Storm skies

Prairie storms are easy to see coming. The land is flat, the sky is huge, and a thunderhead can stand on the horizon for an hour before it ever reaches you.

Most of Manitoba’s thunderstorms roll through between May and September, building through the hot afternoon and breaking in the evening. Anvil clouds, shelf clouds, and curtains of rain are all common, and the best light usually comes just before sunset, when the sun slips under the cloud base and lights the underside gold.

Most of these were shot from the roadside, with the horizon open and the storm well off in the distance. They are the moments I stopped for: the first bolt of lightning, a break of light in a black sky, a rain shaft hanging over a canola field.

Purple thunderhead lit pink and orange by the setting sun

Photos

  • Purple thunderhead lit pink and orange by the setting sun
  • Layered grey storm clouds with lightning on the horizon over flat prairie
  • Dark storm clouds and lightning above a golden sunset horizon
  • Purple storm clouds with lightning over a prairie slough
  • Blue thunderstorm clouds with a glowing break in the centre over a green field
  • Pink and purple storm clouds churning overhead
  • Dark green-tinted storm cloud over a gravel road and green field
  • Towering dark and white storm clouds over the prairie
  • Heavy dark storm clouds over the prairie
  • Golden light breaking through dark storm clouds with rain falling
  • Billowing grey and white storm clouds above a flat horizon
  • Orange storm clouds over a field of ripe grain
  • Blue and gold storm clouds over a golden field
  • Low storm cloud trailing rain over a field at sunset
  • Dark storm cloud over a prairie field with a golden sunset glow
  • Bright white and grey thunderhead with a rain shaft below
  • Textured storm clouds above a distant road
  • Dark storm clouds over a gravel road and a golden sunset
  • Storm clouds lit red and orange over a paved highway
  • Dark band of cloud over a golden horizon and a wet highway
  • Golden light under a dark storm cloud over a straight highway
  • White cumulus clouds over a gravel road under a deep blue sky
  • Gold and blue storm clouds breaking over open marsh
  • Bright cumulus towers over a gravel road and a yellow canola field
  • Dark clouds with a break of light above trees on the prairie
  • Blue sky with towering white and dark clouds
  • Building cumulus with a dark base over a canola field
  • Heavy grey clouds over a canola field
  • Dark clouds and red sunset behind a farmhouse and a bare tree
  • Dark storm cloud with sunlight bursting through at the edge and rain below
  • Dark storm clouds and a golden break over a field and a gravel road
  • Textured storm clouds above a road
  • Storm clouds over a long highway bridge
  • Golden and grey clouds breaking over the prairie

Back to prairie landscape photography, or see northern lights.

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