SkyPix

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

Gloom in Dumas

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After seeing a small tornado from a remnant, occluded circulation, we headed E expeditiously to get abeam (and ultimately ahead) of the large, strong, ominous mesocyclone that was headed for Dumas.  The storm meant serious business.  When this scene came into view, we had to stop and take a good look, even though the main updraft region of the supercell had gained several miles' distance on us.  … [Read more...]

Hung Low

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Within just a minute, this wall cloud had evolved from a pointy, banded feature to this very low-hanging and flatter form, still rotating rapidly, still monochromatically colored and textured, and still worth watching for potential tornado development.  Although this now-blocky wall cloud soon would erode, the old and occluded circulation didn't go away.  Instead, it started wrapping in rain, then … [Read more...]

Tilted Cone

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Occasional wisps of condensation or spray swirled upward from the soaked ground beneath this increasingly rain-wrapped tornado—the last visible vestiges of a persistent and ominously photogenic circulation in the supercell's farthest western rear area. 5 N Channing TX (18 May 10) Looking N 35.7544, -102.3211 RADAR … [Read more...]

Ragged Rotation

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We had been positioned within a couple miles of this spot for nearly an hour as a supercell approached, watching mostly disorganized wall clouds come and go with no more than weak rotation.  A larger, newer mesocyclone was forming farther east, as the parent supercell moved into richer moisture, but we stayed a little longer.  This was why:  an older, occluded circulation seemed to latch onto more … [Read more...]

A Sterling Sunset

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Combine a sporadically cloudy western area where the light originates, and deeply textured, multi-layered eastern view of rain, storm clouds, and scud, all bouncing photons every which way, yielding layers of direct and diffused sunset light and partial, cool-toned shadowing.  The result?  A splash of pastels hurled across the sky in the form of a fluid, abstract painting.  What a privilege and … [Read more...]

Smoky Supercell with Older Sibling

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This was not only a weird scene, but one with a lot happening.  As the "Roswell Mothership" storm shrunk a little and raised its cloud base, it still remained decidedly surface-based.  We know this because it can be seen here at right, ingesting a plume of smoke from a grass fire that had been started by its own lightning.  That, combined with some subtle differences in cloud shadowing, cast a … [Read more...]