Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Storm Clouds

       I like big old cumulus clouds...the ones we call thunder heads. I like the billows. I like to watch them as they are active in rising. You can watch the moisture rise and form ever new heights to the cloud.  You can just imagine the powerful updrafts that carry the moist air aloft. I like to see them lit by the late afternoon or evening sun and you see the brilliant white and then you stop and think that the bottom of the cloud is very dark.

      I know that sometimes these thunder cells can be 10000 to 20000 feet thick. They are massive. I've flown over or by them sometimes when I was able to have a good look.

      This afternoon we had some thunder cells develop. They weren't the giants . They were alright ...good enough to try some photos. However, I was not able to get in the photo what I saw with my eye. More learning for me. I think my camera focused on the trees and the houses close to me.

   

     All the time I was watching these clouds, behind me were  dark clouds rolling in. So 40 minutes after taking these photos we had violent wind and rain for about 45 minutes.

     Now I'm thinking about the thunder cells in the photos. Did they develop enough to bring rain and wind to some area? What's the story of their life. Where did they die?

29 comments:

  1. I like to watch them form too, if I lived on the prairie I would be entertained all day long on stormy days. here in the woods the sky view is limited. Have fun cloud watching Red:)

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    1. The view isn't the greatest from a small city either.

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  2. I don't see them very often here in Hawaii. I did in the Midwest though and always wondered if we'd be getting hit by some violent weather.
    Your clouds are pretty though.

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    1. Many of our thunderstorms come off the Rockies. Cold air from the Rockies comes out over the plains and expands.

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  3. I love the big black clouds when the sun lights them.

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    1. They're a favorite of mine. I only get to see it once or twice a summer.

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  4. Wow, those are enormous - sometimes we sit on the back deck and watch the clouds gather and "puff" up, allwell knowing; that soon the rains and wind will come. We batten down the hatches, watch until the storm breaks and run like hell into the house. ha,ha Real nice Photos Red.

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    1. Similar behavior happens here. Get in the house and close the windows.

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  5. Sometimes they just disappear if the temperature contrast is not right. We had a similar storm and now I must post the photos! Except I made a bet with myself, no new photos until I have backed up a bunch of others!!

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    1. As the cloud moves through different temperatures moisture condenses or expands so the disappear and form. This is another thing I like watching.

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  6. I love those clouds. They are fun to watch and they make for wonderful photographs!

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    1. There's certainly lots of rapid activity.

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  7. I've found that my cellphone takes the best sky pictures ever. You just reminded me of the wonderful storms I used to see in Colorado. Here, the storms are more subdued and we rarely get any lightning along the coast. Sometimes, but not often. Your photos are good, even if they aren't what you saw in your mind's eye. :-)

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    1. Here and in Colorado the air rises and cools so the moisture condenses to form clouds. Sometimes the air is more humid and so more cloud and energy.

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  8. When I visit Nebraska, the land is so flat one can watch the whole progression. It was sunny yesterday, but already sprinkling today.

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    1. Yes I like the view of the horizon you get on the plains. that's how I was raised and you never forget the sunsets.

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  9. it is amazing how clouds can form 'out of thin air' and seemingly disappear again. perhaps they are like 'souls' - never really disappearing, just changing form. :)

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    1. ...just going through different temperatures and condensing or expanding.

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  10. I remember watching them a lot as a kid, summer storms coming up quickly from the west.

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    1. Oh to be a kid and have the time to watch things,

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  11. We've had lots of these pretty clouds lately. I don't know if they are the beginning or the backside of a storm somewhere off in the distance.

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    1. Wind directions tell us which way they're going.

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  12. These thunderheads look great in illustrations and paintings. I love painting them, especially those dark wisps illuminated against the brightness.

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    1. I never thought about the importance of clouds in paintings. i'll look for clouds from now on.

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  13. I love those big old puffy clouds too. I would like to go right through the middle of one. :)

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  14. I live with 360 degree sky views and I love it but I rarely see clouds quite like that.

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  15. There comes a point when one simply has to absorb the experience, rather than try for photos! You did that!

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  16. They are beautiful taken young man. Young man, aye,aye. You like that.

    White clouds. I see them a lot but yours are so massive. I enjoy to see yours.

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  17. Hi Red, Thunderheads are amazing. Thanks for snapping these photos and sharing them. I don't get tired of cloud photos.

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