On just our second evening in Iceland, the sky blazed for over an hour with a slowly evolving and utterly stunning sunset--one of the top few most beautiful that I've ever witnessed. The protracted light show peaked at just the right time to cast in flaming hues a remarkable ring of cloud material surrounding a tilted, clear tube of sky. With the flow on those levels being easterly, off the … [Read more...]
NWC Lightning
An elevated thunderstorm flings a filament of electricity across the overnight sky, and above the American nucleus of severe-storms research and prediction. Norman, OK (2 Oct 14) Looking SE 35.1825, -97.4405 … [Read more...]
Alien Ice
Nodular ice encases lakeshore grass during a cold-air outbreak. A special and uncommon sequence of circumstances set this up: a north-facing shore of a warm lake with reddish muddy water, hit by an intense cold front with winds strong enough to make splashing waves and launch spray, and temperatures cold enough to flash-freeze it in layers along the blades of grass--all with a thin crust of rime … [Read more...]
Bennington Wide
"Wide" in this case could describe the tornado and the angle of view. We stayed in one spot for over half an hour as this large, violent tornado lumbered in a loopy path within 2-4 miles to our west, southwest and west-northwest, alternately narrowing and fattening, wrapping and unwrapping from rain at various stages, and best of all, injuring no people. I shot over 120 images, zoomed and wide … [Read more...]
Roof Down
This used to be a short strip mall on the Turnpike near Quail Roost Drive, on a site since razed and planted with palms. Note the toppled precast concrete roof support beams, with embedded rebar. Here, frontal winds of at least 120 knots blew out the east-facing plate-glass windows of the storefronts. The internal pressure forces then pushed the walls outward enough for the roof to fall in. … [Read more...]
113-Degree Day
The hottest afternoon of the hottest summer in Oklahoma history also offered gusty 20-30 mph winds, a giant hair dryer roaring amidst an exceptional drought that had left all manner of plant fuels extremely dry. Groves of cedar stood ready to erupt in flames at slightest provocation, their oily foliage badly dessicated by months with little rain, ready kindling poised atop layers of tinder in the … [Read more...]