Watching a Storm from Behind
Avatar

Watching a Storm from Behind

by Michiel Baatsen

When approaching a supercell thunderstorm, one usually tends to approach it from the front side to be able to view the inflow structures and a possible tornado. In this case, however, a nocturnal supercell was a prolific lightning producer and kept on throwing out strikes on its rear side. This gave us a unique view from the backside of the storm within a beautiful surrounding landscape. Looking straight into the main precipitation core, a lightning strike nicely lightens convective towers on the flanking line of the storm which the rain is trying to undercut. Meanwhile, passing cars on a winding road through the hills provide a peaceful foreground to the violence in the distence