SkyPix

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

Supercellular Hues

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Late sunset light filtered differently through a dense rear-flank core, accessory arcus, nearly laminar updraft cloud, and anvil material aloft, offering a naturally painted storm scene unique to a few minutes of this time of evening.  Even a messy supercell like this can offer moments of beauty and appreciation⁠—albeit brief and measured, when the storm is moving quickly toward the … [Read more...]

Flashes Flung Far

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Tendrils of cloud-to-cloud, in-cloud and cloud-to-air lightning flew every which way around the upper reaches of an evening supercell, whose main updraft column tilts from lower left to middle.  Had this storm been tornadic, I might have regretted my choice to back off for enough distance to capture more of the phenomenal light show.  Maybe!  Fortunately, it was not, and the supercell it provided … [Read more...]

Oncoming HP Load

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Heavy-precipitation (HP) supercells can take many forms (most of them rather menacing in appearance):  behind big arcus clouds, drum-shaped, deep and dense with great structure, spiraling in form with wrapping tail and wall clouds, with an embedded little tornado visible, with an embedded big tornado visible, with a tornado playing hide and seek and sometimes a peek, pastel-festooned in the sunset … [Read more...]

No Grace for Gracemont

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Here was a peculiar combination of a truly hybrid shelf and wall cloud that couldn't decide which it wanted to be.  A tremendous precipitation surge had descended through the back side of the supercell, then started to wrap through the southwest side of the low-level mesocyclone, accelerating the storm but not completely undercutting the original low-level circulation, whose cloud material still … [Read more...]

Dumont Dust Tube

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The "Dumont" tornado seldom, if ever, had a condensation funnel, but it lasted ten minutes while gradually lofting dust toward the rotating, scuddy cloud base above.  I was unsurprised and glad to learn that this vortex produced no known damage, in a sparsely populated area of large ranches and few structures.  Despite dozens of chases and even more supercells seen in these parts, the vast area … [Read more...]

Prairie Fire Response

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After midday dryline passage, a fire began a couple miles to the south-southwest, its embers blowing into a swath of dry, tall grass from the previous growing season.  Fires in the southern Great Plains can race out to tens or hundreds of thousands of acres within just a few hours under such dry and windy circumstances, in a severe drought, with crispy fine fuels.  Fortunately, two factors saved … [Read more...]