SkyPix

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

Deep Sundown, Nebraska Panhandle

By

Great Plains sunsets rightly have a reputation for brilliance and splendor, but this one was royalty among the high echelon.  First, it unexpectedly painted the western sky in a spectacular light (with pillar!).  Then, even as the overhead colors started to fade, the intricately textured clouds in the farthest part of the western sky seemed to ignite with stunning depth of both color and pattern, … [Read more...]

Interstate Startle

By

An electrified twilight sky, thanks to the back side of a supercell-containing storm complex, kept spitting sparks as ambient light faded.  The two cloud-to-ground discharges happened within just a few seconds, but were separated by many miles between the main core region (distant left) and the translucent, trailing anvil area of light precipitation (right).  The latter lit up the lives of … [Read more...]

Early Supercell Growing Mustache

By

My late friend and scientific colleague Al Moller said, "Beware storms with mustaches!", a storm-spotter caution referring to the early stages of wall-cloud development.  This young supercell, with midlevel rotation gradually developing downward, was in the process of growing one from the detached, fractocumulus scud chunk rising atop rain-cooled forward-flank air.   The core at right, and lift … [Read more...]

Snowdrift Topography

By

The Christmas Eve blizzard of 2009 left behind many fascinating drift effects not often witnessed in these parts, including highly variable drifting, flimsy ripples on high, exposed surfaces of underlying ice, and sastrugi.  Here, thin and flat-topped layers developed, the edges of the ledges resembling contours on a topographic map, rendered to an oblique perspective that imparts a … [Read more...]

Tunnel Vision: Deep Convection

By

Lessening light and spreading, thick anvil from a severe storm complex to our southwest created a light sandwich on the northern and eastern horizon.  That was interesting to see from the vehicle as we headed east for dinner and lodging.  What changed things from interesting to special was when a band of cumulus clouds grew around the anvil's edges, in what was left of a daytime … [Read more...]

Sparking at the State Line

By

Headed north through outflow, out of Colorado and toward a late dinner and lodging in Kimball, Nebraska, we stopped quickly by the state line when an otherwise innocuous-looking, elevated line of "showers" started blasting tall, forked discharges like this.  Even across several miles, the crack of the thunder was sharp and crisp when it reached us, gliding through the cold northwest winds to reach … [Read more...]