Stormy Gallery

RNLI lookout

This is an image of a member of the Scarborough RNLI team who is looking out from the boathouse to the sea where the rest of his crew were training.
Due to the harsh conditions on the day most of the team were out training, to make the most of the conditions in which they often have to work to save the lives of hundreds of lives each year! 30% of the profit from this product will be paid in support of the RNLI. Payments are made to RNLI (Sales) Ltd (which pays all its taxable profits to the RNLI, a charity registered in England and Wales (209603), Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland ), the Bailiwick of Jersey (14), the Isle of Man and the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Alderney, of West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ

© Alex Wilkinson

Supercell thunderstorm, Kansas, USA C017/8422

Supercell thunderstorm forming over Sanford, Kansas, USA, at twilight. A supercell thunderstorm is a severe long-lived storm within which the wind speed and direction changes with height. This produces a strong rotating updraft of warm air, known as a mesocyclone, and a separate downdraft of cold air. Tornadoes may form in the mesocyclone, in which case the storm is classified as a tornadic supercell thunderstorm. The storms also produce torrential rain and hail. Photographed on 7 May 2013

© ROGER HILL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Lightning

Lightning. Computer artwork of a lightning strike over water. Lightning occurs when a large electrical charge builds up in a cloud. This is probably due to the rapid movement of water droplets and ice particles in the turbulent interior of the cloud. Cloud-to-ground lightning occurs between a negatively charged cloud base and the positively charged ground. Leader electrons leave the cloud and when contact is made with the ground, there is a huge backflow of energy along the path of the electrons. This produces a bright flash of light and temperatures of up to 30, 000 degrees Celsius

© PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY