SEVERE WEATHER PHOTOGRAPHY IN MID WALES - WELCOME TO JOHN MASON'S WEB SITE ....dedicated to all aspects of Welsh weather but especially to storm-chasing - the art of deliberately intercepting thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes, hail, blizzards and the like, armed with a camera and a certain amount of caution! Last updated 07:02:2010. Wales has a "tabloid" reputation for just being wet all of the time. To put it politely this is totally untrue! We have an amazingly varied climate here, from the tranquil beauty of a seascape summer sunset to the full fury of an autumn "Atlantic Bomb" cyclone. The combination of the beautiful landscapes and dramatic things going on in the skies overhead is enough to challenge any serious photographer.

above: incredible sheared thunderstorm anvil with mammatus - near Machynlleth, May 2003. New! Fine Art Prints & digital images for sale: The Dyfi Valley & Welsh Weather Slide-Library Landscape and weather photographs, mostly from the Mid-Wales area, arranged in a series of galleries for easy searching. Prints on archival-quality photo-papers and stretched canvases plus digital images for multimedia use. There are currently >400 images available, a figure likely to grow quickly! Slide-Library index - click HERE John's ongoing Welsh Weather Photo-diary The diary pages, started in about 2000, are the product of my passion for Wales, its landscapes and its weather - and also of the steep learning-curve I have spent the last 7 years upon in pursuit of the complex science of meteorology and forecasting. It currently contains 138 pages of wild and not-so-wild weatherpix, stormchase accounts and weather-related information - so, while the rain hammers against your window on a winter's night - enjoy Mid-Wales, its seasons and its weather!   John, Machynlleth, Mid Wales. QUICK LINKS TO 6 LATEST DIARY PAGES ADDED: NEW! AUTUMN 2009 PART 2 - MID-NOVEMBER MAYHEM: MAJOR ATLANTIC STORMS NEW! TEN YEARS OF WEATHER PHOTOGRAPHY: MY TOP TEN EXPERIENCES OF THE 2000s NEW! WINTER 2009-10 PART 1 - THE BIG FREEZE-UP NEW! WINTER 2009-10 PART 2 - JANUARY FREEZE-UP - WORST SINCE 1986! NEW! WINTER 2009-10 PART 3 - JANUARY FREEZE-UP - SNOWDRIFT SPECIAL! NEW! WINTER 2009-10 PART 4 - THE THAW/TYWYN SEA DEFENCE SCHEME ARTICLES: COPENHAGEN COP 15 - NO SURPRISES! - added December 19th 2009 TRANSITION TO SPRING? - added February 19th 2009; last updated April 11th 2009 Theme: Peak Oil, the Transition Movement.... - and how to turn a bramble-infested wilderness into a vegetable garden! - now in five parts: 1. Peak Oil & the Transition Movement 2. Garden Clearance 3. Garden Rebuilding 4. Garden Planting 5. Garden growing 6. The Harvest                   FILM REVIEW: THE AGE OF STUPID - PREMIERE 15th MARCH 2009 BOOK REVIEW: CLIMATE COVER-UP - PUBLISHED AUTUMN 2009

                                                                                   above: Wavecrash, Aberystwyth, January 2008

John's Welsh Weather photo-diary: Contents

Click on the quick links below to go to a contents section!

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PART 1: SOME THEORY & DATA & ARCHIVAL STUFF:

1) WHY CHASE STORMS? A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

2) STORM-CHASING IN WALES - SYNOPTIC OVERVIEW & ADVICE

3) WHAT GOES ON ALOFT - A ROUGH GUIDE TO THE UPPER AIR!

4) HOW HURRICANES CAN AFFECT OUR WEATHER OVER HERE

5) CLIMATE CHANGE AND WALES: A GEOLOGIST'S PERSPECTIVE

6) WEATHER EVENTS ARCHIVE: THE AUGUST 9 1843 HAILSTORM - THE WORST ON RECORD?

7) WEATHER EVENTS ARCHIVE: THE TYWYN TORNADO, W WALES, JAN 21, 1995

8) WEATHER EVENTS ARCHIVE: THE DEVASTATING SOUTH WALES TORNADO OF OCTOBER 1913

9) THE CLIMATE DEBATE- WHERE SCIENCE AND POLITICS DON'T MIX!

10) WEATHER AND THE MEDIA - A RANT

11) TRANSITION TO SPRING? - added February 19th 2009

12) THE AGE OF STUPID - PREMIERE 15th MARCH 2009

13) BOOK REVIEW: CLIMATE COVER-UP - PUBLISHED AUTUMN 2009

PART 2: WEATHERPIX 1980s - 2000

1) VERY OLD WEATHER PIX INCLUDING THE 1982 MID-WALES BLIZZARD

2) SUNSETS, FOG AND STRANGENESS!

