Between thunder and silence - sky watching

I think a lot of you know by now, I really love clouds and storms. I can’t help it, and honestly, I have to thank my husband for this. He’s the one who got me hooked, and now I just can’t stop. Every time I see beautiful clouds, I have to take a picture. My computer is full of time-lapse videos of storms and sunsets! And you know, it’s pretty handy too. If someone is talking to me and I’m not that interested, I just say, “Oh, look at the clouds! There’s a storm coming. Just wait and see.” 😉 Then I get a few quiet moments to enjoy the view.

Recently, I went through all my time-lapse photos and videos and thought, why not share these? Watching how a storm starts and then slowly fades away is magical. Or sometimes, I’ll see tiny clouds, and just minutes later, they’re covering half the sky! It’s amazing how fast things change up there.

Let me tell you a bit about how storms work, too, and why we get them. A storm begins when warm, moist air rises into the colder, upper atmosphere. As the warm air rises, it cools down and forms clouds. If the conditions are just right, this can build up into bigger clouds, called cumulonimbus clouds, which are the “storm clouds.” ( I know almost all the names of the clouds, thank you my lovely husband). They bring heavy rain, lightning, and sometimes even hail. This happens because all that moisture and heat create energy, which the storm releases in the form of rain and wind.

Here, in this part of Europe – Austria and Slovenia – we get some pretty impressive storms. They come mostly in summer, with lots of lightning and heavy rain. They move quickly, sometimes just passing by in an hour or two. When a big storm rolls in, you can feel the air change. The wind picks up, and there’s that special feeling, almost like the air is buzzing. Then, the sky darkens, and soon enough, the rain begins to pour. It’s a powerful reminder of nature’s energy, and I’m always in awe of it.

But now, the storms have mostly stopped for the season. Winter is coming, and that means snowfall instead. Soon, I’ll be switching from storm pictures to snow pictures, capturing the magic of fresh snowflakes and icy landscapes.

I’m already excited, and I can’t wait to share those photos with you too. So, here’s to the end of storm season, and the beginning of something just as beautiful.

“There's a bright spot in every dark cloud.” - Bruce Beresford

With love, @tinabrezpike ❤️