Are these pictures REAL? If this isn't the right forum, please direct me..

[Radio_Lady]

A friendly neighbor sent these along to me. They look rather "unusual" to say the least.

Is there a way to actually find out if they are REAL photos, or doctored in some way? I'm only a newbie with digital photography and don't know much about Photoshop and other alteration programs.

If you're an expert, please chime in. (There are nine photos in all. Will post them in TWO messages.)

I'll be back on-line later (PM Pacific Time) to read your opinions!

Thanks a bunch.

[eallen]

1. Here's the Snopes article...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/storm.asp

[geomon666]

7. Yeah the photos are real

Just not hurricane photos. Hurricanes don't come in wall formations like that.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. Wow

I am a Weather Channel junkie and these look like storm chaser photos to me. Gorgeous. And I am glad I was not there.

[HereSince1628]

3. They sure look like things I've seen in nature

I can't vouch for these, but wall clouds are real.

[jean]

4. fyi - we do have a Photography forum - here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=280

glad snopes cleared things up - those are overwhelming photos

[JDPriestly]

5. I don't know, but I think they could be real.

Driving across Indiana between Richmond and Indianapolis a couple of years ago, I saw the most amazing cloud formations. On the other hand, so what if they aren't? Then they are just really beautiful art. Impressive either way.

[MuseRider]

6. Looks like Midwestern storm clouds

to me. We get to view these kinds of storms rather frequently although the pictures are remarkable. Look real to me.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. they are real, tornado photos and going to my reference

sky library

[slackmaster]

9. Looks like the springtime sky over Kansas

Supercell thunderstorms.

[Bridget Burke]

10. Yes, they are real.

Apparently someone said they represent Hurricane Katrina--but these actually show tornado weather. I've seen weird skies in Houston, although we're not in Tornado Alley.

Tornadoes often accompany hurricanes but are hard to "see." You just notice that a building has disappeared.

I noticed one intersting thing from the last hurricane I rode out*. It was nighttime & the lightning lit up the clouds with emerald green. Very beautiful.
----

* I was in a safe building, far from the water & it was not an extremely strong storm.

[Spazito]

11. Yes, they are definitely real, I had received them as pics from

a major storm in Alberta and actually believed it until today. Alberta does get tornados and major storms so it seemed believable to me, lol.

Edited to correct myslef, lol.

[karlrschneider]

12. They certainly may be real, we get storms that look like those around here

frequently...but those are not pics of a hurricane...

[SoCalDem]

13. I've seen those in Kansas...many times--tornado clouds

:scared:

[LeftHander]

14. Yes indeed....real... Midwest super cells...

Seen them dozens of times. Storms like this.

With the flat land and big vista, storm watching is a family pasttime...

Check out NOAA weather websites for submitted photos of storms. They are awesome.

[MuseRider]

15. LOL family pastime.

Yes, I understand that one! We are almost ready to build our house and instead of cutting down the full grown trees that are there we are building a small tower so we can storm watch. It will be fun until we get too old to get up and down fast enough.

There is great beauty in the storm clouds in Kansas and the rest of the Midwest.

[no name no slogan]

16. been in a couple of tornados myself

In fact, one of my earliest memories is when a tree fell on me during a tornado when I was two years old. It cracked my skull nearly in two, gave me a concussion and probably caused the problems I have with my pituitary gland, which affect me to this day.

Those are definitely wall clouds, which spawn tornados. They are spectacular to look at-- from a distance. Up close, they are terrifying.

I'm not afraid of much on this planet, but I still get the willies whenever I see wall clouds.

[Radio_Lady]

17. Thanks, everyone, for your interesting discussion and more information

than I can get anywhere else!