3) LENTICULAR ("UFO") CLOUDS IN WALES AND SCOTLAND

4) WINTERS IN MID-WALES - TEMPEST, FLOOD AND SNOW (OCCASIONALLY!!)

5) EIRE - JANUARY 1990 - SQUALLS AND ROUGH SEAS IN THE BURREN

6) SUILVEN, NW SCOTLAND 1989-90 - AFFAIR WITH A MOUNTAIN!

PART 3: WEATHERPIX 2000 - 2002


1) TORNADO ACTIVITY IN MID-WALES: AUGUST 2000 FUNNEL-CLOUD

2) THE JULY 3rd 2001 STORMS, N WALES - THE BUILDUP AND THE CHASE

3) THE JULY 3rd 2001 STORMS, N WALES - THE GREAT FLASH-FLOOD!

4) CUMULONIMBUS EVOLUTION MAY 2002- PHOTO SEQUENCE

5) AUTUMN 2002 PART ONE: HAIL-SQUALLS, AND THE GREAT GALE

6) AUTUMN 2002 PART TWO:SQUALL-LINE AND PSYCHEDELIC MAMMATUS!

above: funnel-cloud, Dylife (near Machynlleth), August 20th 2000

PART 4: WEATHERPIX 2003

1) JANUARY 19-20 2003: CLASSIC WINTER SQUALLS

2) MARCH 7 2003 - ANA-COLD FRONT, MAMMATUS & PSEUDO-FUNNELS

3) APRIL 29-30th 2003: SUN, SAND, SEA AND CUMULONIMBUS BASES!

4) MAY 13 2003: FRUSTRATING CHASE INLAND - LESSONS LEARNED...

5) MAY 18 2003 - GREAT CHASE DAY - MAMMATUS CLOUD SPECIAL!

6) MAY 19 2003: Cbs DECAY AS THEY CROSS THE IRISH SEA - VIRGA SPECIAL!

7) SPANISH PLUMES OF SUMMER 2003 INCLUDING AUGUST 5 FUNNEL-CLOUD

8) AUTUMN 2003 PART 1 - STORMS? WHAT STORMS?

9) AUTUMN 2003 PART 2 - STORMS AT LAST - BIG CUMULONIMBUS DAY!!

10) AUTUMN 2003 PART 3 - RETURN OF THE EAST WIND (AWESOME SURF!)

11) AUTUMN 2003 PART 4 - THE ATLANTIC "BOMB" OF NOVEMBER 14th FILMED FOR TV

12) AUTUMN 2003 PART 5 - FRONTAL CLEARANCE AND EXPERIMENTS WITH DRIZZLE!!

13) AUTUMN 2003 PART 6 - THE NOVEMBER 26th HAILSTORM

14) WINTER 2003-4 PART 1 - STORMY WINTER SOLSTICE

above: ominous but harmless - mammatus clouds overhang the hills near Aberdyfi, September 13th 2004

PART 5: WEATHERPIX added 2004

1) WINTER 2003-4 PART 2 - A TRIP TO THE MIDLANDS/BRISTOL CHANNEL "TORNADO"

2) WINTER 2003-4 PART 3 - FEBRUARY 3rd/4th: THE DYFI VALLEY DELUGE (FLOODS SPECIAL)

3) WINTER 2003-4 PART 4 - FEBRUARY 25th-27th: SNOW TO SEA-LEVEL!

4) MARCH 2004 PART 1: WINTER'S LAST GASP?

5) MARCH 2004 PART 2: FIRST CONVECTION OF SPRING: 21st-23rd

6) APRIL 2004: SUNNY INTERVALS AND FLOWERS!

7) MAY 2004 PART 1: GUST-FRONT ON THE CARDIGAN BAY COAST

8) MAY 2004 PART 2: MAY 10th - 2 FUNNEL-CLOUDS IN ONE DAY!!

9) MAY 2004 PART 3: MAY 11th - SUNBATHING AND STORMWATCHING!

10) SUMMER 2004 PART 1 (GENERAL WEATHERPIX)

11) SUMMER 2004 PART 2 - JULY 6th - AFTERNOON STORM WITH BEAUTIFUL UPDRAUGHTS

12) SUMMER 2004 PART 3 - August 12th - AWESOME STORM NEAR LLANDINAM, MID-WALES

13) SUMMER 2004 PART 4 - August 16th - 18th - THUNDERSTORMS OVER CARDIGAN BAY

14) AUTUMN 2004 PART 1 - September 13th - EXCEPTIONAL MAMMATUS DISPLAY NEAR ABERDYFI!

15) AUTUMN 2004 PART 2 - October 5th - MODEST COASTAL STORM AND A FEW SUNSETS!

16) AUTUMN 2004 PART 3 - October 21st - 10+ THUNDERSTORMS IN ONE DAY!

