Columbia River and Government Island, Oregon

This picture shows Government Island in the Columbia River between Portland and Vancouver on an ominous-looking spring evening.

Although I-205 passes over Government Island, there is no public access to the island from the highway. It is accessible by boat, and many boaters camp on the island's beaches on hot summer weekends. Part of the island is used for grazing cattle, which are brought to the island by boat. Government Island is almost entirely covered by a forest of black cottonwoods,

(Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa).

For an excellent discussion of cloud heights and types, along with tips on short-term weather forecasting based on your own observations of the sky, click here.

For a great and simple explanation of the mechanics of storm fronts, visit this page.