PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WEEK - 7 March 2006
Michael MacGregor, Okato
This photgraph by Michael was sent to us by Mark Gallagher. 'Hats on to Taranaki'
wrote Mark.
Warren Dickinson
This excellent photograph of a dust devil was taken by colleague Warren Dickinson from the School of Earth Sciences when he was in Antarctica.
Warren wrote 'last December we were walking down the Onyx River in the Antarctic Dry Valleys.
We had about a 5 knot wind behind us from the east. About mid day, we heard the faint roar of wind, which got louder,
and we were suddenly hit with a 40 knot head wind from the west. We huddled to the ground and when the wind slowed to
about 20 knots, I turned around to see a hugh dust devil, several 100 metres high, disappearing up the side of the valley.
Unfortunately, I only got a few shots of it before it dissipated. We think it was caused by shearing winds from the intense
gust which came down from a large side valley to the west of us. Interestingly, the winds of the dust devil were strong enough
to lift dust off of the desert pavement, which has been scoured clean by winter katabatic winds with velocities of over 100 knots.'
Dust devils are often seen in desert areas, James saw many of these during the dry season when he worked in Northern Nigeria in the late 70s. They are associated
with a very strong temperature gradient in the lowest few millimetres of the air at the surface of the earth. This occurs when there is very strong heating
of the surface by
the sun and the air above is much cooler by comparison. This was almost certainly the case in the Antarctic example shown above. The
combination of the strong surface temperature gradient together with wind shear can then trigger the dust devil which can rise many tens if not hundreds of metres.
Check here for a description.
Note that although the dust devil shown here resembles the magnificent water spout shown by MetVUW
last month
the mechanisms for formation are quite different.
Water spouts (and tornadoes) descend from the base of large cumulonimbus clouds.
Tony Travaglia
'Attached is a shot of some iridescent cirrus clouds, though I am at a loss to explain the lack of focus of the colours.
Anyway they were quite stunning' wrote Tony.
Check here for a description of cloud iridescence.
Emily Wiffen
Emily wrote 'the photo was taken at 14:52 on 11 February 2006 from Palmerston North. This photo does't do this awsome display
justice, as the sun was too bright to capture the whole ring. It was like a rainbow (without rain) surrounding the sun
that was constantly changing colour in swirls and lines. It only lasted about 2min before cloud fully covered the sun.
Keith Asher
Keith wrote 'Just got introduced to your weather web site. Brilliant. I have been taking these sunrise shots for the last few years outside my office at
the Ammonia Urea Plant in Kapuni South Taranaki, this shot was taken on 26 February 2006. Thought you might like to share it with your web site fans.'
Jim Gabbitas
This photograph was taken on 6 February 2006 (same day the waterspout was seen in the Hauraki) by Jim from his porch in Waterview.
Jennie McCormick
Jennie wrote 'Here is a picture I took on 16 January 2006, over my Observatory in
Pakuranga, Auckland. This picture was taken with a Canon Power Shot Digital
A80 camera which was set to infinite.
I took the picture just after sunset (sorry not sure of the exact time)
The fingers of cloud were so brilliantly lit up I just had to take a photo.
Unfortunately my digital camera has no wide field lens, so I wasn't able
to capture the full extent of these clouds - they stretched almost towards
the eastern horizon - really beautiful they were, amazing!'.
James McGregor, MetVUW
Photograph was taken from Karori, Wellington looking west-south-west at 20:17 on 22 February 2006.
James McGregor, MetVUW
Photograph was taken from Karori, Wellington looking west at 20:16 on 22 February 2006.
Peter Kirby
'Love the site. It gets a lot of use.
We had a great storm brew up in Hamilton on 6 February 2006 (same day the waterspout was seen in the Hauraki). Much of the lightning within this cloud was intercloud.
Very few ground strikes but continuous rumbling for over an hour. A fantastic light show, even during the day.
Approximately 21:00, the storm had moved north of Hamilton. The shot is cropped as it was in the distance approximately
10km north-east of Hamilton city' wrote Peter.
Jonny Waghorn
Jonny wrote 'First of all I would like to thank you for your excellent MetVUW website. Both
my wife and I use it regularly.