17) AUTUMN 2004 PART 4 - November 19th - EARLY SNOW AND INVERSION-FOG

above: on a still day, a large ground-swell crashes in from the Atlantic - Borth, October 15th 2005

PART 6: WEATHERPIX added 2005

1) WINTER 2004-2005 PART 1: GREY DECEMBER BUT A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

2) WINTER 2004-2005 PART 2: THE ATLANTIC AWAKES - TORNADOES AND LANDSLIDES!

3) WINTER 2004-2005 PART 3: DEEP SNOW AND BLUE SKIES ON THE ARANS

4) SPRING 2005 PART 1: WINTER'S LAST GASP? - SURREAL SNOW SHOWERS!

5) SPRING 2005 PART 2: APRIL SHOWERS & A WELL DEFINED CONVERGENCE ZONE

6) SPRING 2005 PART 3: THUNDERSTORMS (ONE WITH A RAIN-WRAPPED FUNNEL) IN SW WALES!

7) SPRING 2005 PART 4: DRAMATIC LATE MAY THUNDERSTORM

8)SUMMER 2005 PART 1: JUNE GOES OUT WITH A BANG!

9) SUMMER 2005 PART 2: BOSCASTLE REVISITED!

10) SUMMER 2005 PART 3: TORNADO SIGHTED AND PHOTOGRAPHED NEAR CARDIGAN!

11) AUTUMN 2005 PART 1: THE ATLANTIC SWITCHES ON - WITH STORMS, SWELLS AND FLOODS!

12) AUTUMN 2005 PART 2: FIRST SNOW - COAST TO COAST ON THE Cb-CONVEYOR!

above: an all-obscuring snow-squall advances southwards across Cardigan Bay, April 8th 2005

PART 7: WEATHERPIX added 2006

1) WINTER 2006: UNEVENTFUL, BUT FOLLOWED BY A MARCH BLIZZARD!

2) WINTER 2006 PART 2: SNOW AND ICE AND AIR AND FIRE AND WATER!

3) SPRING 2006 PART 1: WEIRD GEOLOGY, LLYN PENINSULA - THWARTED BY SEA-FOG!

4) SPRING 2006 PART 2: FIRST MAY THUNDERSTORMS AND LOTS OF HAZE!

5) SPRING 2006 PART 3: MORE MAY STORMS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE WHALE'S MOUTH!

6) SUMMER 2006 PART 1: MIDSUMMER TWILIGHT/RIPTIDE!

7) SUMMER 2006 PART 2(a): DESTABILISATION ALLEY!

8) SUMMER 2006 PART 2(b): THUNDERCLOUD SOUP!

9) SUMMER 2006 PART 3: THE DROUGHT STARTS TO BITE!

10) SUMMER 2006 PART 4: THE COMING OF THE ANTI-DROUGHT

11) AUTUMN 2006 PART 1: CLOUDBURSTING!

12) AUTUMN 2006 PART 2: DEVASTATING SUPERBOLT HITS ARANS??

13) AUTUMN 2006 PART 3: SEASONAL SQUALLS!

14) AUTUMN 2006 PART 4: CLOUDSPOTTER'S GUIDE REVIEW AND OPTICS IN PEMBROKESHIRE!

15) AUTUMN 2006 PART 5: THE T4/F2 BOW STREET TORNADO, 28th Nov 2006

16) AUTUMN 2006 PART 6: INCREDIBLE PSYCHEDELIC SUNRISE!

17) WINTER 2006-7- PART 1: THE RAGING ATLANTIC BRINGS CHAOS!

        above: mammatus and rainbow after a line of thunderstorms over the Cambrian Mountains, May 2003.

PART 8: WEATHERPIX added 2007


1) WINTER 2006-7- PART 2: ELAN VALLEY SPATE AND BORTH BEACH GOES AWOL!

2) WINTER 2006-7- PART 3: FEBRUARY 8-11: THE 4-DAY WINTER!

3) SPRING 2007- PART 1: MARCH 18th: CONVECTIVE STORM SPECTACULAR!

4) SPRING 2007 PART 2: A BUSTLE IN THE HEDGEROW!

5) SPRING 2007 PART 3: MAY - SNOWDONIA STORMCHASE!

6) SUMMER (ha ha) 2007 PART 1: BIG JUNE THUNDERSTORMS

7) SUMMER (ha ha) 2007 PART 2: RAINBOWS, A FUNNEL AND LOTS OF WATER....

8) THE DYFI VALLEY/WELSH WEATHER SLIDE LIBRARY: INTRODUCTION

9) SUMMER (ha ha) 2007 PART 3: A TRIP TO THE BWLCH....

10) AUTUMN 2007 PART 1: QUIETEST SPELL SINCE RECORDS BEGAN!

11) AUTUMN 2007 PART 2: INTERLUDES BETWEEN ANTICYCLONIC GLOOM!

