Stormy Skies

This thunderstorm brought wind, rain and small hail to the Hermosa, SD area in late June.

I've always been fascinated with thunderstorms. I like the light show, I like the sound of rolling thunder and I like the smell of rain. This post is dedicated to my best storm shots of June and July of 2011 in South Dakota. Click on an image for a larger file to view and enjoy!

This is the same storm above but as it appeared roughly an hour later as it approached the western edge of the Badlands.

The next two shots are also the same storm. The sun was setting as it passed through the badlands and the light was eerie and incredible. It was strange as usually when the sun sets the colors go from yellow to orange to pinks and purples, but because of the low light shining through the rain and storm clouds, it happened the opposite way this time. It was reddish, pink early then turned to yellows and oranges as the storm continued east.

On July 4th, my brother took me to this rather photogenic unused barn on his ranch near Selby, SD. There were storms building in the area as the sun set making for dramatic skies.

I like this simple shot of green fields, cattle on the hills and rain clouds in the sky.

As we shot off our fireworks, the lightning show in the distance provided a natural light show as well. It was a really good and memorable 4th this year. Thanks to my brother's family for putting up with me.

The last couple evenings have seen storms roll through the Sioux Falls area. The three shots below are the results of me trying to capture them. The first two shots were taken south of Hartford not to far from the Wall Lake junction and the last photo is I-90 just a couple miles from the northwest edge of Sioux Falls.