More Recent Images: Storms Everywhere!

As is the case across much of the northern hemisphere, summer storms are a rite of passage in July.

A Yosemite Park storm last week 

We've seen some beautiful or interesting images come across on social media.

The first photo in this post is a thunderstorm bearing down on Yosemite National Park.

The area is in a drought, so the rain is welcome. However, there was lightning, too, which could set off forest fires.

And the rain, where it did come down, came in a short intense burst. That didn't give it a chance to settle into the ground, and ran off quickly, prompting flash flood alerts

A severe thunderstorm and shelf cloud
approach a town in Britain recently.  

Next, we go to Britain, where that country, and western Europe, have been subject to severe thunderstorms the past few days.

We don't associate that area of the world with severe weather. You don't think "tornado alley" when you think of, say, Belgium, after all.

But Europe can easily get very severe supercell thunderstorms, giant hail and even the occasional damaging tornado.

Here, we see a shelf cloud as a storm approaches a British town the other day.

Finally we go to high above Minnesota Sunday evening as thunderstorms broke out in that region.

If you look carefully at the combination radar and visible satellite image, you'll see the storms casting long shadows across northern Minnesota and into Wisconsin. (Click on the picture to make it bigger and easier to see)

The sun's angle was low, explaining the long shadow. You sometimes see "premature" sunsets when there are big storms to your west in the evening.  

Evening thunderstorms in Minnesota
Sunday cast long shadows ino Wisconsin.  

The weather system that sparked Sunday's storms will create an even bigger outbreak of severe weather today across much of Minnesota.

Strong winds, sometimes with gusts to hurricane force can be expected in some towns.

At least the storms and the cold front accompanying them, will break a brief but intense heat wave in the upper Midwest.

The storm system will push the severe weather into the Great Lakes area Tuesday.

New England, including Vermont, might get severe thunderstorms Wednesday as this cold front and energy in the atmosphere crash into some hot, humid air expected to be over the region by then.