the storm cellar

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  • The semester's contributions to The Storm Wrap up with these great images from Katie A.  She writes:
    • "The first three pictures are of the flooding near st. louis...I took the pictures on my dads personal camera we use for family pics and stuff and he just came back this weekend and I downloaded them onto my computer. There should be some tags/descriptions on some of the pix when you pull them up.
    • "The next sequence of two photos are ones my dad took when he was deployed to Greensburg for the F-5 tornado they had last May. I didn't take them personally, but they are really cool and was wondering if they counted or not, either way they're neat.
    • "The next photo is a sink hole we found shadowing my dad on the same deployment i took the flood photos.
    • "The last photo was taken by my dad on his first deployment of the year in Kansas for the severe ice storm. A power line fell over due to the severe wind and ice damaged it sustained during the storm earlier this year."  (4/25/08)
  • What kinds of clouds are these, sent in by Emily?  (4/24/08)
  • Courtenay calls this picture "Dark Scary Clouds While Traveling in the Rocky Mountains".  (4/23/08)
  • I'm so proud that Caity was out admiring the clouds out on the Creighton mall! (4/23/08)
  • If there was a prize for the highest-resolution pictures of stratocumulus clouds, Elly would win.  :-)  (4/22/08)
  • Students in ATS 113 always like a good sunset picture, like this one sent in by Lydia.  (4/22/08)
  • There's a lot of subtle weather going on in these three pictures sent in by Courtenay.  (4/21/08)
  • I'm not sure what to make of this picture submitted by Lydia!  :-)  (4/18/08)
  • Miguel submitted this HUGE image file with a picture of a sunset.  I didn't resize the image because I like all of the details.  Miguel wondered what kind of atmospheric optical phenomenon we are seeing here.  I'm pretty sure that these beams of light are NOT in the atmosphere but rather something to do with the lens and the settings on the camera.  Miguel:  Could you see those beams with your eye, or just with the camera?  (4/18/18)
  • Have I really "started something" by suggesting the folks send me pictures of sun dogs?  Probably.  Here's what I've received:
    • Marissa (4/17/08)
    • Katrina N. knew why they were called sun dogs because she found the answer in the textbook.  (4/17/08)
    • Jake found this link with lots of information about sun dogs. (4/18/08)
  • Courtenay send in 5 (1 2 3 4 5) pictures with the following explanation:  "Here are some more plane pictures.. I think these look like cumulus clouds, maybe some stratocumulus..."  (4/17/08)
  • Here's a fun idea--why don't YOU tell ME what we are seeing in these three pictures sent in by Courtenay?  (4/15/08)
  • Lydia contributed this:  "This is a snow picture of snow in Ohio my friend sent me.  It was taken earlier this year."  Nice.  (4/14/08)
  • Katrina topped her last contribution with these great pictures from her Spring Break Service Trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  I've been on these trips to Pine Ridge before, by the way, and I strongly recommend them, if you ever have a chance to go.  (4/7/08)
  • Katrina N. says, "Once more, while I know you appreciate pictures of clouds in the shape of something specific, I am currently lacking such photos.  However, I do have some pictures of clouds at my family's farm right before a storm, which I found very pretty."  These are GREAT--where is your farm?  (4/7/08)
  • I love this cartoon that Jake found.  (4/3/08)
  • Drew sent another message:  "This is a picture of Super Typhoon Paka.  I was in Guam when this hit.  The typhoon destroyed the island. It was quite an experience."  Drew, we need to get you onto the Weather Break radio show to talk about that!  Contact me!  (4/3/08)
  • According to Drew, "This is a picture of the weather while I was in Germany for Spring Break.  It was a little warm, but it was rainy and gray the entire time."  I spend a lot of my time in Germany, and I can vouch for that!  (4/3/08)
  • I have no idea where Lydia was heading when she snapped these two pictures (1 2), but it looks a bit bleak out!  :-)  (4/3/08)
  • In another message, Courtenay writes, "Over spring/easter break i was able to fond some old(er) pictures that I could send to the sotrm cellar.  The first one attached is from the ice storms in central Nebraska in the late fall of 2006.  The second attachment is just of some trees in my backyard last February that held quite a bit of ice and snow after a storm."  These are awesome!  (4/3/08)
