Shelf cloud, Coconut Well, WA. Credit: Coral Stanley-Joblin.
Photographer Coral Stanley-Joblin. Credit: Coral Stanley-Joblin.
For self-confessed storm-chasing addict Coral Stanley-Joblin, there's no length too far to capture a photo of an incoming thunderstorm.
When she spied a storm cell approaching on the BOM Weather app, the fact she was already at home in her pyjamas was no deterrent to getting a photo.
This enabled her to catch the June photo in the 2026 Australian Weather Calendar - a storm over Coconut Wells, near Broome in Western Australia.
"I get storm FOMO big time, but I don't care about missing out on anything else in life," she said.
"If there's a storm, even if I've had an hour sleep, or got a huge day or whatever - I'm just like a zombie, my body's like no, you're not sleeping, you have to go to this."
Coral didn't waste any time and left home with her camera, while still in her pyjamas.
"In the wet season there's never anyone there, so going in pyjamas is risky - but it was a low risk," she said.
"I thought if this gets to us at the right time and the suns sets at the right time, it's going to be an absolute cracker - and it was."
Coral's photo shows a cumulonimbus cloud creeping over the ocean, lit up in sunset shades of fairy-floss pink.
Cumulonimbus clouds form in the lowest layer of our atmosphere but extend through to the top layers, thanks to moist air rising, cooling and condensing.
The grey, low cloud layer in the foreground resulted from cold air and strong winds in the gust front.
The shelf cloud indicates the boundary between the cool and warm air masses.
Managing to capture the scene was a pleasant surprise for Coral.
"My expectation is always I hope it's going to be good," she said.
"But I know from watching the radar for years, just because it looks good on the radar, it doesn't mean it's going to do its thing.
"The fact that the sun set at exactly the right time, that doesn't always happen, obviously. That was perfect."
It's the uncertainty of photographing weather that keeps Coral invested in capturing the elusive photos.
"I've been taking storm photos for at least 15 years," she said.
"There's just so many challenges, even still after all this time it's hard.
"It's unpredictable, you just never know what you're going to get."
The Bureau's 2027 Australian Weather Calendar national photo competition is currently open for submissions until March 31.
For the full terms and conditions of entry, and to submit a photo, visit: http://www.bom.gov.au/calendar/contest/
