A lot of instability in the air.

[Faulkner]

Today was one of those days when the weather in tornado alley can go bad really quick but fortunately it didn't. Seems the ingredients were all there for some severe weather but it never really formed up. The instability in the are was visibly apparent, especially late this afternoon, and I took a few pictures as the unstable air moved across the Faulkner Homestead in the Arkansas Ozarks.

Although it did form into a severe thunderstorm with lots of thunder & lightning and strong winds and some pea sized hail, it blew through quite fast. As rain tapered off just about sunset the unstable air was still apparent and allowed for a very colorful and scenic sunset.

With several deadly tornados already this season moving through Arkansas we're a bit edgy when the mix is in the air, although Daisy seemed to take it all in stride.

 

[Baxter6551]

They are all great photos but the one with orange sky look at those cloud formations. Incredible.

 

[soFlaNative]

Hard to explain why weather sometimes happen as it does but I give credit to the forecasters when due. Over the last week they gave very accurate timing to the heavy rains that dumped in south Florida, just no way to predict the storm that stalled and unloaded over 2 ft. in 6 hours.


I like the pic of Daisy, seems she feels a need to keep her head down out of incoming. Glad you dodged any weather, hope the same holds today.

 

[mckenney99]

I always paid attention to my dogs when the weather started to get iffy. All of them started to get antsy or seek my wife or I out to hover around or they would go find somewhere to hide when threatening weather started to get serious. The cats I have now are absolutely no help and their normal lazy behavior doesn't seem to change until thunder starts to crack really close around the house.

 

[Narragansett]

Great photos!! Thanks for posting

 

[moosedog]

Beautiful and threatening, all at the same time.

 

[Xfuzz]

Diggin the hacienda....outta curiosity do you
have a basement or storm cellar....?

 

[TJm15.38]

Arkansas has had some severe weather this year. Same over here in Mississippi.

 

[Faulkner]

Diggin the hacienda....outta curiosity do you
have a basement or storm cellar....?

I have a 1100 square foot basement. The house sits on a slight ridgeline and we dug into the hill for the basement about 2/3 the depth of the house so that the front 1/3 sits on a footing on the ground. The basement is reinforced concrete and the house was built on top of it.

Basements in homes are not common in Arkansas. I found a home builder originally from Michigan who had relocated to Arkansas to build my basement. It wasn't cheap but I've never had a problem with it.

 

[TJm15.38]

Faulkner, you have a really nice place. I love the Ozarks.

 

[jrm53]

Faulkner I was glad you were missed in the last round of bad weather, I remember a few years ago around Conway I read in the ADG where a guy's gun safe was blown into the lake I can't imagine the mess that caused him I think that lake is not very deep. Jeff

 

[Faulkner]

Faulkner I was glad you were missed in the last round of bad weather, I remember a few years ago around Conway I read in the ADG where a guy's gun safe was blown into the lake I can't imagine the mess that caused him I think that lake is not very deep. Jeff

Yep, that was the 2014 tornado that ripped through the small towns of Mayflower and Vilonia and over Lake Conway.

I saw recently that the Arkansas Game & Fish is doing a three year project to replace the spillway on Lake Conway and they are drawing the lake down. They say there are still three or four houses that were blown into the lake that need to be removed during the draw down.

 

[S&WIowegan]

Tornados in Iowa too

Glad you didn't get hit. We've had a few small tornados this year including very close to one daughter's home. She saw it coming and hid in the basement bathroom. Fortunately it missed her house.

 

[rwsmith]

There's instability in the air......

...and it concerns more than weather.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I think those are called mammatus clouds.
You took some very nice photos. I need a decent camera.