I have an interesting (I think) photo from 21 January 2006, about 19:30.
It was taken from our house in Kelburn looking North towards Tinakori Hill.
It was a classic Wellington NW gale. The darker grey stringy formations were
low against the hill and the background of high cloud gave a fantastic feeling
of motion that the stills don't quite relay. This formation lasted about half
an hour.'
Tom Clarke
Tom's photo was taken in Newlands in Wellington. He wrote 'The Newlands photo was of a rapidly changing cloud pattern
with some clearly
defined twists not as easly seen in the photos.
Photo was taken on 21 January 2006 at about 1930.
The whole system lasted for about an hour after these were taken when the sky went
blue.'
John Lister
'... and this was a sky the like of which I've never seen before, despite living where there is an unimpeded
view of Wellington's often wonderful northern skies.
The photograph was taken facing Northeast from Crofton Downs in Wellington, looking towards Khandallah
and Johnsonville. A strong gale was blowing from the nor/norwesterly quarter. This extraordinary sky,
consisting of these thick rolling ropes of cloud plus some half-elliptical nearly-black strings, was far
from the static cloud one associates with wave cloud. The ever-changing pattern hurtled across the sky
for only about 20 minutes before the clouds cleared away' wrote John.
Colin Krippner
Colin wrote 'a picture for you from Te Rore - a thunderstorm cloud behind Pirongia mountain.'
Also a halo Colin.
Bryson Cole
'Photo was taken, using a 18-55mm zoom, looking
southwest from our home in Northcote, after a heavy shower from that direction. Taken at 20:45 on
23 January 2006 using a Pentax istD with a 55-200mm zoom.' wrote Bryson.
Suzannah Toulmin
.... and now for a photograph from Australia.
This photo was taken with my Casio Exilim-Z40 on 29 December 2005 near Jindabyne at the foothills of the Snowy mountains, NSW
(approx 30 km northeast of Thredbo). I thought this was probably something a little unusual and thought you all would appreciate
the clouds' wrote Suzannah who is a MSc student in Geophysics at VUW.
These are known as billow clouds Suzannah. They resemble breaking waves and are generated by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. They are associated
with strong wind shear. Check here
for a description of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
|
SUBMITTING PHOTOGRAPHS
If you would like to submit a weather or weather related photograph to the metvuw.com website please click here and send it/them as an email attachment. Our preference is for unmanipulated full resolution photographs.
Please provide the full name of the photographer and as much detail about the photograph - location, time and prevailing weather. It is also useful to know camera and exposure details and the direction the camera was pointing. Most of the photographs that we publish are from New Zealand, however we are happy to consider interesting photographs of weather phenomena from any part of the world.
We are often approached by book and magazine editors for permission to use photographs shown here. We do not divulge your contact details but are happy to pass on such requests to you as they arise. Copyright of all the photographs shown on the site remain the property of the originator. Submission of photographs implies your permission for us to publish on the metvuw.com site unless you specifically instruct otherwise. Photographs containing logos or other text can not be considered for publication. If you have any further queries please don't hesitate to contact James.
