Weather shapes our world in ways both subtle and spectacular. Over the past ten years, the Royal Meteorological Society’s photo competition has captured these exact moments through the eyes of people who happened to be looking up at just the right time.
Dramatic lightning strikes, sculptural cloud formations, and atmospheric optical illusions are all part of their stunning decade-long collection. These images invite viewers to pause and appreciate weather's complexity while making meteorological concepts accessible through visual storytelling rather than technical explanations. Scroll down to marvel at their best winners from the past decade.
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Photographer Jamie Russell captured this striking image by combining sea and air perspectives. Large showers developed north-northwest of The Needles, prompting a quick boat trip from Colwell Bay to position for rainbow potential. The choppy sea made composition difficult, so Russell deployed a drone to capture the iconic white chalk stacks framed by a downpour and crowned with a perfect rainbow over the Isle of Wight.
2. “Ellie Cloud” by Kathryn Parent (Canada). 2018 Public Favorite.
This structured storm in South Kansas earned its "Ellie Cloud" nickname from storm chasers who noted its resemblance to the mammoth character from the animated movie Ice Age.
3. “Tornado on show” by Tim Moxon (UK). 2016 Weather Photographer of the Year.
A slow-moving tornado in Colorado provided storm chasers and spectators with the ultimate prize - a close encounter with one of nature's most powerful phenomena.
4. “Superstrike” by Mike Olbinski (USA). 2017 Over 17 Weather Photographer of the Year.
The photographer snapped this exceptional lightning strike during the early morning hours of June 3rd, 2015. The image freezes a moment of raw atmospheric power against the rugged desert landscape.
5. “Braving the storm” by Lez Irwig (Australia). 2023 Mobile Winner.
Photographer Les Irwig documented a surfer's contemplative moment facing brooding weather conditions at a Sydney beach.
6. “Storm Eunice” by Christopher Ison (UK). 2022 Weather Photographer of the Year.
Storm Eunice was predicted to hit Newhaven, East Sussex, right at high tide. Knowing this, the photographer chose higher ground, facing away from the wind, and captured the incoming storm crashing over the harbor wall.
7. “Morning Fog” by Giulio Montini (Italy). 2021 Weather Photographer of the Year.
Giulio's foggy autumn morning shot from an Italian hilltop church reveals the winding Adda River illuminated by sunrise. It's like a painting scene where the glowing waterway is framed by trees in a misty landscape.
8. “Forest Fire Boundary” by Tran Tuan (Vietnam). 2023 Overall Runner-up.
Tran Tuan used drone photography to reveal the devastating impact of forest fires on natural environments. The aerial perspective shows a forest divided—one half ablaze, the other still lush with vegetation.
9. “African Dust Over Athens” by Lesley Hellgeth (Greece). 2024 Mobile Runner-up.
Athens appears almost alien in this photo, taken during a Saharan dust storm in April 2023. The particles gave the Parthenon and surrounding landscape an orange glow that felt out of place but entirely real—a reminder that weather in one region can leave a mark thousands of miles away.
10. “Frozen Niagara Falls” by Zhenhuan Zhou. 2022 Overall Runner-up.
At Niagara Falls, mist from the cascade can freeze in bitter cold, forming layers of ice that create the illusion of a frozen waterfall, even though the water continues flowing underneath. This has happened many times—but in 1848, ice actually blocked the river, stopping the flow for over 30 hours until the weight of water broke through.
11. “Fog Wave” by Hoang Viet Nguyen Phung (Vietnam). 2018 Under 16 Winner.
Da Lat city shrouded in night dew, with only scattered lights and rooftops visible through the moisture-laden air.
12. “Lightning from an Isolated Storm over Cannes Bay” by Serge Zaka (France). 2021 Public Favorite.
Serge's dedication to weather photography led him to drive 300 miles and wait eight hours to capture a thunderstorm over Cannes. His patience was rewarded with a dramatic full-moonlit image of lightning illuminating the famous French bay.
13. “Flatiron Building in the Blizzard” by Michael Palazzo (USA). 2017 Over 17 Runner-up.
New York City's 2016 Jonas Winter Storm turned the Flatiron District into an impressionist painting, with swirling snow creating brushstroke-like patterns around the iconic building.
14. “Sprite Lightning” by Ben Cherry (UK). 2016 Over 16 Winner.
A rare sprite lightning strike illuminates Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The photograph, which was taken during the new moon, beautifully captures both the electrical discharges of the distant storm as well as the radiant Milky Way in a single exposure of thirty seconds.
