Thunderstorm Over Lake Erie

We decided to go for a walk at Mentor Headlands State Park on the dunes trail. The sun was shining as we entered the parking lot but we noticed a patch of dark clouds looking over Lake Erie to the west. We were on the dunes trail for only a few minutes when we heard loud thunder and turned to see that the dark clouds had ballooned into a very large thunderstorm. Here’s a photo, taken from the dunes trail, looking west.(Click in image for a larger view.)

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Thunderhead Rising

Thunderstorms moved in to Lake County Ohio this afternoon. I found myself momentarily between storm cells which allowed me to grab this photo of a thunderhead forming to the northwest, likely right off the lake shore. (Click on the photo for the full size.) 

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Thunderstorm Clouds Over Lake Erie

A thunderstorm popped up on Lake Erie just north of Mentor, and the billowing cloud tops were very visible from nearby higher elevations. After getting a photo of the clouds that were quickly rising in the sky, I decided to stop by Mentor Headlands Beach State Park to see if I could get a better view from the lake shore. Sadly, the cloud tops weren’t very visible from that vantage point, but I managed to get a few interesting photos of the storm as it continued to brew over the lake.

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The Birth of a Cumulonimbus and an Orange Sky

Strong storms moved through the area yesterday, and one that formed in Ashtabula county, which is just east of us, was clearly visible from our home in Lake County. That storm produced a cumulonimbus cloud which was beginning to form an anvil as it moved out of our range of view. The cloud top grew so large that even though the storm was moving into Pennsylvania while the sun was setting here, the sunlight reflected off the cloud top, creating a completely orange sky that was reported visible throughout most of Lake County and parts of the metro Cleveland area. Here are some photos, from beginning to end.

















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Weather Photos

I've always enjoyed taking pictures. One of my favorite subjects is weather phenomenon. The only problem - weather is one of those things where you have to be in the right place at the right time to get the right shot.

I was going through some older photos the other day and decided to collect all my weather photos in one place. I actually found a few decent shots that I thought I'd share. Here they are!

This photo of a shelf cloud was taken in Sioux Falls, SD in 2003. We were on our way to Yellowstone and happened to catch this storm passing through from our hotel window.

This huge thunderhead was taken during the return trip from Yellowstone, in Rapid City, SD. It was a hude storm that we had heard had eventually spawned a tornado.

Lightning photos are my favorite, but they can be hard to catch. One needs a safe place and a good, open view. This one was taken with an older digital camera that allowed for very long exposures.

This one was taken in August of 1995 with my 35mm film camera. I think I exposed it for about one minute to get all these lightning strikes.

This bubbling cloud was taken in July of 2007. A huge storm formed east of us in Ashtabula County, OH., as the sun was low in the sky. As a result, the clouds have a yellow glow.

Enjoy!

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