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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Lovely assortment from yesterday. I occasionally have weird dreams I am sorting through a vast field of hailstones and yesterday’s experience probably will result in more of those…

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Giant hail up to 4 inches (!!!) in diameter between Eads and Chivington Colorado, measured over an hour after it fell! This is the largest hail stone I have held in Colorado. #cowx #hail

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Big occluded mesocyclone east of Hugo, Colorado! #cowx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Gorgeous supercell developing east of Limon, Colorado! Is it late September or late May?! #cowx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

One of my all-time favorites, from my favorite season, in my favorite mountain range. Gold rush at Minnie's Haberdashery! #COwx #fall #peep

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

While eclipses are on the brain today here is another of my favorites - this time from 2024 Eclipse in AK. A gigantic red solar prominence, many times the size of planet earth, shines in the bottom right at the moment the sun emerges at 3rd contact! #eclipse2024 #solareclipse #eclipse

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Happy Eclipse 2026 Day! While I won't be photographing this one (apologies to all the folks in Iceland who are clouded over), it is never a bad time to revisit my favorite photo ever. Alone in the Grand Teton backcountry. The thrill of planning preparing& capturing this got me hooked on photography!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Gave up chasing this year for a Denali expedition in May/June, so I really do not have much to share from this season. The view approaching this supercell in late June in northeast Colorado was a nice consolation prize however! #COwx

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Reposted by Mike Charnick

Chris ☈ozoff @agitatedcu.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I should not be surprised after the ‘winter’ we had, followed by a scorching summer, but Arapaho Glacier is almost gone. It’s a location I visit often as it’s not far from home, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it in such a dismal state.

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Radar/CG timestamp for the data nostalgia

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

The ultimate Fort Collins thunderstorm photo - double CG lightning strike over Horsetooth Mountain! Can not believe I was lucky enough to capture this yesterday afternoon. If you look closely on the left, you can see the red glow of a tree burst/fire. 👌📸🏆 #COwx #lightning #monsoon

Twin lightning bolts strike Horsetooth Mountain west of Fort Collins

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Finally some backyard monsoon bolts tonight in Fort Collins! It has been a while since I have used the big camera at home. ⚡ #lightning #photography #monsoon #COwx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Elite webcam catch in the Alberta front range. 🌪️ DOT cams undefeated in Canada, @brendonme.bsky.social

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

An otherworldly "cosmic" sunrise, deep in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This particularly gorgeous corner of the country has been in the news a lot lately. Taken ~5 years ago. And yes, you can indeed stand there! #sunrise #desert #Utah #GrandStaircase

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Peaceful few days escaping the heat and floating the upper Colorado River this weekend ✌️

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Reposted by Mike Charnick

@ztresearch.bsky.social @ztresearch.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Episode 49 producing an impressive volnado.

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Denali: The roof of North America at 20,310’! It is said you don’t just climb Denali, you endure it. After a 3-week odyssey in one of the most inhospitable places on earth, I can think of no more accurate description. Climbing the West Buttress route & finishing under the midnight sun-unforgettable!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Harvested some whopper hailstones and saw a nice occlusion in far eastern CO/KS today, despite sky high LCLs. Saw the suspect dust swirl as well…a bit more moisture and GLD would have been in trouble! #COwx #kswx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Classic May day in southeast Wyoming….skied a few laps off Medicine Bow Peak, and bonus storm structure after! #wywx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Fully occluded mesocyclone/couplet in the high desert of Nevada! May have just had a tornado in remote Elko county. As a former high desert dweller these events still fascinate me…

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Akron, from the other side at probably the exact same time.

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Incredibly shallow, post-frontal upslope easterly flow has funneled smoke from the Nebraska wildfires into Fort Collins this morning. Some of the highest PM2.5 concentrations in the world ATTM due to a lack of vertical dispersion - the cold frontal inversion is less than 1kft thick!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

90 mph wind gust at the Cheyenne Wyoming ASOS (78kts) just set the all-time wind speed record at KCYS! #wywx #wind

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

71 knots at CYS ASOS currently!!!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Wyoming “cinema” on the way to work this morning…70-80mph surface synoptic winds causing havoc on I-25. Half a dozen flipped trucks and ‘dirt excavation’ in unplowed ranchland. Could see gap/downslope winds top out 90-100mph today! #wywx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Full panorama of the 2025 Dickens/Wellfleet LP tornado+supercell! View is looking ESE up into the mesocyclone. The RFD clear slot is visible in the upper right, and in the distance on the bottom left you can even see a bit of the FFCB. Stationary supercell with deviant westerly tornado. Perfection!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Greetings from Africa! This is Kevin. Everyone say hello to Kevin! This is one of only ~1,000 remaining Mountain Gorillas left in the world. We were lucky enough to spend some time with this amazing gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

