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Wintry scenes top Weather Photographer of the Year competition

Christopher Ison's photo of Storm Eunice and Zhenhuan Zhou’s shot of Niagara Falls covered in ice have taken the top prizes in the Royal Meteorological Society’s annual competition

By Liz Else

14 December 2022

A STORM captured in full fury and one of the world’s most famous waterfalls coated in ice have won first and second prize respectively in the Royal Meteorological Society’s annual Weather Photographer of the Year competition.

Huge waves rise from the sea at Newhaven during Storm Eunice. The south coast of the UK received its first ever red weather warning due to the approaching storm, Several people died under falling trees and winds reached 122mph at the Isle of Wight. Picture date: Friday February 18, 2022. Photograph by Christopher Ison ? 07544044177 chris@christopherison.com www.christopherison.com IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING IMAGE LICENCING FOR THIS PHOTOGRAPH: This image is supplied to the client under the terms previously agreed. No sales are permitted unless expressly agreed in writing by the photographer. Sharing with third parties is prohibited without the written permission of the photographer.

Christopher Ison

Christopher Ison’s photo Storm Eunice (pictured above) captures the moment that the eponymous storm hit the port of Newhaven in the UK at high tide on 17 February. Eunice, one of the UK’s worst storms since 1987, saw winds gust at up to 196 kilometres per hour. It met the criteria for a “weather bomb”, also known as explosive cyclogenesis, caused when air pressure falls rapidly.

Ison said that when he learned the storm was responsible for the first ever red warning for the south coast, he knew he “had to find a spot to record it – this was going to be big!”

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Zhenhuan Zhou

Zhenhuan Zhou’s Frozen (pictured above) shows parts of Niagara Falls covered in ice, a phenomenon caused by mist and spray freezing over the top of the waterfall, though water continues to flow beneath the ice.

Niagara Falls’ waters did stop once, in March 1848, when strong winds pushed ice from Lake Erie into the source of the Niagara river, blocking it completely.

Zhou’s photograph captures the exquisite detail of the icicles on a building and the rock face. They are many metres long and look like stalactites.

All 22 of the shortlisted photographs can be seen on the Royal Meteorological Society’s website: rmets.org/photography.

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