Rain Clouds in Portland

Normally, you don't get too excited about rain and clouds here in the "rainy" side of the Pacific NW. The predominant clouds here in Winter and early Spring are those dreary Stratus drizzly, chill you to the bones types. But on rare occasions, we see more "interesting" cloud formations. Here are few examples shot in three hours of some actual cumulus and cumulonimbus here in Portland.

The west hills of Portland

Some beautiful shadowing effects, but no lightning

Leaving downtown, one of my favorite places to photograph clouds is at the Columbia River near the airport. With 360 degrees views, there is usually something going on. Although not spectacular this day, it was still a quick escape from the urban landscape.

Spring rain on the west hills

Last light offered some very nice colors of pinks and deep blues