Our skies can sometimes presage the weather to come. In thunderstorms, a cirrus plume above an anvil cloud will often appear (visible by satellite) about half an hour before severe Keep reading
Tag: meteorology
Candy Clouds Mid-Storm
There’s nothing quite like a towering storm cloud to showcase nature’s power. This gorgeous photo by Laura Rowe shows pastel clouds over West Texas in the middle of a thunderstorm. Keep reading
Chasing the Storm
Towering mountains of convection and ominous colors are staples of Adam Kyle Jackson’s storm photography. His dramatic portraits of supercell thunderstorms highlight the majesty and power of these turbulent phenomena. Keep reading
Predicting Meteotsunamis
Meteotsunamis, or meteorological tsunamis, are large waves driven by weather rather than seismic energy. Although they occur along shorelines throughout the world, forecasters have very little infrastructure in place to Keep reading
Fallstreak Holes
Occasionally clouds appear to have a hole in them; these are known as fallstreak holes or hole-punch clouds. To form, the water droplets in the cloud must be supercooled; in Keep reading
Blue Jets
Blue jets are a mysterious form of lightning that shoots upward from intense thunderstorms. The image above comes from one of the first color videos of blue jets, taken by Keep reading
Chasing Tornadoes
Tornadoes are some of the most powerful storms on Earth. Their difficult-to-predict nature means that we still have a relatively scant understanding of exactly how they form. We know the Keep reading
“Monsoon 6”
The stunning power and beauty of our atmosphere comes to life in Mike Olbinski’s latest short film, “Monsoon 6”. Over the years, I’ve probably watched dozens of Olbinski’s videos, yet Keep reading
The Great Haboob Chase
Few sights look as apocalyptic as the leading edge of an incoming dust storm. Known as a haboob, these storms form when a downdraft spreads along the ground, picking up Keep reading
Stratospheric Effects of Wildfires
Australia’s bushfires from earlier this year are offering new insights into how pyrocumulonimbus clouds can affect our stratosphere. A massive, uncontrolled blaze between December 29th and January 4th generated a Keep reading