PREVIOUS PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE WEEK
2009
27 November 2009 Noel Becker - South Westland rainbow
20 November 2009 Robin Booth - Pastel skies, Morogoro in Tanzania
13 November 2009 Paddy Darkin - Lightning strike - Whale Island
6 November 2009 Paul Grover - Mt Cook from Hermitage Car Park
30 October 2009 Fritz Schöne - Rainbow south of Wellington
23 October 2009 Linda McGuire - Mt Taranaki and fog from Tikorangi
16 October 2009 Carl Thompson - High level cloud nr Lake Wanaka
9 October 2009 Noel Munford - Sun pillar and upper tangent arc
3 October 2009 John Hunter - Sun pillar, 200miles ne of North Cape
25 September 2009 Joanne Bell - Foggy Waikato River, Huntly
18 September 2009 Murray Cave - Clouds over the Torlesse Range
11 September 2009 Mark Emirali - Rainbow at Whatipu
4 September 2009 Kahl Olsen - Fog, Tukituki Valley from Te Mata Peak
29 August 2009 Mark Merriman - Kelvin Helmholtz instability, U. Moutere
20 August 2009 James Panckhurst - Dew deposition on a trampoline
13 August 2009 Ian Thompson - Frosty morning - Lindis Pass
30 July 2009 Teresa Lamont - Franz Josef Glacier
21 July 2009 Stefan Krivan - Moondog, Palmerston North
13 July 2009 Hamish McCaul - Ice patterns on a car roof
5 July 2009 Trevor Chinn - Rimed spider webs
28 June 2009 Carolyn Blackett - Frosty in the Catlins
21 June 2009 Fiona Bignell - Sunset just out of Methven
14 June 2009 Gavin Dann - Lenticular cloud - Two Thumb Range
7 June 2009 Daniel Dwen - Cloud formation Cape Palliser
31 May 2009 Rachel Christie - Circumhorizontal arc
22 May 2009 Pam Blackwell - Cloud layers over the Volcanic Plateau
15 May 2009 Geoff Cloake - 22° halo
8 May 2009 Colin Langley - Hole punch cloud, Hauraki Gulf
1 May 2009 Steve Robb - Riverton sunset
24 April 2009 David Havell - Moonrise over Ngaruahoe
17 April 2009 Lloyd Esler - Sub Sun pillar, over Southland
10 April 2009 John Krippner - Morning fog, Te Rore, Te Awamutu
3 April 2009 Ulrika Silfverberg - Low cloud, Great Barrier Island
27 March 2009 Lloyd Esler - Fogbow Isla Bank, Southland
20 March 2009 Liz Quilty - Sunset over Auckland
13 March 2009 Scott Wilkinson - Ice buildup on blades of grass, Iceland
6 March 2009 Sheryl Logan - Hole punch cloud, Maungaturoto, Northland
28 February 2009 Alison Graville - Circumhorizontal arc, Auckland
20 February 2009 Robert Fleming - White Island plume and sea fog
8 February 2009 Steve Butler - Victoria bush fire smoke in NZ
1 February 2009 Mark Braithwaite - Electrical storm, Christchurch
25 January 2009 Tim Appelhans - Waterspout, Sumner Bay, Christchurch
16 January 2009 Noel Munford - Morning fog, Okura
9 January 2009 Tristan Hughes - Lenticular clouds, Cook Straight crossing
2 January 2009 Andrew Blackler - 22° halo and circumhorizontal arc, Piha
2008
27 December 2008 Bob Sayer - Towering cumulus, near Townsville
19 December 2008 Carl Thompson - Lenticular clouds, Wanaka
9 December 2008 Bill Claridge - Cloud streets, Banks Peninsula
30 November 2008 David Hood - Mammatus clouds in Dunedin
22 November 2008 Abhishek Singh - Palmerston North sunset
17 November 2008 John Palmer - Cook Strait and Turakirae Head
7 November 2008 Emily Brodnicki - Lenticulars over Mt Nguarahoe
31 October 2008 Geoff Cloake - 22° and 46° halo, parhelia and tangent arc
24 October 2008 Pam Gill - Dawn at Waipukurau
10 October 2008 Noel Munford - Virga, jet contrail, Palmerston North
3 October 2008 Darelle Busfield - Mammatus, Spreydon, Christchurch
26 September 2008 Andrew Hamer - Rainbow over Lyttelton harbour
