These Are The Most Shocking Weather Photos Of 2016

Out of 800 professional photographs who submitted their entries to the first Weather Photographer of the Year Competition ever made, these are the best of the best …

Polar stratospheric clouds: Alan Tough

In late January, early February 2016, unusually cold Arctic stratospheric air reached down as far as the UK. This triggered sightings of rare and beautiful Polar Stratospheric (Nacreous) Clouds (PSCs). I had to go down to Alloa for a course and took an old compact digital camera with me, just in case any displays were visible from that part of the country. PSCs have a sinister side, though: chemical reactions on the surface of the clouds destroy ozone.