Thunderstorms swept across the base of Colorado's Front Range near Boulder on Friday. (Photograph: © Tom Yulsman) It's not yet Independence Day, but for people along Colorado's northern Front Range, the fireworks arrived early. I took the photo above just a couple of miles north of Boulder at 6:45 Thursday evening just as thunderstorms were sweeping in. The view is to the northwest, over the foothills of the Rockies. A sheet of rain and hail is to the right. The towering cumulus cloud catching the evening sunlight beyond moved off onto the plains and coalesced with other clouds, producing quite a downpour — a needed one, given our continuing drought. Here's what things looked like just a bit later, a few hundred yards from my house:
Cumulus clouds catch fire in the fading sunlight over Niwot, Colorado on June 28th. (Photograph: © Tom Yulsman) And before a bit of explanation, ...
