Heavy Weather by Chipka
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
It began, like any other day: with sunrise, and the promise of work, of drudgery, of eventual respite to the west: where the sun sets. It began, like any other day, in a truck-yard. There was a promise of heat. There was a promise of sunlight. The sunlight (at 6am) peeked new and colorful over the eastern horizon. The heat had not yet arrived.
It was to be a short day, an easy day; there was precious little to do. Like the following morning’s sunrise, a holiday loomed on the horizon. Children were already in possession of fireworks, illegal in the city, but purchased—easily enough—from outside of State Borders.
It was a short day, with wind in the middle. There were no storms in the forecast, and yet the noon-day sun smothered in a blanket of restive haze. The haze thickened, darkened, and lost its silvery tinge. Something moved in the south: a disturbance like a disk, bulging in the middle. From the looks of it, an unpromised storm bled into the humid, afternoon sky.
The air cooled. The air thickened as pressure differentials promised the downward jab of immense and swirling funnels. Lightening flashed. But there was no thunder. The air—for long, long moments—stunk of ozone and moisture, of leaves, and of diesel fuel. Wind boasted of itself in sighs and in whispers. It did not rain.
Perhaps there were storms. Elsewhere. Their clouds were born over the city, but they moved—quickly—to the north, and to the east. The lake, I suspect, cooled itself in the torrents of a shower. I cannot know this for sure. The lake is silent on the topic, but I know—with all certainty—that strange, ominous clouds were born south and west of the lake, and they moved like an enormous disk (swollen at its middle) in silence and then in the whisper of wind.
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I took this picture yesterday, from inside one of the trucks in my father’s ramshackle fleet. I’ve seen heavy weather before: I’m accustomed to the promise of tornadoes. There were no tornadoes in the immediate vicinity of Chicago, but the clouds (captured here) were—most certainly—a promise of something heavy, something ominous, and something the likes of which might just have carried Dorothy to Oz.
As far as I know. Nothing happened.
I must say that I'm rather pleased with this image; I've always been interested in posting a truly atmospheric image in the Renderosity genre of Atmosphere and Mood and well...what is more atmospheric than Earth's actual atmosphere, deciding to entertain itself with a bit of...well...drama?
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As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and for those who celebrate American Independence, I hope you’re on the verge of a great holiday, and for those who live beyond the boundaries of such a holiday, I hope you’re already in the midst of a great weekend.
Comments (34)
those clouds are epic--I love em
Wicked looking clouds, Chip! Hopefully you don't see these dipping downward like a funnel....
Very ominous looking sky with the hint of rotation. Very well done!!!
My god that's one seething cauldron of a sky. What a great photo Chip.
wonderful catch
Yikes, run like hell; the world's gonna end!!!1
Brilliant!! I'm sure there's a name for those which I can't recall this early in the morning. But whatever you choose to call them will be far more exciting, I'm sure!
Wow! I could only call this an Armaggedon Sky!
That is an epic, primeval sky & a fantastic image. I believe these are mammatus clouds - described here from Wikipedia: Mammatus, also known as mammatocumulus (meaning "mammary cloud" or "breast cloud"), is a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. The name mammatus, derived from the Latin mamma (meaning "udder" or "breast"), refers to a resemblance between the characteristic shape of these clouds and the breast of a woman. I posted a photo of clouds like these (though not as spectacular as yours) a few years ago & may put it up again at some point...
What a fantastic atmosphere you have cought here. So dramatic and beautiful. But if you wanted drama right in these days, you should have been in Copenhagen. There they got severel months rain in few minutes and alot of Copenhagen is under water. I think it is the worst we ever had.
I just love this capture and post work my friend. An instant favorite my friend. God Bless.
really dramatic mood you have captured. Congratulation!
well seen !! i like to see clouds formation at the sky !!great shot of a dramatic skyscape!!
apocalyptic picture, very drama clouds, excellent shot.
Fantastic capture!
fabulous prose and shot!
A brief vision of the Apocalypse...
Oooh, wonderful ominous weather capture! I love when these come up, not very often here as our rainclouds are usually fairly innocuous and gentle. But I've lived in the midwest and the east coast, where weather can REALLY be challenging; I must say I miss it. Perhaps the lake will mention the storm on a later occasion, when junk and debris will wash up on the shores...
I've always been fascinated by clouds, storms and wind and this is a great shot.
Fabulous shot. Very well done
Scary sky, and great narrative.:)
Great image, and a happy 4th to you.
Oh boy. Nothin' like that up here! I mean ... NEVER! That is one foreign-to-me sky. Fantastic capture!
I like your narrative of the atmosphere. I've had such experiences myself, that cold electrical down draft as the day quickly darkens into untimely night. The clouds are indeed dark, foreboding and imposing. As you have so well captured here, it is at times like these that one gets a brief glimpse of their true scale and the raw power which they represent. All of man's engineering dwarfed by several orders of magnitude. Great and terrible, especially for trees and hydro poles.
fantastic clouds, great foto
Remembers me on a song by Marillion: "...the Sky was bible-black in Lion, when I met the Madeleine..." Awesome shot.
What a mean looking sky. Great image.
Yes, it is very very haevy and dramatic. Excellent!
spectacular cap!
Amazing sky and capture. Dana