Weather Imagery

At some point, most of us have heard that water spins down a drain in different directions depending on which hemisphere we happen to be in. The fact is, the Coriolis force (an apparent force as a result of the Earth’s spin) has virtually nothing to do with which direction water spins as it empties down a drain. Although this force is “real” and does have an affect on other large, long-lived systems that travel great distances (such as hurricanes, high and low pressure systems, and long range artillery shells), water draining from toilets, sinks, and bathtubs are rendered virtually immune from its affects. The Coriolis force is much too weak to have any affect on such small, short-lived rotating bodies of water under normal conditions.

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Even though the Earth does pass closer to the sun during part of its orbit, this is not what’s responsible for our hot summers or cold winter months. If this were the case, then the northern and southern hemispheres would both have their summers and winters at the same time. However as you’ll see below, exactly the opposite is true. When it’s summer in the northern hemisphere, it’s winter in the southern.

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Taking pictures of lightning is not nearly as hard as it seems. In fact, it’s actually quite simple assuming you’re taking pictures at night. If you’re shooting during daylight hours, all bets are off. You’ll either need lightning quick reflexes (pun intended) or some very expensive shutter trigger hardware. However, if shooting at night, you do not need a super high end SLR camera body with all the fancy options nor do you need a high end digital camera. The only options you must have on your SLR (single lens reflex) camera are:

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While chasing storms on the Colorado plains, I’ve found farms also have a lot to offer photographically. Windmills in particular provide a function to the farm that has been invaluable to farmers for decades. And after years and years of intense abuse, some are still standing today as a relic to the way things used to be.

Below are some pictures of farmland I’ve come across while chasing storms in Eastern Colorado.

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The beaches of southern California are not the place for a weather enthusiast. Growing up and living on the beach, I know first hand how boring the weather is. When I moved to Colorado I finally got a taste of what Mother Nature has to offer. The spring and summer months put on great lightning shows almost every day as huge thunderstorms seem to bubble up out of the blue. The cool thing is, the storms here usually produce very little rain and the landscape offers a clear unobstructed view of the awesome lightning shows which make taking pictures easy.

Below are some pictures of lightning I have taken since living in Colorado. Almost all of these pictures are right out my back door (literally) where the storms roll off the Palmer Divide almost every night.

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Every aspect of the weather fascinates me, including things as mundane as the clouds. This fascination probably manifested itself early in childhood. Growing up and living the first 24 years of my life on the beaches of sunny Southern California offered little in the way of exciting weather, unless fog excites you. I remember as a kid reading books and seeing pictures of huge super cells and clouds bubbling from beneath and thinking the pictures were fake. Nothing could look that cool and be natural. It wasn’t until I moved to Colorado and saw for myself what Mother Nature had to offer.

Below are pictures of some clouds I’ve seen while living here in Colorado. There are more to come.

This storm was popping out 2 inch hail and at one point looked as if it were going to spawn a tornado. I was about 30 miles west of the Kansas and Colorado border on Highway 70.

This was the backside of a huge supercell that passed over Falcon, Colorado. The mammantus clouds were awesome looking!