19 September 2008 Peter Munro - Lenticular cloud over Two Thumb range
12 September 2008 Geoff Tempest - Hoare frost, near Alexandra
5 September 2008 Hugh Thorpe - Filtered sunlight, St Albans, Christchurch
29 August 2008 Robin Booth - Cirrus clouds over Kerikeri
22 August 2008 Anna Humphries - Threatening clouds, Central Otago
15 August 2008 Katja Riedel - Ice crystals, summit of Mt Taranaki
8 August 2008 Matthew McGinnes - Mt Hutt from just outside Methven
1 August 2008 Elizabeth Passuello - Severe easterly gales, Greymouth
25 July 2008 Jerry Zinn - Sunset, Takapuna
18 July 2008 Alex Young - Sunlight, cloud and mountains, Wanaka
11 July 2008 Ian Orchard - Sunlight, cloud and mountains, Wanaka
4 July 2008 Paul Moss - Cloud iridesence, Wellington
27 June 2008 Christopher Picking - Moonrise, Kaituna, Wairarapa
20 June 2008 John Patterson - Wellington fog
13 June 2008 Patrick Davey - Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds
6 June 2008 Linda Paterson - New Plymouth sunset
30 May 2008 Craig Ross - Lifting fog in Wairarapa Hills
23 May 2008 Neil Colliver - Mountain shadow, Mount Ruapehu
16 May 2008 Ben Taylor - Fabulous Fiordland weather
9 May 2008 Noel Munford - Rainbow in the Manawatu
2 May 2008 Paul Dulieu - Mammatus cloud, St. Arnaud
25 April 2008 Andrea Buckthought - Funnel cloud, Ngatea
18 April 2008 Rikki Griffin - Westerly showers, Te Anau
11 April 2008 Andrew Rodley - Sunset Panorama Heights Nelson
4 April 2008 Bruce McLennan - Sunset Hamner Springs
28 March 2008 Jan Kaluza - Cloud iridesence over Hamilton
21 March 2008 Shirley Herbert - Misty morning, Kaimanua Ranges
14 March 2008 Kelly Kruger - Altocumulus clouds, at Mangonui
7 March 2008 Shea Evans - Beautiful rainbow, Lake Wakatipu
29 February 2008 Maggie de Grauw - Circumhorizon arc, Tirohia
22 February 2008 Steve Howat - Water spout off Kapiti coast
15 February 2008 Peter Loveridge - Lenticulars from Mt von Bulow
8 February 2008 Marty Rivers - Electrical storm, Perth, Australia
1 February 2008 Steve Thomson - Dove shaped cloud Auckland CBD
25 January 2008 Tony Travaglia - Fisheye photo of halo around sun
18 January 2008 Vicky Orbell - Lightning near Fairlie
11 January 2008 John Wilkinson - Dust devil at Omarama
4 January 2008 Dave Gordon - Across Tasman Bay from Atawhai
2007
28 December 2007 Cameron Hoyle - Funnel cloud near White Island
21 December 2007 Les Edwards - Cloud reflections in Lake Tarawera
14 December 2007 John Coplestone - Cloud caps on Mount Taranaki
7 December 2007 Darren Gedye - Thunderstorm over Tauranga
30 November 2007 Paul van Kampen - Fogbow at the Green Lake
23 November 2007 Olga Zubkova - Sunset at Waikanae
16 November 2007 Tom Hall - Lightning strike, Wellington
9 November 2007 Diarmuid Kingsleigh-Smith - Sunrise in Auckland
2 November 2007 Rona Lomas - Fabulous lenticular over Mt Ngauruhoe
25 October 2007 Cheryl Retallick - Mammatus at Levin
12 October 2007 Liam Anderson - Water spout at Hokitika Beach
5 October 2007 Dale Savage - Mt Ruapehu eruption
28 September 2007 Andrew Blackler - Sun Dog, Onehunga
21 September 2007 Peter Kirby - Lightning strike Gold Coast, Australia
14 September 2007 Rick Brown - Anti-crepuscular rays Anaura Bay
7 September 2007 Don Macalister - Hauraki Gulf weather, Easter 2005
31 August 2007 Sean Clynes - Eclipse of the Moon 28 August 2007
24 August 2007 Andrew Wardell - Spectacular sun pillar Mt Ngauruhoe
17 August 2007 Tony Kellett - Rainbow, Taranaki Street, Wellington
10 August 2007 Philip Blackler - Light scattering off water droplets
31 July 2007 John O'Malley - Rare ice haloes and arcs
