Surrounded By Cells

Strong-to-severe storm cells began popping up in Eastern Iowa on the evening of Monday, May 30, 2016. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had posted only a Marginal Risk for this day in this area. Strong updrafts created beautiful cumulus towers almost everywhere you looked from this vantage point at Archer Drive and Bowhunter Drive in Marion, Iowa. The above image, captured at 8:02 pm CDT, looks north toward a cluster of storms located about 25 miles distant, along US Highway 20 near Winthrop, Iowa.

At first looking like a head-on approach from the west, this cell eventually passed just north of this position. A small, saucer-like structure eventually formed at its base. Capture time here was 8:03 pm and the most intense part of the cell was about 11 miles away, just east of Atkins, Iowa.

This impressive looking storm cell was dominating the southeast sky at 8:04 pm. The cauliflower cloud is starting to form an anvil and sports a pileus cloud at top right. Pileus form from strong updrafts at lower altitudes, acting on moist air from above. The most intense part of the cell was located about 24 miles away, about 5 miles south Mechanicsville, Iowa. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Radar map illustrating the storm cell positions from the camera location.