SkyPix

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

Thunderless Mammatus

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Sometimes mammatus clouds don't arise from a thunderstorm.  In this case, a dense chunk of cirrostratus clouds developed pronounced bags of mammati, probably with internal motions and processes similar to those in thunderstorm anvils (which also are thick cirrostratus plumes).  The technical name for mammatus clouds associated with a thunderstorm is cumulonimbus mammatus; so for consistency this … [Read more...]

Sunflower from Flood Wash

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At some point fairly recent to this shot, a sheet of floodwater rushed across these flatlands from the eroding arroyos, pinnacles and bluffs of Badlands National Park.  The torrent was strong enough from right to left to flatten grass, and to keep it pinned down with clay deposits before new growth occurred.  Brief but intense deluges of rain are the main sculptors of this harsh but photogenic … [Read more...]

Northern Borderland Squall Line

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Bringing replenishing rains to the many lakes of the "Turtle Mountains"—the wooded terrain rise visible at distant right—a band of low-topped storms churned ever closer.  At this point, the tip of the arcus cloud passed due S of us, offering a fine compositional symmetry with the curvature of the roadway.  This is very nearly the farthest north one can intercept a storm in the continental United … [Read more...]

Thunder Water

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In July 2007, Lake Texoma reached near record levels and overflowed its emergency spillway for only the third time in its history.  As water continued to pour into the lake, the floodgates of one of the biggest U.S. reservoirs had to be opened wide for emergency release.  This is a close-up shot of the thundering result—an instantaneous glimpse of the turbulent and chaotically beautiful collision … [Read more...]

More Stratocumulus from Above

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Richly variegated convective textures greeted topside observers during a late afternoon flight over a deck of stratocumulus.  This scene reminded me of the sweeping views, likewise shot from airplanes, that often appear in modern religious video presentations to evoke a heavenly aura of inspiration.  The experience also reminded me of another one, on a fine aerial sunrise six years before. over … [Read more...]

Convection over Sea Fog

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In this beautiful coastal scene lies something of an atmospheric conundrum.  Sea fog itself is fairly common, especially over the shorelines of the Pacific Northwest.  Seeing convection of any sort atop the fog, however, was weird, considering that the cool, stable stratification needed for the fog deck seems to contradict the warmth and overturning characteristic beneath cumulus clouds.  The … [Read more...]