SkyPix

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

The Caged Bear

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After spawning the Sargent tornado, this supercell underwent a metamorphosis that is common, but still striking—from classic to HP (heavy precipitation) appearance.  The next mesocyclone developed a broad, loose cloud-base circulation that spun slowly for half an hour, trudging along toward the town of Comstock (several miles beyond the low hill in this photo).  That circulation then intensified, … [Read more...]

Splitting Colorful Crepusculars

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After a disappointing storm day, when we seemed to either pick each "wrong" storm or miss each "right" one, the atmosphere offered a small consolation in the form of yet another unique sunset scene.  "Unique" may be a paradoxical adjective for sunsets, since all properly are described as such; in sunset scenes, uniqueness is ubiquitous!  Regardless of semantic pretzel-twisting, the splitting of … [Read more...]

Bags of Gold

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Several nearby supercells and a short squall line had merged into a rainy mess, with an "anchor storm" far down on the southern end and out of reach.  [The backsheared anvil and overshooting top from that storm is at distant lower right in this plate.]  When the active intercept was done, we had two options:  give up and head to Lubbock for dinner and lodging, or go west of the slop first for a … [Read more...]

Stratus in the Trans-Pecos

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One scene is not often associated with far southwest Texas:  lush wildflowers and moist, low stratus clouds!  On this pleasantly cool morning, both carpeted this corner of the Chihuahuan desert in abundance, the cloud deck supplemented by moist air rising on Elephant Mountain.   Later the same day, storms would fire in Mexico and move across the nearby Big Bend National Park, and like this, would … [Read more...]

Stratocumulus Congestus

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A peculiar mound of dense convection welled up in seemingly boiling fashion, leading to a doming effect in an otherwise benign field of stratocumulus.  The upward motion in this dome was strong enough that a moat of subsidence (and resultant clearing) partially encircled it, showing up best on the left and upper sides.  Although I don't know of any such "official" nomenclature combination yet, the … [Read more...]