Category: Lightning

Water in the desert

It has been a wet autumn with precipitation amounts well above average for both the month and season. This has resulted in water flowing in some of the small seeps, springs, and streams in the Red Rock country of Arizona.

After a trail run earlier last week to view the water in the desert I returned a second time with photographic intentions. I was particularly interested in the tinajas located in a small side canyon. There had been running water—albeit a slow trickle—on that first trip and I was interested in capturing images of the water.

Brilliant blue skies above a series of small tinajas. The largest tinaja at the base of the pouroff is aboutĀ 2 metersĀ in diameter.
Brilliant blue skies above a series of small tinajas. The largest tinaja at the base of the pouroff is aboutĀ 2 metersĀ in diameter.

Although only a few days had passed between trips the flow of water had noticeably diminished; it will likely take another substantial rain event to bring the water levels back.

Sky and trees are reflected in the tinaja.
Sky and trees are reflected in the tinaja.

Even so, the tinaja was still full of clear water and made for an excellent subject with bright sunlight in the morning and soft shadows in the afternoon.

A water seep in the wall allows ferns to grow---and a small tree as well.
A water seep in the wall allows ferns to grow—and a small tree as well.

Farther up the side canyon was this wall with a water seep that allows a few ferns to take hold and grow. While this is fairly common, the tree growing out of the ferns is decidely less so.

An evening of spectacular lightning and a colorful sunset

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The weather situation was shaping up to produce a few late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms in northern Arizona—with a good chance some of these would be in the Sedona area. Shooting lighting there is always fun as there are many fantastic rock formations that can be part of the foreground.

With that in mind, we took a quick drive down to Sedona and set up at the Cultural Park on the west side of town. This location affords excellent views from the west through north and includes the Cockscomb rock formation. Thunderstorms were developing to our west and moving to the northeast so it was just a matter of being patient. The first storm slowly moved away but not before producing some bolts with the Cockscomb and Bear Mountain as a backdrop.

Lightning over the Dry Creek basin in Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning over the Dry Creek basin in Sedona, Arizona.

Additional thunderstorms began to develop.

Lightning and sunset colors over Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning and sunset colors over Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning and sunset colors over Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning and sunset colors over Sedona, Arizona.

As the sun dropped below the distant mountains the lightning show began in earnest with brilliant bolts juxtaposed with sunset colors. It was amazing. But it didn’t last long as the sunset colors quickly faded.

Edit: Fixed typo.

Twilight lightning over the Grand Canyon

I never tire of traveling to Grand Canyon in hopes of capturing some amazing photographs of rainbows, thunderstorms, or lightning. Here are a few recent images showing how inspiring the weather can be at Grand Canyon.

Twilight lightning near Grand Canyon.
Twilight lightning near Grand Canyon.

Storms had quickly weakened and dissipated during the late afternoon and I was about to pack my gear and head home when a small thunderstorm began to develop north of Grand Canyon. As the sun dropped below the horizon leaving only the upper portions of the storm bathed in soft light this lightning bolt sparked from the anvil region and moved through clear air before striking the Vermillion cliffs in the distance.

Another day brought numerous showers moving across the canyon…

Rain showers sweeping across Grand Canyon.
Rain showers sweeping across Grand Canyon.

…with a few lightning strikes in the canyon.

Lightning strikes in Grand Canyon.
Lightning strikes in Grand Canyon.

Then, to finish the day, there was this partial rainbow with supernumeraries.

Partial rainbow with supernumerary.
Partial rainbow with supernumerary.

Understandably, some visitors may be unhappy with the less-than-perfect weather during their visit to Grand Canyon but I couldn’t be happier.

Lightning, rainbows, and clouds across northern Arizona

July has turned out to be a good month for photographing weather across northern Arizona. For a few days in the middle of the month I was able to capture images of lightning, rainbows, and colorful clouds at sunset near Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

The conditions on 13 July 2015 were about perfect for late afternoon photography. Deep moisture was present across the eastern half of Arizona while very dry air persisted across the west. This allowed storms to form over the eastern half of the state while clear skies allowed the setting sun to shine brightly on the landscape near Sedona.

Visible satellite image showing clouds across eastern Arizona and clear skies across western Arizona.
Visible satellite image showing clouds across eastern Arizona and clear skies across western Arizona.

Cathedral Rock was nicely illuminated by the setting sun and shafts of rain caught the sunset colors. A faint rainbow was also present adding an additional dimension to the scene.

Lightning flashes behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning flashes behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning and a partial rainbow frame Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning and a partial rainbow frame Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

After the sun set, I repositioned so that I could catch twilight colors in the western sky and lightning from additional storms. In the background can be seen the highly textured shape of the Cockscomb.

Lightning splits the sky behind the Cockscomb in Sedona, Arizona.
Lightning splits the sky behind the Cockscomb in Sedona, Arizona.

The next day proved to be difficult for lightning photographs but the sunset colors on the clouds over Cathedral Rock were very dramatic.

The setting sun lights up the anvil of a thunderstorm behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.
The setting sun lights up the anvil of a thunderstorm behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

Sensing a need for a different location, I travelled to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon a few days later (16 July) hoping to get some lightning photos over the canyon. The atmosphere had stabilized some and storms were much weaker and very little lightning was observed.

Visible satellite image showing a decrease in storm activity compared to previous days.
Visible satellite image showing a decrease in storm activity compared to previous days.

Consolation prize was a partial rainbow over the Canyon.

A partial rainbow over the Grand Canyon.
A partial rainbow over the Grand Canyon.

A very nice consolation photo, indeed!

Rainbows and lightning in the Arizona Desert

Over the weekend tropical moisture and an area of low pressure interacted to produce showers and thunderstorms—and even a few severe thunderstorms—across northern Arizona. A quick look at satellite and radar data convinced me it was worthwhile to drive down the hill from Flagstaff to Sedona to capture some lightning photos.

A rainbow arcs across the skies of Sedona and in front of Cathedral Rock.
A rainbow arcs across the skies of Sedona and in front of Cathedral Rock.

Light rain began to fall as I approached my first photo location and a horizon-to-horizon rainbow appeared. As I arrived, the southern end was quickly fading while overhead and to the north the rainbow remained brilliant. And, then, for just a brief moment, the southern end brightened again and a swath of color painted itself across Cathedral Rock. In another moment it was gone. Note, also, that there is a supernumerary rainbow visible in a portion of the bow. Supernumeraries are the closely spaced greenish purple arcs on the inner side of the primary bow.

Lightning and sunset colors over the Verde Valley.
Lightning and sunset colors over the Verde Valley.

As these storms moved to the northwest it was time to reposition and hope for some lightning. The first image shows a thunderstorm moving across the Verde Valley and the storm is lit up from below by the lights in the town of Cottonwood. Sunset colors are still faintly visible in the west and stars can also be seen. This was followed by a bolt with numerous downward stepped leaders and a brilliant return stroke.

Lightning bolt with numerous branches.
Lightning bolt with numerous branches.

Not too bad!