December 31, 2015
By Ebony Bowden
A Melbourne man (click here) who picked up a camera just five years ago has won the National Geographic 2015 photo contest.
James Smart, from Balwyn, beat more than 13,000 entries to take out the prestigious competition with his photo of a tornado in Colorado.
The 30-year-old said he entered the competition not even knowing what the prize was – a handsome $US10,000 and a trip to National Geographic's headquarters in Washington.
Smart, a freelance satellite operator, picked up a camera just five years ago while on holiday in Europe and said he couldn't believe he had won.
"I was surprised, that's for sure. I didn't think I'd win at all to be honest. I didn't even know what the prize was," he said....
Congratulations to James Smart and his brave resolve to photograph this rare phenomena. Interesting though, there is a great deal of rare and record setting events now that Earth is hotter than it ever should be.
This event was well documented. This picture of the storm appeared in The Washington Post.
This phenomenal storm, with two tornadoes spinning simultaneously, was photographed late last week near Simla, Colo. (Kelly DeLay)
June 8, 2015
By Angela Fritz
...Many different photos (click here) and videos of this storm have been shared, and it does seem that one of the tornadoes was rotating anticyclonically — or clockwise — which is a pretty rare occurrence. Just like mid-latitude cyclones and hurricanes, tornadoes in the Northern Hemisphere tend to rotate counter-clockwise, along with their parent thunderstorms, because of the rotation of the Earth and the Coriolis effect.
But every once in a while, a tornado will buck that rule, according to leading tornado researcher and director of the Center for Severe Weather Research Josh Wurman. “Anticyclonic tornadoes can form if a supercell contains an anticyclonic mesocyclone,” said Wurman. “Or, a pair of tornadoes, one cyclonic, one anticyclonic, can form. Both of these are rare.”...
The picture Mr. Smart took was of a tornado that exhibited it's unique characteristics for a very brief time.
James Smart, from Balwyn, beat more than 13,000 entries to take out the prestigious competition with his photo of a tornado in Colorado.
The 30-year-old said he entered the competition not even knowing what the prize was – a handsome $US10,000 and a trip to National Geographic's headquarters in Washington.
Smart, a freelance satellite operator, picked up a camera just five years ago while on holiday in Europe and said he couldn't believe he had won.
"I was surprised, that's for sure. I didn't think I'd win at all to be honest. I didn't even know what the prize was," he said....
Congratulations to James Smart and his brave resolve to photograph this rare phenomena. Interesting though, there is a great deal of rare and record setting events now that Earth is hotter than it ever should be.
This phenomenal storm, with two tornadoes spinning simultaneously, was photographed late last week near Simla, Colo. (Kelly DeLay)
June 8, 2015
By Angela Fritz
...Many different photos (click here) and videos of this storm have been shared, and it does seem that one of the tornadoes was rotating anticyclonically — or clockwise — which is a pretty rare occurrence. Just like mid-latitude cyclones and hurricanes, tornadoes in the Northern Hemisphere tend to rotate counter-clockwise, along with their parent thunderstorms, because of the rotation of the Earth and the Coriolis effect.
But every once in a while, a tornado will buck that rule, according to leading tornado researcher and director of the Center for Severe Weather Research Josh Wurman. “Anticyclonic tornadoes can form if a supercell contains an anticyclonic mesocyclone,” said Wurman. “Or, a pair of tornadoes, one cyclonic, one anticyclonic, can form. Both of these are rare.”...
The picture Mr. Smart took was of a tornado that exhibited it's unique characteristics for a very brief time.
