Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Your Aviation (or Personal) Photos and discussion on Cameras & photography.

Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby Triple_7 » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:12 pm

Before last night I've only seen such cloud formations in pictures...never in real life.  About 8:30PM we were outside working on equipment trying to get ready to go the field this weekend.  Started getting a few clouds blowing in and then pagers started going off with reports of funnel clouds spotted a couple counties to our west.  Kept an eye on the sky and things started to get interesting, decided to run and get the camera.

Sun was just beginning to set around 8:45PM as the clouds started moving in and a lot of dark sky to the west.
Image
Wasn't long before the clouds started to put on a show.
Image
From there they continued to make one of the strangest sights I've seen,
Image
By 9PM this was the view, after 100+ shots there was no time for more, the wind began to pick up speed and the west turned black with lightning streaking everywhere.  With reports of funnel clouds near we started running about trying to get things shut down and the barn doors barricaded for what we thought was going to be a whopper.
Image

Pretty cloud formations quickly turned into a dark black sky and the winds started gusting over 60mph.  The storms took a turn to the north and just barely missed us, by 10PM the wind had backed down to 30mph or so and we sat on the deck watching the lighting streak across the jet black sky.  Didn't even have rain till about 1AM and it was only a light shower.  This is turning into one of the worst springs in a long time, more severe weather and high winds then we've seen since 98.
Triple_7
 

Re: Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby Wii » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:15 pm

That's pretty cool... 8-)
User avatar
Wii
Major
Major
 
Posts: 2727
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:33 pm
Location: Space

Re: Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby beaky » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:38 pm

:o  :o
The winds aloft must have been ridiculous... those clouds are being ripped apart!!
Image
User avatar
beaky
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 12877
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:00 am
Location: Shenandoah, PA USA

Re: Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby BigTruck » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:52 pm

great shots, saw that happen once or twice up in michigan, always followed by some nasty storms haha
Alienware X51_R2 (thank you wife) Windows 8.1, 6GB Ram, Intel Core i3-4150 CPU @3.50GHz
FSX Acceleration settings on max, no twitches or glitches.
Saitek X52 Stick and Throttle
User avatar
BigTruck
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 7048
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:35 pm
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL

Re: Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby Mobius » Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:50 pm

Nice pictures. 8-)

They're mammatus clouds.  Formed when air that has been forced upward by large storms cools and descends in those pockets, or something. ;D

We see them a lot here, as storms build across Iowa and Minnesota and smash into us. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud
Last edited by Mobius on Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image
User avatar
Mobius
Major
Major
 
Posts: 3653
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 10:44 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby Omag 2.0 » Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:16 am

Mammatusclouds look so nice at sunset. The lobes can be lighted in a very nice and impressive way. Great shots of this phenomenon.  ;)
[center]
Image

Check my aviation-photo's at www.airliners.be

Or go straight to Omag's Album[/cent
User avatar
Omag 2.0
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 9490
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2003 6:43 am
Location: Somewhere, Belgium

Re: Strange Clouds As A Sunset Storm Blows In...

Postby expat » Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:48 am

Great catch. Those last two look like the wrath of God with the help of some CGI ;D

Matt
"A bit of a pickle" - British translation: A catastrophically bad situation with potentially fatal consequences.

PETA Image People Eating Tasty Animals.

B1 (Cat C) licenced engineer, Boeing 737NG 600/700/800/900 Airbus A318/19/20/21 and Dash8 Q-400
1. Captain, if the problem is not entered into the technical logbook.........then the aircraft does not have a problem.
2. And, if you have time to write the fault on a napkin and attach to it to the yoke.........you have time to write it in the tech log....see point 1.
User avatar
expat
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 8679
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2005 3:06 am
Location: Deep behind enemy lines....


Return to Photos & Cameras

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 303 guests