High Plains Mammatus
Cumulonimbus mammatus with rainbow. Mammati are high level cloud formations dangling from beneath the anvil canopy of some thunderstorms, and sometimes, not caused by a thunderstorm at all. They are harmless and do not produce funnel clouds or tornadoes. Scenes like this are what make storm watching on the Great Plains so rewarding -- even when there is no severe weather. After a wonderful experience immersing in this place, I headed east a short way and witnessed a fabulous sunset, courtesy of dryline storms that produced occasional hail and a wall cloud earlier in the afternoon. Windmills such as the one shown here are common on the high plains, using the resource the plains have most -- wind -- to power pumps which draw a resource the plains need most -- water -- from the underlying Ogallala Aquifer.
7 E Hardesty OK (29 Jun 97) Looking SSE.