Pop Up Thundershowers, and They're Going the Wrong Way

Small pop-up thundershower cells began forming around the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area during the afternoon of Sunday, June 4, 2023. Above, one of those cells shows a robust updraft in the northeast sky as seen from Bowman Woods Park at 2:51 pm CDT.

2:58 pm. This panoramic scene looks west at a multi-cellular group of cells. Most storms move west-to-east in the northern hemisphere, but this area of storms was moving in a dominant and unusual east-to-west track.

3:01 pm. A gap in the clouds allowed the sun through, giving this image a "spotlight" effect from the heavens. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

 Radarscope image for 2:58 pm, showing the odd west-moving storm tracks.