Epic weather photos

Tim Moxon’s photo “Tornado on show” captured an “epic display of nature” and won him the title of Weather Photographer of the Year for 2016. The Royal Meterological Society and the The Royal Photographic Society of Britain joined forces for the inaugural contest, selecting winners from more than 800 entries. 

A classic severe weather setup in the high plains of Colorado near the town of Wray yielded “one of the most photogenic tornadoes of the year,” according to Moxon. “We were just ahead of the storm as the tornado started and tracked with it as it grew from a fine funnel to a sizeable cone tornado. 

Check out the winning images and finalists from the under 16s and 17 and older categories.

Lightning - 1st place

Sprite lightning - Ben Cherry

This photo of lightning over the Pacific Ocean was taken in Punta Banco, a small village on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and won 1st place in the over 16s category. 

The 30-second exposure shows a very rare type of lightning called a sprite. The storm was far out at sea during a new moon, so there was very little light and as a result the stars were spectacular, according to Cherry. 

Ice sculpture

Ice sculpture on Plynlimon - Allan Macdougall

Plynlimon, 752 meters (2,467 ft), is a beautiful hill massif in Northern Ceredigion, Mid Wales. The otherwise benign summit plateau can be transformed into raw arctic tundra-like conditions, according to Macdougall. Days of blown snow and spindrift from powerful and freezing north easterly winds had accumulated on every windward vertical surface into bizarrely shaped natural sculptures. This stile and wire fence became a thing of beauty, with the glowing translucent fluting of the ice emphasized by the sun’s backlighting. 

Caucasus

UFO over the Caucasus - Dmitry Demin

The photographer captured this image of the high mountains and a huge lenticular cloud from the cable car to Mount Cheget in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia. 

Sun halo

Sun halo over Halley - Michal Krzysztofowicz

This sun halo was created by diamond dust, a phenomenon where ice particles of specific shape are being carried by the light breeze in the air, causing the light to refract into a halo near the Halley Research Station in Antarctica. 

Clash of the storms - 2nd place

Clash of the storms - Camelia Czuchnicki

This photo of two storm cells, each with its own rotating updraft, in New Mexico won 2nd place in the over 16s category. 

Misty river dawn

Misty river dawn - Kevin Pearson 

Frost clings to the grassy riverbank as the sun rises along the bank of the River Brue in Glastonbury, Somerset.

Polar stratospheric clouds

Polar stratospheric clouds - Alan Tough

In early 2016, unusually cold Arctic stratospheric air reached down as far as the UK. This triggered sightings of rare and beautiful polar stratospheric (nacreous) clouds, otherwise known as wave clouds. The clouds have a sinister side, though, according to the photographer: chemical reactions on the surface of the clouds actually destroy ozone. 

Fog and frost - 3rd place

Freezing fog and hoar frost - Andrew Bailey

The image of the sun shining through a freezing fog in an East Anglian winter in Britain was taken during a February cold spell. It won 3rd place in the over 16s category. 

Mamazing

Mamazing - Mat Robinson 

A setting sun illuminates mammatus clouds on its backedge near York in Britain. 

Oil tanker hit by lightning

Oil tanker Guanabura hit by lightning - Graham Newman

A lightning strike on the 240m long super tanker, The Guanabra, loaded with crude oil from the Australian North West offshore oil fields at Barrow Island. Shortly after taking the shot, the lightning cell closed on the photographer’s position on the beach and he grabbed all his equipment and ran for his life. That strike hit close by and took out all the lights in the area.

Snowbow

Snowbow - Mat Robinson

Snow turned to rain over Ladybower reservoir producing this beautiful rainbow whilst still snowing on photographer Mat Robinson at Crookstone Out Moor in England. 

Mama Factory

Mama Factory - Stephen Lansdell 

Storm chaser Stephen Lansdell found these beautiful cloud formations in Nebraska creating a corkscrew updraft into this supercell. 

Jack Frost

Jack Frost - Paula Davies

The frost had formed on a car windscreen looking like large feathers on a January morning in North Yorkshire, UK.

Barber's pole

Barber’s pole - Camelia Czuchnicki

This low precipitation supercell formed late in the day over Broken Bow in southeast Nebraska. The striations and twisting updraft is referred to as a barber’s pole.

Storms Cumbria

Storms Cumbria - Paul Kingston

This photo of huge waves engulfing Whitehaven harbor in Cumbria as gale force winds cause havoc was chosen as the Public’s Favorite.  

Hail shower over Jodrell Bank

Hail shower over Jodrell Bank - Mark Boardman 

A northwesterly wind blew this shower of hail across Macclesfield towards Jodrell Bank in Britain.

Mono Lake storm

Mono Lake storm - Paul Andrew

An impressive storm slowly made its way down from the Sierra Nevada mountains onto Mono Lake in Mono Country, California around sunset. 

Hailstorm and rainbow

Hailstorm and rainbow - James Bailey 

This photo of a hailstorm and rainbow over the seas of Covehithe, England won 1st place in the 16 and under category. 

Matterhorn banner cloud

Matterhorn banner cloud - Stephen Burt 

Orographic cloud winds around and over the unmistakable profile of the Matterhorn in Switzerland was photographed from the Gornergrat glacier.

First light

First light - Tomasz Janicki

A winter light sunrise illuminates Glyders summit in Snowdonia, Wales.

Cloud tunnel

Cloud tunnel - Steven Smith 

On the hills, mist shrouds the Carneddau mountains in Wales late morning.