Thursday, December 17, 2015

Wild Winter Clouds





During the "monsoon season" out here in New Mexico -- July through September -- when moisture comes flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean, you can count on seeing really wild clouds.  In many cases, because the air is so dry, most of the moisture doesn't make it to the ground, but the clouds are awesome.

Occasionally we get similar clouds in the winter, and last Monday afternoon/evening (Dec. 14) was one of those times.  The trailing southern edge of a storm that dropped a lot of snow on northern New Mexico and southern Colorado brought swirling clouds, but no snow for us except at the top of the Sandia Mountains.  Here's how it looked.

Early in the afternoon, the sky was fairly clear in the east, and the  Sandias had only a crown of clouds.

3:10 pm


But soon the overcast began to creep in . . .

4:02p

 
4:23 pm


and from the west, something big was coming . . .

4:34 pm





4:41 pm




4:44 pm





And over in the east, as the cloud wave passed over, the view was amazing . . .


 
4:48 pm





4:51 pm


Soon the top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds:

4:57 pm
 
But no snow for us in the valley.

You can see these images (and more) in a larger format at my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!