AccuWeather.com Photo Gallery: 2007-May-31 Mushroom Image

2007-May-31 Mushroom

Description: We were chasing several cells in a line of storms from southwest of Elkhart, KS to east of Guymon, OK. One of these cells had a persistent funnel that tried to touch down several times but never quite managed it. There was tremendous updraft and cloud rotation most of the time during the chase, which lasted over four hours. Late in the chase, the cell of interest morphed into this mushroom. Since the entire cell wouldn`t fit into a single frame on my camera, I stitched two frames together into this panorama. It`s far from perfect, but you get the idea!

Date Taken: 5/31/2007
Views: 336898
City: Guymon

State: oklahoma
Zipcode:
Country: United States

Comments (Login to leave a comment)

Dude, it`s pretty close to perfect! Thanks! -- weathermatrix

Fantastic picture!!! -- Elaine

I only wish we had storms like this in PA -- johnstownwildfire

Like a beautful painting! -- spitzbergler

Thank you all for your kind comments. As is often the case, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. -- KingKey

Nice catch keep shooting -- StreetRanger

awesome!! our weather is so boring in ohio that i could cry when i see this. it gives me an adreneline rush. -- tzar6751

An outstanding shot of what will probably be a once in a lifetime moment -- naturesmasterpieces

I hope it`s not only once in a lifetime, but yeah, you`re probably right. It`s not often that something like that happens, and the chances of me being there when it does are mighty slim! I`ll be back in Tornado Alley chasing once again next May, though, so you never know... -- KingKey

Masterful! Thanks for sharing. -- deltaqueen

There has to be a Mother Ship in there somewhere! -- snookbee

E.T. --- bring an umbrella!!! -- KingKey

Beautiful photo. The wonders of God are something to behold! -- FreedomWalker

How come we never see clouds like this in PA. Are you a storm chaser. This is really beautiful, but what is it a thunderstorm or tornado in birth stage -- karentoth

I am a storm chaser for one month each year... typically each May. This cell is one at the end of a chase. A few hours earlier, this one --- or one similar to it in the line of storms that we were chasing --- tried to drop a funnel but couldn`t quite manage it. When a cell such as this one turns HP, or high precipitation, it more than likely will not spawn a tornado afterwards. So in answer to your question, I guess you could say it`s a tornado in death stage. -- KingKey

Great picture, I like the magic of the storm! -- jenicri

Nice photo! Makes me think of home. I grew up on a farm west of Turpin and I really miss the sky and cloud formations I was able to witness growing up. Almost every sunset was picture perfect and the storms were awesome! -- spitstickler

Is that Turpin, OK? We have been near there many times! In fact, I think I have a picture around here somewhere that I took in Hooker, OK, just west of there. The photo is of a sign that directed folks to the Hooker Baptist Church. Needless to say, that one got a few snickers! -- KingKey

i never get storms like this. awesome pics!!! -- wwjd_judson

I like your mushroom. I have a question, is it possible to see such a cloud formation in the Northeast -- jodimiller

Hi I am part of Penns Woods Project. PWP is a club for any child who wants to join. I am in homeschcooling, and I want you to know that we thank you for sharing your picure with us. Just so you know your picture is being used educational needs. Children across the globe will be viewing yuor pictures. And we also encourage everyone to rate the pictures they view. This is one great picture.Thanks so much. -- jodimiller

Thank you so much for your compliments and for the knowledge that my photo might in some small way help towards educating people about weather. As for your question, I would say that it is possible, theoretically, that you could see something like this in the Northeast, but it is unlikely. It`s more likely to happen in the Central Plains area than any other, but even there it is rare to see something like this. That`s why I am so pleased that I got this picture! -- KingKey

Mr. Kingkey I love your glasses, you look like Indiana Jones, question how wide is this storm. -- jodimiller

