Some weeks just seem to ooze colour and variety in skyscape and landscape. The week from the 18th to 24th November was one of those. From sunsets to storm structure to lightning.

Starting the 18th with a most spectacular evenings display of colour from some of the smoothest cirrus skies you will ever see. And that was just one direction! The other had the ruffled look of unstable skies. Spoiled for choice.

 

Then on the 20th the air filled with haze, threatened rain but delivered very little. The evening skies in the eastern ranges began to fog in .

 

The 21st had a sky filled full of unstable altocumulus. Right on sunset it exploded into a popcorn sky, the likes of which I can’t remember to this extent. Was quite surreal.

 

The 22nd started with very light rain for me and spectacular thunderstorms everywhere else. Nonetheless I had a good view being on the outside by a very few km of all the rain action. Late in the afternoon a weak cell finally made it south enough to get me, all of a massive 1.25mm of rain (not) and some reasonable views. Still better than nothing!

 

Then the early morning of the 24th and I am woken by thunder around 3am. Well I cant not get up and have a look! A nice line of very active mid level storms was on a “train line” just sth of me. It never got truly close enough to be spectacular but was great eye candy and worth getting out of bed from. But it was icy on the hill with cold strong outflow winds lowering the windchill temp close to 7 degrees. Just north and then just south. Seems to not be our turn for getting the rain these storms like to dump. Maybe next time? History would say unlikely. But as for the views… well, good enough for me.