Distant Flashes

I was filled with anticipation as I spotted for severe weather on the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa after 9:00 PM CDT on Monday, May 20, 2013. Funnel clouds had been reported in the Des Moines area after 7:00 PM and severe weather was advancing as close as Tama County to the west. As storms reached Cedar Rapids, however, they quickly died. The line of storms stretched from the SW to the NE and allowed the top two images to be captured. They look northwest at lightning flashes in a storm cell located about 30 miles distant, in southern Buchanan County. In the background at right is 74th Street NE. The images are 25 second exposures at f/7.1, 200 ISO and 18mm focal length. Below is a radar screen capture of the same moment in time as the images shown above.