SkyPix

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

End of the Rainbow

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At long last, I present conclusive proof that the pot of gold doesn't await there! This was a simple 600 mm zoom directly into the base of a classical Great Plains rainbow, pulling out the best of the prismatic refraction from countless millions of raindrops near and far. 5 NW Hugo CO (12 Jun 9) Looking ENE 39.1743, -103.537   … [Read more...]

Seaside Sunset Spectacular

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One recipe for a glorious oceanfront sunset involves tranquil seas, a marvelously textured cirrus deck east of a blue-sky window, and an unimpeded view across the ocean.   All these and more gave us a splendid sendoff on our last evening at Sanibel Island for this trip. Sanibel FL (16 Nov 15) Looking WSW 26.4497, -82.1434 … [Read more...]

Tall and Close

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This is the reason I take lightning pictures, and the reason I choose to face a tiny but still disturbing risk of instant death by merely stepping out of a vehicle near a thunderstorm.  [No matter how safe one tries to be, there is always some risk!]  Returning from a supercell intercept near the Red River, we encountered a small cluster of elevated thunderstorms—cells rooted in a layer of … [Read more...]

Canadian Narrows

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The 2015 Canadian (TX) tornado made a protracted show out of narrowing and then dissipating, here transitioning into a deceptively graceful-looking early rope stages after its unwelcome and destructive rampage through a Panhandle oil field.  An arch of scud swirled around the upper-middle part of the condensation funnel as if an orbiting planetary ring. 2 NNE Canadian TX (27 May 15) Looking … [Read more...]

“Flat Sun” from Florida

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About 1-1/2 years after photographing a solar flattening illusion at the other side of the continental U.S., the same physical processes yielded another off Sanibel Island.  This actually is a common phenomenon wherever the horizon is at or very near true horizon and unobstructed, as across large bodies of water.  Like the Mackinac example, the true sunset was over, the sun below the … [Read more...]

“Flat Sun” from Michigan

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How can the sun still be visible, even though it already has set?  Strong refraction of light is happening in this case, where enough of the sky below the horizon is bent into a visible layer just above the horizon, to keep a flattened image of the sun visible.  The bottom image represents the fleeting last second of this curious process, before all parts of the solar orb lie too far … [Read more...]