Atmosphere Goes Nuts

"QUANTUM SHOT" #8 Link - article by Avi Abrams Epic pictures of extreme weather instability We'll start with a pretty well-known shot of a wicked storm front, approaching over the sea. Apparently, this is a tropical cyclone "Graham" forming over the Pacific Ocean (off the northeast coast of Australia): (image credit: Steve Todd) Sandstorms in Iraq are quite a common occurrence; though not everyone knows that the similar storms also frequently happen in Arizona. They are called Haboobs and are quite an awesome sight to observe (from a good distance): (images via) This photograph taken Arizona shows the sandstorm blowing over the mountain range - you can see how small the mountains appear compared to that humongous wave of sand: Read more info about sand- and dust- storms (with many mind-boggling pictures) in our DRB article Dust Storms. Certainly less threatening than a wall of sand, but almost as fascinating is "an ocean of fog". Here is an interesting phenomena of thick morning fog blanketing skyscrapers of Dubai: (images credit: Harry Lambert) "Extreme Instability" hovers over plain old prairie landscape The following mind-boggling pictures are courtesy North-American tornado-chasers site Extreme Instabillity. Check out their incredible photo galleries: (images credit: Mike Hollingshead, Extreme Instability) These guys update the site every storm season with new epic photos. Another mesmerizing site that documents the evolution of storms is work of Ryan McGinnis - the images below are from a single day of storm-chasing (more info): (photos courtesy Ryan McGinnis and Mike Hollingshead, Extreme instability) Here is a pretty cool effect: these light beams appear to be rising from the ground, when in reality they are shining down, of course: Rare, streamlined stratospheric clouds A spectacular cloud appears in Antarctica, formed by extreme weather conditions: a "polar stratospheric cloud", streamlined by fierce stratospheric winds of more than 230 kilometers per hour: (image credit: Sydney Morning Herald) And now... after all this spectacular turmoil and unrest, here is a picture of perfect peace and tranquility to rest your eyes (photo by Paul Kopeikin): (photo courtesy Paul Kopeikin) Article by Avi Abrams, Dark Roasted Blend. CONTINUE TO "LENTICULAR CLOUDS GALLERY" See our "EXTREME WEATHER" category for more!