  • Courtenay writes, "Here are some fun pictures that I found (on the internet) of a haboob in Arizona (or it could be different ones, but they are both from Arizona).  I remember that you had mentioned them in class one day and i also heard it mentioned on the weather channel like last summer or something like that, so i was curious as to what they looked like.  I  think that the pictures look a bit daunting and nifty/interesting at the same time." Firstly, props to you for catching the power vocabulary word "haboob", which is a type of dust storm that occurs as part of the outflow of a thunderstorm!  (4/3/08)
  • Divine sent in four pictures from his Spring Break service trip to New Orleans.  However, there was some problem with the email message and only one of the pictures turned out okay.  This one picture, though, really gives you a sense that the New Orleans area really has a lot of work to do still.  (4/3/08)
  • Lydia snapped five pictures (1 2 3 4 5) of clouds over Easter Break.  What kinds of clouds do you think these are?  (4/3/08)
  • According to Sabrina, "While I was driving along I-29 between Omaha and Sioux Falls I saw clouds formed along the ground. These pictures are my attempt to capture the phenomenon."  This is really quite interesting, Sabrina.  Clearly, some kind of fog layer is forming.  There are lots of ways in which fog can form, but I'm guessing that this is an example of "advection fog", meaning that warm, moist air is moving over colder ground.  The temperatures of the air fall and the air becomes saturated.  These are some of my favorite pictures ever on The Storm Cellar, so thank you for sending them.  (4/3/08)
  • Niki wrote, "I was in Deshler over Easter weekend.  I took this photo of the only visible damage remaining from the tornado outbreak in June 2003. Pretty much everything else has either been demolished or rebuilt."  That's interesting stuff!  (4/3/08)
  • Divine always somehow manages to find the SMALLEST pictures of weather phenomena on the internet!  :-)  (3/21/08)
  • Niki sent in this interesting sunset, taken from her deck.  She also wrote, "Here is a cloud from this evening that looks to me like an open box."  Okay, I have to admit that I don't see it, but meteorologists are notoriously bad at finding shapes in clouds!  (03/21/08) UPDATE:  Niki sent a "marked up" version of the picture, and now I definitely DO see it!  Thanks!
  • Caitlin wrote, "Here are a couple of pictures that I took from a flight from Omaha to Denver, This is a sweet angle to look at cumulus clouds from! They look like cotton balls."  I agree; meteorologists also request "window seats" for just that reason!  :-)  (3/18/08)
  • I'm WAAAYYY behind on posting pictures that students have sent in, and I apologize for that.  Here's 5 small pictures from Hurricane Katrina, sent in by Divine.  He was inspired to send in these images because he worked in New Orleans on a Spring Break service trip.  (3/18/08)
  • More stuff from Christina K.:  "The first 2 pictures are from this past fall when a storm was coming into Omaha, taken from the 9th floor of Swanson. This is one of the angriest skies I've ever seen! (though I don't think any huge storm came of it)  The third picture is of a sunrise, taken from the 8th floor of Swanson. I thought the clouds were interesting because it looked like there were 2 layers that were completely different.  The fourth picture was taken from an airplane when I was coming back from Japan a couple years ago. I used to call clouds like this "popcorn clouds", but now I know there is a more technical term. :)"  (2/25/08)
  • Here's what Christina K. had to say about these pictures.  "This first picture I took on a flight between Denver and Burbank, CA. I thought it was really cool to be between the layers of clouds and be able to see the difference.  The second and third were taken on the same flight, over the Sierra Mountains. I love when there are patterns in the clouds!  The fourth picture was a rainy day in Arizona when there were rainbows everywhere.  These pictures were taken at the end of November last year."  (2/25/08)
  • Here's what Irene had to say about these pictures.  "I took both of these pictures on the same day, obviously at different times but on the first picture I loved how you could see the layers in the clouds and how it seemed to be a really nice day even though it was mostly cloudy all day.  On the other picture you can see the streaks from jets which is what we discussed in class the other day."  Actually, not quite.  What you are seeing on the second picture would be CONTRAILS, which are caused by jets.  What we were talking about in class were JET STREAMS, which are a weather features.  I'll make sure that we are clear about the difference in class on Tuesday.  (2/25/08)