This is an amazing shot! Well captured!! -- zobo

Realy great picture. !!!! -- ls88898

Thank you zobo! And stop that, jodimilller! You`re gonna make me blush! Sorry, but I never got to see a radar image of the system, so I don`t know the actual size of the storm. It was quite a distance away, though... -- KingKey

Very awesome picture! -- lem3rd

THIS PHOTO IS NOW FEATURED IN - FRIDAY FEATURED PHOTOS - FIND MORE ABOUT IT AT http://tinyurl.com/3329yf RADAR LOOPS ARE INCLUDED! -- weathermatrix

FYI - I loved this shot so much that it became my desktop background on my computer at work. Great job! -- laelaz

Unbelievable. Do you give lessons? Do you have a physical gallery? Everyone of your photos is truly a masterpiece. P.S. I like your glasses, too. -- cschaar

Man, what is it about my cheap old glasses? ---lol--- Anyway, thanks for the compliments, everybody! In answer to your question, cschaar, no, I don`t give lessons. I`m still trying to learn about photography myself! As for the physical gallery, your flattery will get you everywhere! No gallery, though several friends are trying to get me to put out a coffee table book. My response was... Do people use coffee tables anymore? And does anybody actually LOOK at coffee table books??? -- KingKey

SO this cloud could be a tornado, it should be right. -- tweety

Well, no. It could have generated a tornado earlier, but never quite succeeded. At this point, however, it is dumping all of that rain that you see. As a result, the whole cell has cooled tremendously, so there is no updraft that would be required for a funnel to develop. -- KingKey

Hey Kingkey post a link here for your picture on N.G. you go dude... Women of American this man, take a good look, all Ameircan breed, down to earth, loves kids, only hang up, is in to chasing storms that can cause damage and pain. Hey we love ya anyway. -- jodimiller

America vote... this picture rocks -- karentoth

Well, I was a little hesitant to post it because of the folks here that tend to rate photos low just for the fun of it, but okay, here goes nothing. Go to this link: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/yourshot/voting-machine.html Select November and Week 2. You will have to rate each of the other photos before you get to mine. PLEASE give me a good rating, and give fair ratings to the other photos too! I think it would be AMAZING to be published in National Geographic! Thanks for your help! -- KingKey

You got my vote in both places, and I give your cloud a 5, even though I know that this cloud has caused damage to homes and people. Like I said before, you guys that storm chase, I dont hate you but do you know how we feel those who have to live in the midwest. I look up and see a blue sky and say thanks God, I see a cloud like this and I am to say thanks Go dfor this cloud but why when all it does is cause damge and death. It is so beautiful, kind of like a rose, beautiful b it canmake u bleed -- natasha

Actually, Natasha, this cloud did no damage other than a lot of rain in a few spots. There were no tornadoes generated by this system. And actually, let`s think about it... If I stop chasing, will that stop the storms from happening? I love to watch what Mother Nature does, whether it is a rainbow or a hailstorm, a sunset or a tornado. -- KingKey

And because of the efforts of many chasers --- our group included --- local residents are made aware of tornadoes much more quickly because we notify the authorities of what is happening. I live in Hurricane Alley, Natasha, so I understand what you are saying, but I don`t make the storms happen simply because I chase. I watch them, try to understand them better and stand in awe of the beauty of it... all of it. -- KingKey

Hey, thank you! Yes, a slightly cleaned up version of this photo --- one that I went back and re-stitched to correct for lens distortion --- is in the November, 2007 competition for user-submitted photos. If I am very fortunate, the shot will be included in a future issue of National Geographic Magazine. -- KingKey

Homework picture 4 Jodi, I feel we should include this one as well, because it will be on National TV soon. It seems this lcoud is being called a mushroom but thats not the real name. We have 1 week for students nationwide and global to respond, by listing the name of cloud below. After a week someone will tell us the real name of cloud formation. I think it is Altoccumulus altum and cumulus meaning height and heaped -- karentoth

it has to be a combination of stratocumulus and nimbostratus of structure. There is some orogrphic going on as well with the formation, this is the theory of how cloud formations like this one live and breath. It is the cloud cycle. -- jodimiller

