Sunday, April 26, 2009

Weather Pics with a Twist

What did you see when you looked to the sky today?

Today while visiting family in Linn County, Iowa, the skies grew dark and ominous. The air was heavy and we anticipated violent weather.
My sister and I were on our way between her home and my husband's folks when we saw a lowering in the clouds. There was circulation in the clouds. Then I sighted a small triangular shape protrude from the bottom of the clouds. The funnel continued to grow as we neared my in-laws. I called Hubby on my cell phone to let him know what was happening. Just as we were pulling into the drive I remembered my camera that I always carry in my purse.

This was what we saw looking north from my in-law's driveway. The little black blurs in the sky are birds.

I continued to take shots, but the funnel seemed to go apart. That must have been temporary. According to news reports, the funnel touched down just moments later, but we couldn't see it anymore because of the trees. Fortunately, no one was injured.
It seemed like the twister was very close - maybe about a mile or so away, but Hubby figured out that it was probably about four miles away when I took these pictures.

When the local weather settled down, we headed for home which is about 100 miles west. The sky was very beautiful as we started, but we had to pit stop for about 45 minutes when we were half way home because of the heavy rain.
It's great to be home listening to the rain and the thunder.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first picture looks very nice !

jgr said...

YIKEs! I'm glad you made it through that with no casualties. Tornadoes are so frightening, but the pics are great! It's good to be prepared with the camera.

-jane

Beverley Baird said...

What awesome clouds. This is one of my favourite things to photograph.
Glad that you weren't hit by the tornado. What strange weather we are experiencing tho.
Take care.

Tabitha the KnittingJourneyman said...

Wow-at least the funnel didn't hurt anyone-nor did it get any closer to you.
Great pictures too!

Ascender Rises Above said...

I grew up in Iowa so this caught my attention; and took me down memory lane. Spent some time looking at your work - though not quite sure what city you live in. I noticed your swinging bridge studio link has a bad link to it; an extra http.

Fannie said...

incredible photos, regina! thanks for sharing.