First light after the storm on the stunning Cuernos del Paine mountains - Chilean #Patagonia, 2025. A powerful late-spring blizzard dropped several meters of snow on the southern Andes during during the first days of our trip. Once the skies finally broke, the views were incredible! #Chile #sunrise

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

The legendary Fitz Roy at sunrise above Cascada Escondida. Patagonia at its finest! El Chaltean, Argentina 2025. #patagonia #fitzroy #photography #sunrise #waterfall

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

So close and yet so far…just a bit west of a big-time South American dryline severe weather day. Looks like some supercells in there too. Would love to experience one of these in the future, but not on this trip!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Chugwater, Wyoming around 9:30pm 11/12. Not as vivid as last night but a nice green glow and some diffuse red pillars! #aurora #wywx #northernlights

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Brought the big camera to work for the Aurora show this evening. A WSR-88D radar makes for an interesting urban foreground! #wywx #aurora

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Rather epic scene outside of NWS Cheyenne right now…covering an evening shift and got some nice photos around the office! #Wyoming #wywx #aurora #northernlights

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Incredible Sentinal-2 satellite imagery of #Melissa at peak intensity before landfall. In the cloud-free areas of the eye you can see the physical effect of the surface wind gradient (2nd image): chaotic whitecapped waves near center transition to extreme sea spray/linear streaking near the eyewall!

10 meter resolution imagery of wave gradients in the eye of Melissa

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

#Comet #Lemmon last weekend, with both the ion and dust tails visible. The ion tail (thin one) was shocked by a solar storm the day before, resulting in a fractured look. 30x20s exposures at 600mm. Star trails in the b-round due to the comet itself moving over the ~10m of imaging. #astro

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

A year ago tonight over the Medicine Bow mountains in Wyoming! This was the same G5 geomagnetic storm that gave many folks along the east coast urban corridor their first view of aurora. Enjoy! ✨ #solarstorm #aurora #auroraborealis #WYwx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

A wild gradient of color angled across this scene made for one of the more unique fall photos I've shot. Taken last year on an adventure into some lesser-known wilderness in Colorado. #cowx #fall #peepin

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Earlier this summer, an opportunity presented itself to climb the Montana state highpoint: Granite Peak in the Beartooth Range. This was my last of the Lower 48 "Big 3". A brutal 2-day push to bag the peak, what a beautiful reward to get to exist in some of the more remote wilderness in the US!#MTwx

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Dreaming of Wellfleet/Dickens...the perfect tornado. 👌 6/16/25 #NEwx #tornado

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

🚨It's happening people! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! 🚨 Spotted yesterday 8/28 in southeast Wyoming. Summer is OVER! 💪❄️

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

The classic Rainier + Tacoma Harbor shot. From 2022. #wawx #sunset #Rainier

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Rainier, Adams, Hood and Jefferson from the north in monochrome. Taken on approach to SEA on our climbing trip. #WAwx #Rainier

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

While waiting for a weather window to summit Rainier, we saw several epic lenticular/cap clouds over the summit throughout the week. This telephoto view was particularly wild - a combo of stratified lenticular clouds over the summit & convective surface clouds underneath. #wawx #Rainier

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Mount Rainier- State highpoint #40! The theme of this trip was resilience. A self-guided climb was certainly an added challenge and really forced competence with crevasse rescue skills and route finding. Got the weather window we needed & gutted out 9,200’ to what I’d consider my hardest summit yet!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Still riding the high of this tornado chase a few weeks later. Here is a slightly more cleaned-up edit of the best tornado + rainbow + RFD storm structure I'll probably ever see. Enjoy! Dickens/Whitman, NE 6/16/25

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

This was a particularly fascinating photo of the Dickens tornado. The bottom 1/3 of the condensed tornado appeared to 'hollow out' leaving just the shell of the circulation condensed, surrounded by dust. If you look closely the residual condensation takes on a 'braided' look similar to vinyl tubing.

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

The perfect tornado. 16mm full wide. Dickens, Nebraska. 6/16/25

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Yesterday’s Panhandle supercell in OK remained just-so-slightly elevated fighting stable air behind the morning OFB. Viewed from the NE the base had a laminar appearance despite robust convection aloft. Views inside the RFD show the effects of stable air as various occlusions tried & failed to wrap!

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Single shot 70mm from yesterday. Ghostly. Etherial. And a photo I'll probably never be able to top! Dickens, Nebraska. 6/16/25

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Mike Charnick @charnick.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Absolute insanity Dickens Nebraska tornado a bit ago at close range! Right off the iPhone lens spots and all!

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