Dangerous and delicate at the same time, a tornado depends on a narrow but still incompletely understood balance of storm-scale conditions to form and persist. This one spun near Blum, TX, for almost 10 minutes within a deeply occluded mesocyclone, evolving from a rain-wrapped bowl shape to a lumpy elephant-trunk formation here—and later, a tapering, pointed tube that destroyed a wedding venue. … [Read more...]
Explosive Intricacy
This is a wide-angle view—so yes, it was nearby, and loud. [Worry not, I was in shelter of a well-grounded structure with good outside view.] A single source, connected somewhere high in the trailing precipitation region of a squall line, triggered an instant, multichannel cloud-to-ground discharge. At such close range, with high origin and no obscuring by clouds, the deeply detailed, … [Read more...]
Wave Forms
Two different wave trains—the larger one curving from a source near our vessel—crisscross in a beautiful array of rippling patterns, reflecting the blue and white of a broken sky above, abstractly converting fluid-flow equations to liquid art. 9 WNW Gustavus AK (31 Jul 3) Looking NNW 58.4374, -135.9936 … [Read more...]
Over the Minnesota Line
As a big sun descended beyond the northwestern horizon, this was the closest and brightest among weakening storms that glowed brilliantly in its sunset reflection to the east, just over the state line. Two sides of the sky, simultaneously ablaze in warm-toned beauty, made me wish for a wider field of stereoscopic sight in the human capacity, to absorb the fullest grandeur in one sweeping view. 2 … [Read more...]
Supercell on the Range
Striking off the Laramie Range foothills and an outflow boundary from an earlier storm, this supercell spun spectacularly across the rolling Wyoming rangeland as it directly approached our vantage. It was but one of many amazing sights gracing the tumultuous springtime sky on that magical day. 17 NNE Cheyenne WY (7 Jun 12) Looking N 41.343, -104.6446 … [Read more...]
Bar Pattern, Little Missouri River
Ever shifting, no constancy at all, the evolving shapes and size of the sand and gravel bars on this Badlands-draining, High Plains river ensure this photo cannot be taken, ever again. Geomorphology is a fluid-flow study, much like meteorology, but on a slower scale. Best of all, meteorology influences it through the precipitation that drains and melts into this system and weaves the bars here … [Read more...]
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