Friday, June 18, 2010

An impressive storm and the ensuing rainbow

web_pano
Click for full panorama. | These shots are from a few weeks ago - Saturday, June 5 - when Brevard County was hit by a few strong thunderstorms. Since then, there hasn't been too much activity. I'm hoping that changes. Without lightning, Florida is a bore. The above is a panorama stitched together from 11 photos of a storm as it blew over the Pineda Causeway just north of Melbourne.

web_boat_pinedastormrainbow_0001_2777
A boat motored under the causeway as I pulled to the roadside.

web_shelfcloud_pinedarainbow_0019_2778
Heavy rain falls near downtown Melbourne. I was fortunate to avoid most of the rain on the northern end of the thunderstorm.

web_causeway_pinedarainbow_0020_2779
Most of these shots look westward toward the mainland.

web_verticalfront_pinedarainbow_0022_2780
The view down the Indian River toward Melbourne.

web_lightningrain_pinedarainbow_0042_2781
Lightning was striking near the bright portions of these photos. The bolts were shrouded by rain, though, and they didn't show up.

web_horizon_pinedarainbow_0070_2782
This is the solitary shot I took from the causeway that looks eastward at Merritt Island as the storm reaches the horizon.

web_rollfeature_rainbow_0091_2783
A rolling cloud feature.

web_pano2_rainbow
This three-image stitch shows the rat tail.

web_lightning_rainbow_0097_2784
A little lightning. As the storm passed, I huddled under the boardwalk over a sand dune to the beach at Patrick Air Force Base, which is at the end of the Pineda Causeway.

web_palmtree_rainbow_0143_2785
Later in the day, conditions were perfect for a rainbow: sun low in the sky, dark background from the distant storm. Sure enough, one formed over the Atlantic.

web_seaoat_rainbow_0145_2786
The thing I like about rainbows is that the lighting is often just perfect for photos: The sun is always directly behind you, providing sufficient light for the foreground and the background.

web_rainbowpatrickbeach_rainbowstorm_0151_2744
Lightning was striking inside the storm behind the rainbow. But I wasn't fortunate enough to catch both weather phenomena in one shot.

web_rainbowbirds_rainbow_0164_2787
Brown pelicans enjoy an oil-free Atlantic Ocean.

No comments: