SkyPix

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

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Piedmont Tornado: After the Merger

2018-07-02 By Roger Edwards

Earlier, pre-U.S.-81 stages of the long-lived El Reno/Piedmont tornado of 2011 weren’t visible to me, as we were navigating our way down to this supercell from a nontornadic one to the northwest.  When we set up ahead of it, we saw what turned out to be the physical merger of a shrunken version of the long-lived main tornado with a newer, nearly-as-strong satellite vortex, several miles into the distant, hazy southwest.  After that, the combined tornado strengthened fast,  trucking along the extended track of the original main vortex, and growing into this ferocious, EF5 monstrosity with a roar audible for miles, even over the intense inflow.  This beast would both move closer and get bigger…

4 WSW Piedmont OK (24 May 11) Looking WSW
35.6213, -97.8159

RADAR

Filed Under: Tornadoes Tagged With: clouds, convection, Great Plains, Oklahoma, Piedmont, storms, supercells, thunderstorms, tornado, wall clouds, weather

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About

Welcome to SkyPix, an online photo book of clouds, weather and water by Roger Edwards. As in a printed coffee-table book, every image has its own page with a unique story. After all, meaningful photography is much more than just picture-taking; it is visually rendering a moment in place and time from a perspective like none other. As a scientist and an artist, I hope my deep passion for the power and splendor of our skies and waters shines through in these pages. If you are a cloud and weather aficionado, outdoor enthusiast, outdoor or nature photographer, art lover, or anyone who craves learning, enjoy...

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Further images from this photographer may be found at:
Roger Edwards Image of the Week
Roger Edwards Digital Galleries
Storms Observed Chase BLOG

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