On a hot, windy day, this is not what any rural resident wishes to see through the trees. Since Oklahoma doesn't have volcanoes, the nature of this flammagenitus cloud formation (big pyrocumulus, atop a smoke plume) was easy to guess on a record-hot summer day. Pyrocumulus formation would continue through the rest of daylight. Though the fire stayed a few miles east of us, it immediately … [Read more...]
Intimate View of Selfoss
Upstream from the more famous Dettifoss, Selfoss actually is a series of at least a dozen (depending on water levels) individual cascades that tumble over the side of a remarkably long, level cliff face that angles obliquely across the Jokulsa A Fjollum River. The base of one of the bigger members of Selfoss is seen here, spraying across dislodged blocks of basalt in ghostly procession. These … [Read more...]
Stop, Ice!
Though rather difficult to cite for violations, or to handcuff and heave into the stockade, this ice nevertheless decided to obey the law and come to a full stop before proceeding past the traffic sign. Especially during such treacherous motoring conditions, many drivers would be wise to follow the example of this frozen, inanimate, yet legally obedient entity! Norman, OK (30 Jan 10) Looking … [Read more...]
Bent Bolt
The cloud-to-ground portion of this stroke followed a remarkably unwavering path along the line of sight, with one very apparent exception. Whatever compelled the step leader that preceded the visible flash to jump abruptly sideways and stay on that path for awhile, it did not appear to be outflow. Fortunately the bolt wasn't several miles closer and in position to strike the oil storage tanks. … [Read more...]
Lone Limb Dangling
One little limb lies across an electrical wire, somehow deposited there after being severed from a tree by the weight of deposited ice. The larger tree branch responsible for this little souvenir already had been cleared off the street beneath. Power was out in the town, thanks to many other lines being snapped loose under weight of falling and sagging tree branches. Purcell, OK (30 Jan 10) … [Read more...]
Foggy Sunrise, Mono Lake
Mono Lake is a visual and geological delight under almost any setting, and this includes winter sunrises. On this frigid morning, with temperatures well down into the single digits, "steam fog" blew across the relatively warm water surface beneath an undulating blanket of stratus, that itself sometimes reached the surface as fog. All of this diffused the brilliant sunrise colors of an unseen cloud … [Read more...]
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