Elves - A rarely seen phenomenon that can occur above thunderstorms that produce cloud to ground lightning. Elves are seen as a rapidly expanding circular disk that can extend to a diameter of up to 300 miles across. It is thought that elves are the result of an energetic electromagnetic pulse that extends into the ionosphere.

Nacreous Clouds - Nacreous clouds are rare and are rarely found too far south of the poles. They form at an impressive elevation between 68,000 to 100,000 ft where temperatures are at or below -108F. They appear as large thin discs which tend to reflect vivid colors. Due to their high elevations, they can only be seen when the sun is just below the horizon.

Tornado - A violently rotating column of air that reaches the ground from the bottom of a severe thunderstorm. Tornadoes become visible due to clouds associated with them as well as the dust and debris that get sucked into them. The US sees more tornadoes than any country in the world as around 1,200 can be expected each year.

Anvil - The flat, spreading top of a cumulonimbus cloud, often shaped like an anvil. Anvils are a result of strong winds near the top of the thunderstorm. Thunderstorm anvils may spread hundreds of miles downwind from the thunderstorm itself, and sometimes may spread upwind.

Sprites - An upper-level atmospheric electrical discharge, usually reddish-orange in color, that occur high above thunderstorms. They are most commonly seen above powerful cloud to ground lightning strikes and last for only a few milliseconds. The first color image of a sprite was taken over a thunderstorm in Oklahoma back in July of 1994.

Fog - Typically fog is composed of water droplets suspended in the air near the Earth's surface. When bitter cold temperatures are present, fog is composed of ice crystals instead of water droplets, and is called ice fog. Both types of fog reduce visibility at the surface.

Dust Bowl - An extended period of exceptional drought that affected the Great Plains of North America during the 1930s. Agricultural activities were crippled during this epic drought. Heat waves and occasional dust storms were fairly common during the dust bowl years. On some occasions, the dust storms in the Plains made it all the way to the east coast.