4 May 2007 Neil Smart - Glory and the Brocken Spectre
20 April 2007 Andrew Blackler - Waterbow at Titoki, Northland
31 March 2007 Bob Bingham - Flooding at Kerikeri
16 March 2007 John Nysse - Lake Matherson
2 March 2007 Gary Briggs - Lake Pukaki and Aorangi
18 January 2007 Noel Munford - Comet McNaught, viewed from Levin
10 January 2007 Vicky Orbell - Gathering storm, Central Otago
2006
18 December 2006 Helen Greenfield - Port Hills, Christchurch
30 October 2006 Rob Bargh - Taranaki from Ruapehu
16 October 2006 Mike Nicholson - Double rainbow
5 October 2006 Wynston Cooper - Hollyford view
28 September 2006 Quentin Smith - Lightning strike Mount Maud
21 September 2006 Micky Waby - Rainbow over the Rees River
1 August 2006 Micky Waby - Iridescent lenticular cloud formation
10 July 2006 Mel Hodgkinson - Fog in central Wellington
19 April 2006 Phil Bones - Cap cloud on Mt Hooker from Dasler Pinnacles
7 April 2006 Richard Park - Sugar Loaf Islands, New Plymouth
31 March 2006 James McGregor - Total Eclipse of the Sun, Turkey
24 March 2006 Brian Waugh - Wave clouds, Tawa
7 March 2006 Michael MacGregor - Cap cloud on Taranaki
7 February 2006 Dawn McKenzie - Waterspout from Manly, Whangapararoa
24 January 2006 Kelly Cattermole - Lightning at Kirwee
3 January 2006 James McGregor - 22° halo, Southern Wairarapa
2005
13 December 2005 Daniel Lowe - Funnel cloud, Greymouth
29 November 2005 Jim Gabbitas - Sunset in Newmarket, Auckland
1 November 2005 Ron Court - Magnificent wave clouds at Hanmer Springs
25 October 2005 Ron Ovenden - Hole punch clouds at Whatawhata
18 October 2005 John Forsyth - Low level cloud, Whitereia Park
11 October 2005 Adrienne Walczak - Eggs balloon and Balfour Glacier
20 September 2005 Craig Liken - Falling snow, Christchurch
14 September 2005 MetVUW - PM's visit to the home of MetVUW
23 August 2005 Adrienne Walczak - Eggs hot air balloon over Ruapehu
9 August 2005 Helen Bucksey - Rainbow at Tokaanu
2 August 2005 Adrian Godfrey - Lenticular clouds
5 July 2005 Robert Anderson - Ardmore tornado
28 June 2005 Adrian Godfrey - Lenticular cloud off Ruapehu
21 June 2005 James McGregor - Cumulus development over the Tararuas
14 June 2005 Peter Kirby - North Island snow scene + More NZ mammatus
7 June 2005 Bruce Turner - Auckland City fog
31 May 2005 Nanette Sinclair - Foggy cobwebs, Orepuki + US mammatus
24 May 2005 Tony Travaglia - Aurora Australis
17 May 2005 Sue O'Malley - Fog bow, glory and brocken spectre
10 May 2005 Ian Frame - Wellington rainbows
3 May 2005 Ian Orchard - Hagley Park fog
26 April 2005 David Jensen - Atmospheric waves
19 April 2005 Dave Swarbrick - Hole Punch clouds, Auckland
12 April 2005 Michael Franklin - Stewart Island front
5 April 2005 Ian Cooper - Palmerston North funnel cloud
29 March 2005 Jennie McCormick - Spectacular mammatus
22 March 2005 Steve Ancsell - Matamata funnel cloud
15 March 2005 Kelly Cattermole - Kirwee sunset
8 March 2005 Craig Miller - Altocumulus from slopes of Ruapehu
1 March 2005 John Robinson - Gliding above Roxburgh
22 February 2005 Grant Middendorf - CB at Matara
15 February 2005 Pete Bielby - Christchurch sunset
SATELLITE MOVIES
August 2006
This movie shows the weather for the month of August 2006. Click thumbnail or here to view the 1-31 August 2006 movie. (File size 5.44 Mbs)
PREVIOUS SATELLITE MOVIES
QuickTime movie - 1-31 January 2006. (File size 5.43 Mbs)
QuickTime movie - 1-30 June 2006. (File size 9.24 Mbs)
QuickTime movie - 1-31 July 2006. (File size 5.73 Mbs)
QuickTime movie - severe snow storms 10-13 June 2006. (File size 683.1 kbs)
|
