From rainbows and lightning strikes, to heat waves and flooding, this year’s Weather Photographer of the Year competition features breathtaking photographs capturing a range of weather and climate events, as well as highlighting the beauty of the natural world.

Now in its eleventh year, the competition hosted by the U.K. Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) showcases the world's most striking weather and climate photographs and provides an international platform to raise awareness about the environmental issues threatening our planet.

This year’s competition received more than 5,500 entries from around the world, and their panel of judges have narrowed it down to 30 finalists. 

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Now it’s time for the public to choose the winner. Voting is open until Nov. 5, and the winner will be announced Nov. 17. 

Below we highlight just a few of the finalists. For the full list of finalists and voting information, visit the competition website.

Mares de Niebla (Seas of Mist), Francisco Bailon Rodriguez

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Taken from the Albercutz Watchtower in Mallorca, Spain, looking towards the Formentor Peninsula, this stunning image captures the first light of dawn illuminating the fog below.

Close enough, William Huxley Eades

On May 23, 2025, a powerful supercell thunderstorm near Akron, Colorado, USA, produced three tornadoes. For storm chaser William Huxley Eades, after years of near misses, this was the first tornado he had ever witnessed.

Triple strike in NYC, Dan Martland

From Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Dan Martland captured this spectacular scene overlooking the New York City skyline, as three lightning strikes lit the sky above the city.

Mount Shasta top hat at sunset, Lisa K. Kuhn

With its smooth, stacked layers glowing in the evening light, this lenticular cloud looks almost as though Mount Shasta has dressed up for the occasion. Located in northern California, USA, the 14,000-foot volcano is a well-known spot for these striking cloud formations, which can resemble giant saucers, stacks of pancakes, or even classic UFO imagery.

A winter morning, Aung Soe Min

A calm winter morning reveals Kuthodaw Pagoda rising through the mist and fog. Aung Soe Min captured the sun rays filtering across the landscape, creating a beautiful sunrise that captures the warmth of the weather and the peaceful serenity of this sacred site in Myanmar.

Lakeland rainbow, Mat Robinson

After a long walk in the Lake District, England, Mat Robinson spotted distant rain falling over the Pennines, while dark clouds drifted overhead. Sensing the changing weather, he turned to his partner and announced that “something good’s about to happen”. His prediction paid off, with the perfect conditions producing a spectacular double rainbow.

Ice hearts, Dominika Koszowska

After witnessing a spectacular sunrise in Łapszanka, Poland, Dominika Koszowska’s winter adventure had another surprise in store. During a treetop walk in Bachledova dolina, Slovakia, at nearly 1,200 metres above sea level, she noticed a safety wire mesh that had been transformed by a thick coating of hard, white rime ice. Delicate, repeating patterns had formed across the metal, resembling rows of frozen hearts.

Life on the flooded edge, Azim Khan Ronnie

From above, a densely inhabited community in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, appears almost like an island, with its colourful rooftops and greenery contrasting the surrounding water. This is not an island, but a community in the wetlands, where flooding is a familiar part of life which has increasingly been putting homes and livelihoods at risk.

Glacial calving surge, Thomas Ruimou Yu

The calving zone of the Perito Moreno Glacier in southern Patagonia, Argentina, is a dramatic 5- kilometre-wide and 70-metre-tall ice wall where massive chunks of blue ice routinely crash into Lago Argentino.