Cumulonimbus Cloud - Amana colonies, iowa

In what is I think the neatest cumulonimbus timelapse I've ever seen, this camera caught a thunderstorm in the eastern sky. With it being nearly nearly stationary, the entire cloud from top to bottom stays in view a long time. This storm produced several inches of rain a whopping 70 miles away!

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV

This particular lapse is a beauty as we watch cumulus clouds building and growing in the distance. They could only get so high on this date and just couldn't quite get to that next step in their lifecycle to become something bigger, probably because it was too late in the day. A cool side feature on this one is the barge going through!

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV

This shelf cloud was caught blowing into town from the west-northwest. Not only does it usually mark the start of stormy weather, but it's usually a giveaway for strong to severe wind gusts (see the "cool stuff" section for more). Watch the tree tops when the cloud moves over!

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV

Roll clouds are accessory clouds (a type of Arcus cloud).  Roll clouds are not overly common and they are completely detached from a thunderstorm base, which makes them different from shelf clouds. Roll clouds are very low altitude and appear to be "rolling" as a shallow layer of cool air lifts just enough warm air to condense into a cloud. A stable layer of air is usually right above them, leading to very little vertical growth.

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV

This one is fast! You may have to watch it a couple times. A sudden downpour was caught on camera...proof that things can change quickly. Hopefully those just getting off work didn't get too wet!

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV

During extreme drought, this thunderstorm moved into the area. The wind out ahead of the storm lofted significant dust due to the extremely dry fields. The area of dust created near zero visibility for a brief time for drivers on nearby I-380!

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV

The Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights), put very simply, occur when charged particles emanating from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field and gasses in Earth's upper atmosphere. As Earth's magnetic field directs the particles to the poles, we get a dazzling show! It's important to be away from city lights as much as possible to see these.

Video credit: Iowa Environmental Mesonet/KCRG-TV