Stunning images capture ‘The King of Clouds’ as thunderstorm …

Thunderstorms^[1] have been sweeping the county in recent days and with them have come some incredible sights. One resident, Joanne Collins-Anderson, managed to photograph a cumulonimbus, known as 'The King of Clouds', from her home in Louth^[2] as a thunderstorm raged across the town on Friday, May 5.

The breathtaking images show what the Met Office has described as the "bottom of a towering cumulonimbus cloud with a thunderstorm and heavy rain underneath". Cumulonimbus clouds are menacing looking multi-level clouds, extending high into the sky in towers or plumes.

They get taller and taller until they represent huge powerhouses, storing the same amount of energy as 10 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs. According to the Met Office, individual cumulonimbus cells usually dissipate within an hour once showers start falling, however, multicell or supercell storms contain many cumulonimbus clouds and the intense rainfall may last much longer.

Poll - What's the worst junction in Lincolnshire?^[3]

Joanne was surprised to see the huge cloud and her stunning images have now been seen by thousands on social media. She said: "I wasn't expecting them as we'd just had a thunderstorm that hit a few hours before at around 4pm. Then my son said 'wow look over there'. As we live in a three-storey house overlooking Louth, we have some amazing views.

"This was at 7.23pm and I just had to capture them. I actually didn't look into the pictures until I shared them on my Facebook. A few friends said to share them to weather pages so I did and wow the response I've been getting. So many people are loving them and now sending the pictures over to America.

"It just makes you realise what mother nature is about and how things could change especially with current climates. I've learnt a lot now about these pictures with the weather experts commenting on them."

The Met Office said there were also some elements of a potential arcus cloud in the photo. These are spectacular low-level, long and thin clouds associated with powerful thunderstorms and are sometimes seen beneath cumulonimbus clouds.

References

1. ^{^} Thunderstorms (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Louth (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Poll - What's the worst junction in Lincolnshire? (xd.wayin.com)