The shaft is only rain not the cloud so, stratocumulus lacunosus -- BMB

cumullonimbus with cirriform -- kingcobra

We are going to leave the window open for one more week. Children get it together, come on, Jesse will provide the answers next Friday.Karen good try maybe your right maybe your way off base. Maybe Kingkey can give you a small hint! Jodi maybe your on to something, again I call upom Kingkey, is she close? BMB The cloud itself is H2O right? Kingcobra - cirriform... -- johnstownwildfire

To be honest, I do not know. I am not a meteorologist, nor have I studied to be one. My degree is actually in Electrical Engineering. I can tell you this, though: Think about what I was trying to do when I took this picture. I was tornado chasing... so you need to think about how a storm cell --- a supercell, and then a mesocyclone --- develops. -- KingKey

Jesse we need an answer on this one please. Kingkey thanks a bunch our mothers love you. We are still rying to get a handle on the cloud formations and now you want to toss out their supercells and storm cell are they not both the same. I can answer this one, shoot it is like a clock cold air drops down and hot air goes up. This process goes on and on faster and faster, till boom. -- South Fork Weather Team

Definition of mesocyclone here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesocyclone -- South Fork Weather Team

I have never seen or even heard of a mushroom 'cell' before... I give storm chasers far more credit than they can possibly imagine. My heart would have dropped into the very pit of my stomach if I ever saw anything like that. You obviously have no fear of such things. It's even amazing there are pilots who literally fly out over the ocean to search for the eye of the hurricane. Whew! Kingkey, your photos speak volumes! Keep up the jaw-dropping work you do! Good luck on NG! -- beadaholic

The term `mushroom` is just slang. The cell looks like a mushroom, with the rain shaft giving the appearance of the stalk of a mushroom and the cell being the cap. As for fear, we were miles away from this cell, moving parallel to its general movement --- west-to-east. ``There is no need to fear that which is understood.`` And thank you so much for the compliments! -- KingKey

Great photo, KingKey. But keep that weather away from me! I imagine if I had an observatory for my telescope one of those storms would PICK it up and destroy it. I admit to getting close to a rattlesnake while hiking for photos, but I am more aftaid of your storms. -- lunar-tic

KingKey, awesome picture, though I wouldn't like to be that close to such storm. By the way, Are you sure it's November and Week 2? I've just looked for it and doesn't appear. -- Emi

We were several miles from that storm, by the way. And yes, it`s November week 2. You just have to go through quite a few other photos before you get to mine. The voting is really over, though. This photo was the highest ranked for November, so it won! Look for it to be in National Geographic Magazine, probably in the July, 2008 issue. My heartfelt thanks to all who voted! -- KingKey

Amazing. And it's not even a tornado. I bet if fools a lot of people when they look at it. Thanks for sharing this. It's going on my screen saver, too. -- TLC

I have answered these cloud classification questions over in our new Forums: http://tinyurl.com/2g5ff8 -- weathermatrix

This picture should be in the top 5 -- judymack

Excellent use of the Rule of Thirds... nice that nature helped with the extende portion to the left. Good framing, KingKey. Color scheme is good and well saturated. The grain is spot on. I suppose all photos record a moment in history, but some make the history books and who knows, maybe even Nat Geo! This image is deserving. Congrats! -- PhotoBoy

Hi Thad, I just saw your picture printed on this month's issue of National Geographic, congratulations! Paulina -- clearskyes

How do I sign up to tag along with the chasers???? That is awesome!! -- moeykid

hi this is ramsy. thank u very much for sharing wonderful photographs.i love all the work u did with your camera. keep rocking!!!! -- ramsy.rayi

Uploaded on 6/11/2007
by KingKey

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Current Rating : 4.4

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