Shuttle photograph of a system of thunderstorms over the Ivory Coast in western Africa. It was taken by the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis during the STS-30 mission of 4-8 May 1989. The south-looking scene was recorded at sunset, hence the storm tops cast long shadows which accentuate their shapes and heights. The thunderstorm front is located on the interface between the land & sea breezes over the west African coastline, and is in the normal position for the African intertropical front at this time of year. A cumulo-nimbus cloud may extend upwards to an altitude in excess of 10 kilometres, driven by immensely strong central up- currents.

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