Clouds in Florida never cease to amaze me

The most detailed clouds were off to my southwest, which didn't make for much a pretty foreground. This is along the Indian River in Palm Bay.

Note: This post has been updated with wider images, in accordance with the new format on The Offlede.

After last week's deluge that brought more than 11 inches of rain to my area of Melbourne, Central Florida has assumed its summer weather pattern of hot and humid days capped off with a late-afternoon thunderstorm. Tuesday's storm shortened my cardinal-shooting venture, but complemented it with some really cool cloud cover.

The storm's front, marked by a pronounced shelf, moved over my position in Turkey Creek Sanctuary while my camera was rigged with a telephoto lens, preventing me from capturing its entirety. The trees in the sanctuary, where I was hunting the cardinals, also obstructed my view. I ran back to my car, huge camera and all, to get a smaller lens, but it was too late. I'm kicking myself for not carrying a wide angle.

But the detail on the underside of the storm was impressive, too. As a Maine native who is not used to such drastic summer weather, I am unceasingly captivated by the clouds in Florida, even those that are not associated with storms.

I was in southern Brevard County for this storm. Starting in Palm Bay, I followed the river down nearly to the boundary with Indian River County, stopping at a few spots for some photos. The rain was heavy, but the lightning was sparse.

In this photo taken in the parking lot of Turkey Creek Sanctuary in Palm Bay, you can see the bluer sky off to the north.

I drove toward the aforementioned blueness and took this shot looking north toward Melbourne.

At the southern end of my journey, a shot at the Sebastian Inlet Marina in Micco that looks northeast along the Indian River. I think the brown color is smoke. I definitely smelled smoke before I even saw this. But I'm not sure of its source, especially considering the fire danger after last week's rain is not that high.

This is taken at the same spot in Micco as the previous photo, just looking southeast toward Sebastian Inlet State Park.