Wandering the web and bumped into some storm photos from a while ago in Pensacola Florida. Never seen anything like this, and if I was under it, I'd be pretty intimidated. Definitely time to go indoors. (don't know what the heck these people are waiting for)

 

And imagine flying through that.......

 

 

 

 

Scared?  I would gather around the flag pole like the people in the lower left of your last photo. :rolleyes:

Uh, uh. That things like having a City Destroyer from Independance Day hanging over you.

That's a storm wall cloud. Not that unusual. Here's more pics: https://www.google.com/search?q=storm+wall+clouds&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gdVkU5vNDa238gHE3IDIAw&ved=0CFgQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=992

Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Beautiful to watch in the Summer

That's a storm wall cloud. Not that unusual. Here's more pics: https://www.google.com/search?q=storm+wall+clouds&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gdVkU5vNDa238gHE3IDIAw&ved=0CFgQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=992

 

Never seen them before. Not even on the weather channel.  :blush:

I grew up in west central Indiana and I saw one of those when I was a teenager. I was playing baseball (high school team). On a mostly clear day a wall cloud came over the western horizon. The temperature was around 80F. We all just stood and watched in awe as it approached. The wind picked up and it got so dusty it was difficult to see. The temperature dropped 40 degrees in about two minutes and it got so dark it was hard to find our way to the gymnasium which was about 300 feet away. We were wet, muddy and being pelted by hail by the time we made it inside. By the time the team got showered and ready to leave it was already starting to clear up! Needless to say that left quite a lasting impression.

 

 

 

Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Beautiful to watch in the Summer

 

I spent a summer living with my grandparent south of Sebring Florida. Those afternoon thunderstorms were a very predictable happening. You could set your watch by them. Thunder, lightning and rain coming down in buckets. Twenty minutes and it would stop and thirty minutes it would be dry like nothing happened except humid like a jungle.

 

Regards,

Mel

I was just researching on Google and it says that Rwanda and Congo (Central Africa) Region gets more lightening then Florida and Florida is #2 Region in the world.....I did not know that

 

 

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/396081main_lightning-map.jpg

 

http://geology.com/articles/lightning-map.shtml

 

 

Rwanda and Congo (Central Africa) Region gets more lightening then Florida

 

I think I'll just stay closer to home and be satisfied with that. Sometimes being #2 has its upside. One of the things I loved growing up in Indiana was the summers isolated thunder head 'anvils' that would float by in the evenings. When the sun was well to the west near sundown the clouds would be lighted by the sun in beautiful peach, white, and dark blue colors. I used to sit and watch the lightning dance around the anvils and from cloud to cloud. We don't see that very often here in northwest Ohio because of lake Erie and the different weather pattern the lake helps generate - the lake effect. BTW, my wife thinks I'm nuts. When we have a lightning storm I like to sit and watch, her and the cats run and hide.

 

Mel

Well, cats don't like fireworks......  ^_^

 

 

Well, cats don't like fireworks...... ^_^

 

Getting off topic but hey what the _ _. There are three cats that own us. All three like food, sleep, my house plants and the litter box in that order. Two hide when they see their own shadow. The other was an outdoor young kitten when she adopted me. She sits and watches cat TV all day and most of the night (watches out a window). She hangs out and watches the light shows with me. The only thing that scares her are the grand kids. Got to get the popcorn ready, we are due for some thunder storms over the next few days.

 

Regards,

Mel

Well, bringing it partially back on topic, how come cats know to go to ground with something like that overhead, while humans stand around waiting to be knocked out cold by golf-ball sized hail?

 

 

Well, bringing it partially back on topic, how come cats know to go to ground with something like that overhead, while humans stand around waiting to be knocked out cold by golf-ball sized hail?

 

Partially is close enough for me Devon! :Big Grin:

 

Humans, for better or worse, go on cognitive thinking and post event evaluation of their thinking, . . . . . . THUD! Ouch! Gee I'd better find some cover the next time. A large part of most animals survival depends on 'knowing' without thinking as in the fight or flight instinct. Yes, it does make one wonder why some humans don't exhibit very good thinking about such things. It does prove that survival of the fittest (mentally) doesn't always apply.

 

I have witnessed birds and other animals literally disappear into hiding or running for cover well ahead of approaching nasty weather. As much as I enjoy watching the weather we've been discussing, I really prefer to do it from indoors. You will not see me out in a open field holding a long piece of copper pipe up in the air just so I can see the lightning up real close or climbing a tree to better view the approaching storm. No brains needed for that, and isn't it odd that that same quality is also responsible for people looking up into a hail storm? I should add that I never chase storms like some do. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I did catch it.

 

Reminds me of golf. Human lightning roads out there for the purpose of attracting the lightning in order to spare the well manicured trees.

 

Back on topic: Well somewhat anyway. As I have said, I grew up in Indiana, have watched many tornadoes from a safe place and distance. That said, the worst I have ever seen was right here where I live now. My wife and I were at her fathers house on the other side of our small town. A storm blew in from the southwest. The clouds were low and dark with a tremendous amount of up and down draft. The tornado sirens went off (that happens even if a sighting is 40 miles away in the southern part of the county), my wife, father in law and I were at the back door looking to the west. Suddenly the clouds turned dark green and nearly black. I told my wife and her dad to go to the basement. She asked "why?", I said "don't ask, go!". One minute later a tornado went by us a mile south of town. That tornado destroyed several hangars and aircraft at KDTZ. The local school, the township offices, the fire department and 10 of the 12 township police vehicles and all of the EMT vehicles. It also destroyed numerous business and farms. It also destroyed the northwest corner of the neighboring community of Millbury. Worst of all there were lives lost. The only good thing was that it was after school hours or the loss of lives would have been horrific. I do love watching the bad weather and I don't fear it, but I do have a very very healthy respect for it. It is awesome and it is dangerous. BTW for those who don't know - "clouds turned dark green and nearly black" the dark green is caused by vegetation being ripped up and drawn up into the clouds. Side note; I saw a video of a tornado that struck a large greenhouse full of red tulips, the funnel cloud turned red then turned green as it got back over green vegetation.

 

Best regards,

Mel

 

 

BTW for those who don't know - "clouds turned dark green and nearly black" the dark green is caused by vegetation being ripped up and drawn up into the clouds. Side note; I saw a video of a tornado that struck a large greenhouse full of red tulips, the funnel cloud turned red then turned green as it got back over green vegetation.

 

Dark green? How about this?  :blink: (note the human stands around taking pictures while i bet every animal in the area went to ground)

 

Yikes! Thanks for the video Devon. I've seen smaller much less threatening versions of that from a heat created vortex above grass fires. Dust devils were also pretty common. We used to run and try to get in those, off to see the wizard you know - no joy - just eyes and hair full of dust. The video reminds me of some horrible end of it all, doomsday Science Fiction movie.

 

 

 

note the human stands around taking pictures while i bet every animal in the area went to ground

 

Did you notice that Mr. Tangeys face appeared to be a bit toasty looking?

 

Human; Hey look at that, let's put marsh mellows on our heads and see how close we can get.

 

Animal; Flee for your lives!!!!!!!!!!

 

People like these are the ones who decided we are the most intelligent specie? I think we should admit it may still be up for debate. It is biased to say the least, that we as a species set the criteria for what smart is then say yep we got more of that, we win.

 

Regards,

Mel