!['Dam Wet', Andrew McCaren: 'Whilst trying to visualise the heavy rainfall of March 2019 Wet Sleddale came to mind, I have driven past Wet Sleddale dam many times and seen it dry even after prolonged rainfall, but thought I would take a chance. After a 4:30am start and a two-and-a-half-hour drive from my home in Leeds to Cumbria, [England,] I made it to the location and remember shouting 'yes yes yes' as I saw the water pouring down the spillway.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KINKKONW7GMD76VGFK2ETGVVYA.jpg?smart=true&auth=583cf032f488686797cd27af28a72c41cd92f7e05fded89b4b808efa0dbfeb3e&width=800&height=533)
!['Trees & Fog', Preston Stoll: 'On the morning after a bitterly cold night in December, I left Steamboat Springs [Colorado, USA] in search of frost and any winter weather I could find. I wandered the roads and forests near the edge of the morning snow showers to find where interesting transitions in weather might be seen. This was the last photo of many taken that morning and my favourite by far. The fog bank behind the frosted trees isolates the small grove and creates a wonderfully minimalistic scene.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UJWJT7FQORRUZOCW4NWPNK3JIU.jpg?smart=true&auth=bb6abe97540b683918e738b18615c2357f9fed91fa8949f1ddff9984c3cf1245&width=800&height=450)
!['Frosty Bison', Laura Hedien: 'We were touring the west side of [Yellowstone National] Park. It was a very cold sunrise, the coldest of the week so far. It was near zero degrees Fahrenheit. We came around the corner in our snow coach and saw this magnificent bison just sauntering down the road as if they owned the Park and they do! Keeping the required distance we hopped out, grabbed some photos, and quickly got back in the vehicle and watched as she/he walked about five feet right past us. It was as if we were not even there. It certainly added to the ghost-like event.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/UUBSRZQ65I53623J473H72KEP4.jpg?smart=true&auth=f63d6f31d598b3b879e4144f12a8b01796101d2e3e56e4dc144d09230864b301&width=800&height=1000)
!['Sa Foradada Storm', Marc Marco Ripoll: 'I tried many times to catch a good lightning strike behind this rock called Sa Foradada, [Spain,] but every time I tried, the conditions were not so good. I didn't have the moon in the sky to illuminate the scene, or the lightning was too far away. This night I knew that a big storm was approaching Mallorca and all the conditions were perfect. I don't remember if the moon was full, but I remember that it was very big. This was perfect, because the moon was going to illuminate all the land and the sea and give more colour to the scene. I chose my composition, and I shot many pictures until the storm fell on me. This is one of the pictures I took that night in Sa Foradada. To see the storm and the lightning that night was something amazing.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RFPH572S5MEWUT6OWJXPHBRML4.jpg?smart=true&auth=8fbe2641fd9d2357f0fe379a58d4e8da92de1b0fc9d9339ffe02f8f6debfcaf8&width=800&height=533)
!['Under the Rainbow', Joan Randles: 'I have been capturing the semi-feral ponies of the Gower, Swansea, [Wales,] for nearly a year, spending many hours observing them and the changes to their environment. Part of following their day to day lives means photographing them in all kinds of weather conditions. On this day I remember seeing the rainbow forming after a hailstorm. Knowing that there wouldn’t be too many opportunities such as this, I swiftly left my car as the hail passed and ran down the common as I wasn't sure how long the rainbow would be full for. Furthermore, due to the rapidly changing weather, including natural lighting conditions and that I was capturing a semi-feral animal, I was having to make a decision about the composition of the image with no more than minutes to spare.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TMDF7QNM2D7IL4E5DNZUDTX2YQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=c15be35c981f466c36ee2848372ff6a4c2667e6339cbf0d5a97861ff4bd67498&width=800&height=533)
!['Baikal Treasure', Alexey Trofimov: 'I took this photo during an expedition on the ice of Lake Baikal [Russia]. On the first day we arrived at Cape Kotelnikovsky, where I was attracted by ice hummocks and a snow cover. It was noon, not really my photo time. But the light that the sun gave, refracting in blocks of ice, caught my attention and made me take this picture.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/77ASTNXQ6RAY2I7E73TEY77Q5I.jpg?smart=true&auth=aff8e7d32c1e64f112be83869908038adf53e468d56005b2d01934ab7036dd2e&width=800&height=587)
!['Tea Hills', Vu Trung Huan: 'Lost in the fairy scene. Long Coc tea hill, [Vietnam] has mysterious and strange features when the sun is not yet up. Hidden in the morning mist, the green colour of tea leaves still stands out. Early in the morning, holding a cup of tea, taking a breath of fresh air, watching the gentle green stretches of green tea hills. It is true that nothing is equal! For those who love nature, like to watch the sunrise, when standing on the top of the hill, you will the most clearly feel the transition between night and day. A large green land suddenly caught in sight. When the sun is up, everything is tinged with sunlight, on the tea buds there is still glittering morning dew, a pure beauty that makes you just want to embrace everything.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/IIAMZFY5M3FJIT4G43K7RPN4D4.jpg?smart=true&auth=372bc681049f7166b3a52dcbed0a44b4b0e2312710b2d7051c91806009c5961b&width=800&height=518)