  • Divine sent in more pictures, this time of tornadoes: 1 2 3 4 (2/25/08)
  • Divine has contributed some really interesting pictures of tornado damage: 1 2 3 Where did these pictures come from, Divine?  Are these the recent storms in the Midwest?  (2/13/08)
  • Michelle sent in this cool picture of a tornado on the ground, and she wrote "I thought this would be relevant to what we were discussing in class, about low pressure systems. this photo was taken right outside of my friends house one summer during a tornado right outside of Rockyford, South Dakota."  Wait, what?  Did your friend did this picture?  That's awesome!  Tell us more!  (2/9/08)
  • Lydia probably took these pictures of clouds herself.  She described the clouds as being "different looking".  I like that--she's interested in the clouds and noticing them.  (2/9/08)
  • Irene points out that this picture was one of the nicest skies she has ever seen.  (1/29/08)
  • Lucille sent in this picture of clouds taken from her dorm room window.  (1/29/08)
  • This is interesting.  Laura writes, "These are super cool pictures of clouds I took while I was digging in Alaska this summer.  One is of Mount Edgecumbe, an old extinct volcano in view of Sitka (where I was), and the other was taken while on top of Harbor Mountain around 11:00pm because it was around the summer solstice in the far north.  I don't know what these clouds are called, but maybe I'll learn!"  You sure will!  Thanks for these pictures!  (1/29/08)
  • Katrina writes, "Once more, while I know you appreciate pictures of clouds in the shape of something specific, I am currently lacking such photos.  However, I do have some pictures of clouds at my family's farm right before a storm, which I found very pretty."  Here are her pix:  1 2 3 Where is your family's farm, Katrina?  (1/29/08)
  • Holy cow!  Michelle sent in no fewer than NINETEEN pictures of clouds!  Here they are: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19.  It's almost too much of a good thing!  (1/29/08)
  • Krissa sent in these two (1 2) pictures of clouds in Colorado.  I love stuff like this; these are EXACTLY the kinds of things I'm looking for!  (1/29/08)
  • This is interesting.  Caity writes, "I went to New Orleans last year and I took this picture of what used to be a house. It amazing of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. This isn't weather necessarily but it's ironic and it happened because of the Hurricane, so I want to submit it to the Storm Cellar." (1/29/08)
  • Katrina writes:  "While I know you appreciate pictures of clouds in the shape of something specific, I am currently lacking such photos.  However, I do have some pictures of clouds which I found pretty and thus photographed on my last airplane ride." Actually, Katrina, these pictures are PERFECT--I love stuff like this!  (1/17/08)
  • Laura didn't TAKE this picture, but it is a particularly cool example of an image of the auroras.  She asked me if it was okay to send in images found online; as a general rule, I prefer pictures that YOU or YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY took, but if the picture is particularly relevant to what we are studying at the time, it's not a problem.  Laura also sent in one of the strangest things I've ever seen--I'm not sure what to make of this, frankly, but it's interesting.  (1/16/08)
  • ATS 113 has barely started and already we are off to a great start with The Storm Cellar.  Miguel has submitted a number of interesting pictures that he has taken: (1/16/08)
    • Miguel writes:  "Attached are Texas Hill Country autumn storm photos from Horseshoe Bay, Lake LBJ, west of Austin. In the black and white the dots above the lightning cloud are stars. I'm sorry for the poor quality on that one... I did not have a tripod so its pretty mediocre."  Here they are:  1 2 3 --I think that they are great!
    • Miguel writes that these are of "daybreak in the Gulf of Mexico and sunset over the Sacramento bridge."  Here they are:  1 2
    • Miguel writes that there are of "Sunrise and rain from 2 blocks southwest of the Old Market. For the rain I used an old-fashioned flash bulb technique.  The lightning is from northwest of McGloin hall, visible in the foreground on the right."  These are pretty cool!  1 2 3 4

     

  • Images of colored lightning such as this one are always faked.  The image was produced by exposing the film for a long time, placing colored gels in front of the lens at different intervals.
  • Here is a nice picture of multiple waterspouts.  Waterspouts are not a severe weather phenomenon--they form under ordinary cumulus clouds under the right conditions.

 

 

 

 

Jon Schrage schragej@gmail.com