A monster shelf cloud moves towards a small community in San Manuel, Arizona, 12 September 2016. Thousands of rain drops merge to form mammoth travelling sheets of water in these breathtaking monsoons. Veteran storm chaser and photographer Mike Olbinski captured the stunning beauty of monsoons in timelapses and stills while chasing storm systems across America. After years on the road the photographer has perfected his set up and takes every setback in his stride as he tries to get ahead of every storm. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





Blue sky precedes a rolling storm creating an intimidating presence in the distance in Arizona, USA, 18 July 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A one lightning bolt lights up the stormy sky in Arizona, USA, 22 July 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A lightning bolt lands in the Four Peaks Wilderness area northeast of Phoenix, seeming to fork into two directions at the last minute as it strikes the side of a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, 28 June 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





Lightning striking like hellfire rains down on mountains west of Phoenix, with a massive bolt landing right atop Courthouse Rock in Phoenix, Arizona, 25 July 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





The sun rises behind a cobwebbed lightning strike near Four Peaks in Phoenix, Arizona, 12 September 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A bolt from a summer thunderstorm drops just on the north side of the Little Colorado River, seen from the Grand Canyon in Navajo Point, Arizona, 23 August 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A beautiful, isolated storm hangs in western portions of Arizona right at sunset in Arizona, USA, 9 August 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





Nine separate photos stacked over each other from nine minutes of strikes along the Sun Valley Parkway make up this stunning image in Phoenix, Arizona, 18 August 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A stunning thunderstorm at sunset out in a remote area in Arizona, USA, 6 September 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A bolt of lighting splits the sky near a remote community east of Ajo in Arizona, USA, 6 September 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A rolling storm cloud looms ominously over the lens in Arizona, USA, 29 July 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A lightning bolt strikes near Triple Eye and Courthouse Rock in Arizona, USA, 25 July 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





An explosion of lightning seems to resemble a bird rising from the mountains in Arizona, USA, 18 August 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A powerful downburst of rain dumps over the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction, creating strong outflow winds that kick up tons of dust, lowering visibility to zero at times in Apache Junction, Arizona, 27 June 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A gorgeous couple of lightning strikes hit the Sand Tank Mountains just after sunset in Arizona, USA, 1 July 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)





A massive positive cloud-to-ground lightning strike hits in Coolidge, Arizona, 31 August 2016. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)