!['Ridgeline Optics', Richard Fox: 'After a foggy and snowy climb up onto Meall Nan Tarmachan (Hill of the Ptarmigans) (1043 m), [Scotland,] and along the Tarmachan Ridge, I was greeted, as I ate my lunch on Meall Garbh, to a break in the weather. The sun broke through and behind me a full fog bow, Brocken Spectre and glory. At one point there were multiple glories too.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/H7SHUUYLTKKT67Y6NJ5CQ6TGMI.jpg?smart=true&auth=1435f3b7dc8c80c2eb1a3ff9c430fd07f3b9936d30d8f691429afe03efb89e08&width=800&height=487)
!['Pinnacles of Light', Richard Fox: 'My wife and I visited the Isle of Harris and Lewis, [Scotland] on holiday for a week. One evening, after a day out on Lewis, we stopped off at the Mangersta sea stacks. It was pretty windy on the cliff tops, making long exposures quite challenging. All of a sudden a few rain showers passed over as the late evening light broke though, providing an amazing set of rainbows.'](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/DDG3Z3KMIGACVCAKMPUUML6HQU.jpg?smart=true&auth=242a2f064b985dca82971b4fe829134689ab777df3046fd1c377a72740b33fdb&width=800&height=499)
Rudolf Sulgan has been named winner of the Royal Meteorological Society's Weather Photographer of the Year 2020 for his image Blizzard, showing Brooklyn Bridge in New York during a snow storm.
The striking image was crowned winner today after a panel of judges chose it from a shortlist of 26 photographs, which were selected from more than 7,700 entered into the competition.
The shortlist was announced in August. Click through the gallery above to see all 26 shortlisted photographs.
“I made this image in 2018, during a strong blizzard as El Nino’s periodic warming of water often disrupts normal weather patterns. My main concern and inspiration are that my images hopefully do a small part in combating climate change,” Slovakian photographer Sulgan said of his winning image.
Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society and panel judge, said: “The weather affects all of our lives and this picture captures that perfectly. Brooklyn Bridge provides an iconic backdrop, but it is the combined effect of snow, wind and freezing temperatures on the people trying to cross the bridge that tells the whole story – it sends a shiver down my spine.”
This was echoed by judge Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather expert meteorologist: "The best photos make me feel like I was there when they took it, as if I were having their experience. Blizzard does this for me. I feel the full impact – the chill of the winter air, the snowflakes hitting my face, and the people enjoying the snow, with older folks remembering previous snows and children just forming memories that will last for years. The framing is impeccable and pleasing. It captures that moment when snow is falling so hard that it adds a ghostly, otherworldly essence to your surroundings."
The runners up were Vu Trung Huan for Tea Hills and Maja Kraljik for Monster.
Tea Hills depicts a mist over the Long Coc tea hill in Vietnam's Phu Tho Province. While Monster is depicts an enormous shelf cloud over water, of which Kraljik recalls: "I was waiting for two hours for the cloud to arrive and then it made a real mess."
Baikal Treasure by Alexey Trofimov, a photograph of jewel-like ice under snow on Lake Baikal in Russia was named the public's favourite. As well as the judges selecting an overall winner, a public vote was held and received 11,275 votes.
Of Baikal Treasure, Trofimov said: "I took this photo during an expedition on the ice of Lake Baikal. On the first day we arrived at Cape Kotelnikovsky, where I was attracted by ice hummocks and a snow cover. It was noon, not really my photo time. But the light that the sun gave, refracting in blocks of ice, caught my attention and made me take this picture."
Young Weather Photographer of the Year
The title of Young Weather Photographer of the Year was won by 17-year-old Kolesnik Stephanie Sergeevna, from Russia, for her image Frozen Life. The category was open to photographers aged 17 and under.
Of her image, Kolesnik said: “The photo is of a leaf stuck in the ice. I wanted to take this shot because it is a part of sunny summer frozen in ice. Time seems to have stopped for this leaf.”
Bentley added of the image: "Frozen Life freezes time, both figuratively and literally. Captured forever is this moment in time when the leaf slowly froze into the water, but more importantly, as the photographer says, it's a strange juxtaposition of seasons, summer taken over by winter, and I think the progression of the seasons is always fascinating."
The runner-up for Young Weather Photographer of the Year is Emma Rose Karsten, for her image, Surf's Up.