12) WINTER 2007-8 PART 1: THE GIANT SEAS OF DECEMBER 1st - PEMBROKESHIRE

13) WINTER 2007-8 PART 2: THE GIANT SEAS OF DECEMBER 2nd - ABERYSTWYTH

                    above: stormclouds and rainbow over Trannon windfarm, Cambrian Mountains, July 2007.


PART 9: WEATHERPIX added 2008

1) WINTER 2007-8 PART 3: JANUARY SQUALLS AND LIGHTNING SUPERBOLTS!

2) WINTER 2007-8 PART 4: THE ABERYSTWYTH WATERSPOUT

3) WINTER 2007-8 PART 4: A SIGNIFICANT WINDSTORM TO COME ON MARCH 10th?

4) WINTER 2007-8 PART 6: A SIGNIFICANT WINDSTORM TO COME ON MARCH 10th) - THE OUTCOME!

5) SPRING 2008 PART 1: AMAZING GUST-FRONT MAKES LANDFALL AT YNYSLAS!

6) SPRING 2008 PART 2: PHOTOGENIC FRONTAL CLEARANCE AND MORE MAY THUNDERSTORMS

7) SUMMER 2008 PART 1: CLOUDS ON THE EDGE OF SPACE - NOCTILUCENT CLOUD SPECIAL!

8) SUMMER 2008 PART 2: WILD THUNDERSTORMS AND WILD FOOD!

9) SUMMER 2008 PART 3: AUGUST - DAMAGING FLOODS AND LESS SUNSHINE THAN FEBRUARY!

10) AUTUMN 2008 PART 1 - SEPTEMBER: BRIEF INDIAN SUMMER AND EX-TROPICAL STORM LAURA!

11) AUTUMN 2008 PART 2: WINTER ARRIVES EARLY IN MID-WALES!

                                                                                            above: Dylife mountain road, February 2009

PART 10: WEATHERPIX added 2009

1) WINTER 2008-9 PART 1: THE DYFI ESTUARY FREEZES OVER!

2) WINTER 2008-9 PART 2: THE ATLANTIC STRIKES BACK!

3) WINTER 2008-9 PART 3: MANY FEBRUARY SNOWFALLS!

4) SPRING 2009 PART 1: LAND, SEA AND SKY AWAKES (RAPTOR DOGFIGHT)!

5) COASTAL EROSION SPECIAL: EASTERN ENGLAND - APRIL 2009

6) SPRING 2009 PART 2: THE LIVING LAND (BUT QUIET SKIES) - APRIL INTO MAY

7) SPRING 2009 PART 3 - MAMMATUS, COWS, SUN, SEA AND FOG - LATE MAY

8) SUMMER 2009 PART 1 - PAINTED LADY INVASION/CAMBRIAN MOUNTAINS TWISTER!

9) SUMMER 2009 PART 2 - NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS AND LATE JUNE TRAIN-ECHO

10) SUMMER 2009 PART 3 - STUNNING NOCTILUCENT CLOUD DISPLAY AND THE AIM SATELLITE MISSION

11) SUMMER 2009 PART 4 - MYSTERIES IN THE MOUNTAINS

12*) SUMMER 2009 PART 5 - SOME NOTABLE DOWNPOURS AND ANOTHER A470 LANDSLIP!

13*) AUTUMN 2009 PART 1 - INDIAN SUMMER SUNSETS BEFORE  SEASONAL SQUALLS!

14*) AUTUMN 2009 PART 2 - MID-NOVEMBER MAYHEM: MAJOR ATLANTIC STORMS

15*) TEN YEARS OF WEATHER PHOTOGRAPHY: MY TOP TEN EXPERIENCES OF THE 2000s

PART 11: WEATHERPIX added 2010

1*) WINTER 2009-10 PART 1 - THE BIG FREEZE-UP

2*) WINTER 2009-10 PART 2 - JANUARY FREEZE-UP - WORST SINCE 1986!

3*) WINTER 2009-10 PART 3 - JANUARY FREEZE-UP - SNOWDRIFT SPECIAL!

4*) WINTER 2009-10 PART 4 - THE THAW/TYWYN SEA DEFENCE SCHEME

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	TORRO - the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation - is a privately supported research body, serving the national and international public interest. Founded in 1974, data-collection, research and co-ordination is undertaken by the Directors of TORRO, supported by some 400 observers, investigators and other contributors. Most supporters are British, with a smaller number from elsewhere in Europe and across the world. Work by all TORRO personnel - the Directors (of which I am one), Executives, European Representatives - and all members and supporters is undertaken voluntarily. TORRO Staff are composed of professional and amateur meteorologists, with academic qualifications ranging from nothing to doctorates: the only requirements are an interest in the subject area, enthusiasm and a desire to add to the body of scientific knowledge relating to our changeable and at times spectacular climate. Website: www.torro.org.uk
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