Skip Fell For It

Well, it turns out that my doubts about the verity of the Hurricane Katrina pics were warranted! An alert reader, Tara 'Junior Mythbuster' Hillier (her self-imposed title I might add), sent in an explanation of the photographs from my 'Katrina' entry. Apparently, they are not even snaps of a hurricane but rather capture the phenomenon of supercell thunderstorms taken in 2004.

The following images are dramatic and real but mislabeled. They are not photographs of Hurricane Katrina nor is this the first time they have circulated under false pretenses. In May 2005 they made the rounds labeled as a storm near Bunbury [Australia] and in July and August they were forwarded as pictures of storms in various parts of Canada. Storm chaser and photographer Mike Hollingshead, to whom the photos have been attributed, confirmed taking them (most can be found on this page on his Web site). They actually document various supercell thunderstorms, tornados, and other meteorological phenomena Hollingshead observed in 2004.

I have a few thoughts on this; (1) Whoever named this type of storm deserves a medal. It's like a superhero weapon storm, a HALO storm even. (2) Seriously, Hurricane Katrina or not, the images are still absolutely remarkable. We should give credit where credit is due. Excellent work, Mother Nature.