossing the Interstate near Hampton, we bailed E in the face of hail falling downshear from the "tail-end Charlie" storm in a nearly continuous line of supercells.  That turned out to be the vault region for the mesocyclone that spawned this beauty.  After watching it form nearby in the near view of our rear-view mirror, we zipped east a half mile or so, … [Read more...]

Shadowy Mammatus

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Cool clumps of mammatus, dangling beneath a retreating anvil canopy, cast sharply defined shadows through the golden glow just before sunset.  During intercept activities, this storm hadn't done much besides drop 1 to 1.5 inch hail.  It treated a train of fellow storm observers to a splendid West Texas sunset.  A storm that never had a chance of producing a tornado became a great memory for … [Read more...]

Whirling Dervish

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This storm probably never had much chance to be sharply sculpted; it was too turbulent and rotating too fast!  For about half an hour, what had been a rather nondescript, high-based, marginal supercell began to spin furiously and turned sharply southeastward in classical right-moving fashion.  Ragged cloud material whipped rapidly around an intense low level circulation that was tornadic at … [Read more...]