Recently, as a thunderstorm approached I was around to see how it developed. Of course, I had my camera to capture it. I live on a hill that overlooks the town and have taken a ton of photographs with the tag ‘view from my lounge’. I am so fortunate to have a stunning view which changes daily depending on the weather and light.
It was summer here in South Africa, and it was once again the season of thunderstorms – plenty of lightning, thunder, lowering skies and sometimes hail.

Anatomy of a Thunderstorm © Deborah Ann Stott 2016
- The clouds began rolling over the mountain on the far side of the valley. Patches of sunlight play across the open spaces. A lone wind turbine stands like a sentinel, in the path of the advancing clouds.
- Within a few minutes, the clouds had forged ahead like a hungry beast on the turbine, casting it in shadow.
- The towering clouds engulfed the turbine and started their journey down the hill into the town, covering the remaining patches of sunlight as they pushed forward.
- Before long, the darkness from the gigantic clouds overwhelmed the town and heavy rain began to fall in earnest.
As I sat watching this drama unfold, I was reminded that nature is unpredictable and powerful. And, as we now sit in a time of drought, I am praying for rain.