Evening Sky After A Rain

FTLComm - Tisdale - Friday, July 19, 2002

At nine last night the evening rain had ended and it was time to go for a bike ride. When I stepped out of the house the scene at the top of the page was what was sitting to the West. The remnants of a storm cloud that had already left its rain behind it far to the West. This was the picture to the East, a monster cloud was hidden there beneath the undercast it towered above and was now ambling off toward the East. When the low scud moved away and the low sunlight illuminated the beast below is how it looked.

Its top had collapsed in a great mushroom with hot air still rising through its core and curling out the top. At the elementary school yard looking North another huge tower cumulus was passed Nipawin lit by the setting sun with the hospital in the foreground.

The tattered cloud to the North West was changing as it headed toward us with the sun behind. To the South the moon was peeking through the low level cumulus left behind by the rain showers. Then looking back toward the Northwest the advancing formation was changing quickly as upper level winds accellerated the top Eastward.

The scene was utterly overwhelming, the power of the wind, the colour from the setting sun and the fresh smell of the damp evening air. So the only thing to do was capture that scene so that you too could experience the whole 360º view. The picture below is a QuickTime Virtual Reality image consisting of twenty seven pictures, which you can zoom into and out of, there is enough detail in the scene to allow you to change your view point or magnificaiton and by using your mouse you can look around, all around. (If the scene does not appear your computer needs QuickTime, Windows Media player can not display this image. The download and install is simple and greatly enhances your computer.)

Half an hour had elapsed since I began my adventure and this is what that monster cloud now looked like as it was shuffling off to the East. Because it towers above the earth more than seven miles up, darkness comes to the surface long before the sunset is no longer reflecting off the glowing white water vapour and ice crystals as we see it glowing red a block West of 100th Street with the SaskTel tower pointing to the grey low cloud above.

Looking back to the West the cloud from the top of the page is now stretched out over thirty-five miles along the horizon. Below another ten minutes later looking East the violet light is still reflecting off the cloud moving East.