Rain Bomb: Rare 'Wet Microburst’ Caught on Camera in Stunning Timelapse

By Mark Hodge @mrhodgey

A STORM chaser captures a huge burst of wind and rain which explodes in the sky and crashes to the ground

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Videographer / Director: Bryan Snider, LSM
Producer: Mark Hodge, Chloe Browne
Editor: Joshua Douglas

A wet microburst explodes showering rain over a small isolated area

Shot on August 8, this dramatic timelapse was shot by photographer Bryan Snider, 29, in Tucson, Arizona.

Despite seeing many microbursts in the past, Bryan has never captured one in such incredible detail

The incredibly detailed footage shows a weather event known as a wet microburst which occurs when a cooled column of air sinks rapidly through the middle of a thunder storm.

Extreme weather: The wet microburst produces a rain bomb showering the Tucson area

The unique storm phenomena affects an area of no more than two and a half miles and can generate winds of over 150 mph.

Arizona produces a phenomenal amount of extreme weather for Bryan to document

New Mexico-born Bryan lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona, as a full time videographer.

He said: “While I have seen many microbursts, I’ve never seen one that captured this event so vividly especially after it hit the ground.

Bryan captured the weather event while watching the tortured grey sky

“I honestly had no idea how I captured it in the way I did - when I first played back the timelapse, I nearly fell out of my chair.

Bryan admitted that he nearly fell of his chair when he watched the footage back

“I couldn’t believe what I caught - I knew at that point that this timelapse would probably be the most special thing I’ve ever captured.”

A blanket of cloud, wind and rain momentarily covers the entire area

And Bryan believes his current hometown is the perfect place to pursue his passion for extreme weather.

 He said: “Since 2010, I’ve covered tens of thousands of miles all over Arizona in attempt to capture what I call Arizona’s incredible weather.

Monsoon chaser Bryan Snider poses for the camera on a hit and dusty day in the desert in Phoenix, Arizona.

“I want to capture our beautiful landscapes, because I truly believe our landscapes bring the weather to life and vice versa.

“I'm also on a mission to show people that Arizona is more then just a dry hot desert - we are a fascinating state with so much dynamic landscapes and ecosystems.”