Winning Photographs of the Weather Photographer of The Year 2022 Are Out of This World

The Royal Meteorological Society (RMS) has announced the 2022 winners of its annual Weather Photographer of the Year competition, and the winning photographs are truly magnificent. Nearly 5,500 people cast their ballots for the 22 finalists in the overall competition.

Prize money for this year’s RMS competition ranged from £500 ($580) for first place, £250 ($290) for second place, and £100 ($115) for third. The contestants also received a complimentary free membership to the Royal Meteorological Society for one year and a Canon SELPHY CP1300 printer with a media pack.

Here are the winners of the competition.

1 Storm Eunice: The winner

A dramatic shot by British photographer Christopher Ison titled “Storm Eunice” won first place. Taken in 2021 during the first-ever red storm warning at Newhaven on the south coast of England, the picture shows roaring seas at high tide against the stoic structure of a lighthouse.

In a statement to the press, Ison, 50, stated, “I knew I had to find a spot to record it; this was going to be big! I got there reasonably early to find many photographers already drenched in rain and seawater, standing very close to the harbor wall. I decided to head to high ground and slightly further away, with my back to the weather.”

Ison’s decision paid off, and the ensuing photo series featured his winning shot in a novel and dramatic context. The judges unanimously deemed Ison’s photo entry to represent “the power of nature.”

Img Src: substackcdn.com

2 Frozen: Second place

The 55-year-old Canadian photographer Zhenhuan Zhou from Toronto took second place with his photograph “Frozen,” a surreal scene of icicles covering Niagara Falls in Ontario. He managed to capture the perfect shot of the frozen waterfall.

Img Src: divio-media.com

3 Ghost Under the Cliff: Third place

For his depiction of the massive optical phenomenon that occurs when an observer’s shadow is cast downward upon morning fog from the cliff at Tavertet, Barcelona, 68-year-old Emili Vilamala Benito of Barcelona, Spain, came in third.

Benito explained, “In this geographical area, you can see these phenomena due to morning fog, and when it fades, it is possible to see this spectacular optical phenomenon.”

Img Src: astratv.gr

4 Mammatus Sunset: Won the Young Weather Photographer of the Year award

Submittals were also accepted for the “Young Photographer,” “Mobile Phone,” and “Public Favorite” categories of the competition. U.S. citizen and Pennsylvania-based photographer Eris Pil won the Young Weather Photographer of the Year award for 2022. Eris, a 17-year-old student, used a Google Pixel 3 smartphone to record the rare and challenging-to-catch occurrence known as a “Mammatus Sunset,” in which bulbous, backlit clouds gently illuminate the sky. It was Pil’s first time seeing Mammatus clouds. He was excited and eager to show other people what they looked like and hoped he’d see them again.

Img Src: immediate.co.uk