SkyPix

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

Stromsburg Vortex Narrowing

By

Moving just slightly east of due north, the Stromsburg tornado was getting away from us.  A quick jaunt a few miles northward put us almost abeam of the tornado again, just as it began to narrow into a writhing, tubular form reminiscent of the bathtub-drain vortex.  This stage of the tornado's lifespan usually portends its imminent demise, but also, can present a gracefully beautiful form of … [Read more...]

Reflective Winter Sunrise

By

Reflective scenes in nature often trigger reflection within; this was no exception. A rare wintertime juxtaposition of calm wind and mild temperatures backdropped the more common sight (for these parts) of a glorious sunrise, together offering a transcendent experience of serenity and gratitude to the ultimate Creator of the scene. Norman, OK (30 Jan 15) Looking ESE 35.2079, -97.3767 … [Read more...]

Twilight Smoke, Atlantic Beach

By

Burnscape at a beach? You bet.  One of the last things a North Carolina coastal visitor expects to see is a thick pall of smoke in the sky, but there it was, silhouetted sharply by the fading twilight. Much of the state had been in a drought, creating conditions ideal for wildfires in a normally moist part of the country. During the portions of three days I spent in the Newport-Beaufort area, … [Read more...]

Strike from a Wall Cloud

By

A new mesocyclone developed on the front flank of a fast-moving, mean, nasty, heavy-precipitation supercell, then raced past us to the NW and N. For a short while, the rotating but ragged wall cloud area wasn't wrapped completely in rain yet, and this brilliant CG split the fading daylight. My satisfaction with seeing this--at least our fourth supercell of the day in western Iowa--later was … [Read more...]

Sunset Coating

By

Soft pastel hues of icy, cold low clouds made a fine wintertime sunset scene, as backdrop to a comb of icicles dangling from a tree branch.   Notice the inversion of the clouds' color ordering in the thickest part of the ice layer.  The ice acted like a lens, refracting its distorted extension of the image upside-down, in a peculiar yet common optical effect. Norman, OK (22 Dec 13) Looking SW … [Read more...]

Storm and Steam

By

Old Faithful is one of the most commonly viewed, known and photographed geological features in the world--but not with a storm in the background!  The geyser offered an eruption right as a formerly severe line of storms moved past the attraction to our north, its outflow clouds turbulent and dark, but its cold winds still a few miles away.  The result was an eerie, high-contrast view of the spray … [Read more...]