Strong Storms On May 28

Strong, but not quite severe storms blew through Eastern Iowa on Saturday afternoon, May 28, 2016. Some cells exhibited flat, lowered bases and formed mini funnels or scud at the center of the lowerings. Above, the image looks northwest on North Alburnett Road (W58) at its intersection with Paris Road (D66) at 2:26 pm CDT.

Same cell, different perspective. This image looks northwest at 2:28 pm from Hitaga Road at Paris Road (D66), about 4.2 miles southeast of Troy Mills, Iowa. The nearer lowering is located about 10 miles distant, just south of Quasqueton, Iowa; the farther lowering about 19 miles away, near the junction of US Highway 20 and Highway 150 at Rowley, Iowa.

Located on Paris Road (D66) at Troy Mills Road and 3.5 miles south of Troy Mills at 2:54 pm, a wall cloud-like lowering is shown suspended low over the landscape to the northwest. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Time Out, May 16

Time out, coverage of the May 16 severe weather outbreak... thunderstorms east of Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, May 27, 2016--though not technically classified as severe--provided for some fantastic opportunities for photo capture. The above image looks east at 7:28 pm CDT toward a rain core as seen from Whittier Road (X20), about 4 miles north of the junction with County Home Road (E34) at Whittier, Iowa. AccuWeather special weather statements declared numerous small and short-lived funnels were being reported this day in Eastern Iowa.

The image above looking southeast at 7:29 pm, and the image below looking east at 7:36 pm show rainbows in front of the local storm at the Whittier Road location. This photo op was basically a case of being in the right place at the right time! Storms were for the most part static and basically churned about as a line in the same location east of Cedar Rapids. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Wall Cloud Has Ghostly Companion

Recently pulled off US Highway 56/64 on E0310 Road and 2.2 miles west of Felt, Oklahoma, we observed the developing wall cloud taking on a classic look--and with a shrouded companion--in this case a funnel which does not appear to be touching the ground yet. This image looks north at 4:35 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016.

The above image was captured at the same time and is zoomed in more. Note the beautiful "cake layer" structure the rotating wall cloud is taking on.

Captured one minute later (4:36 pm), the accompanying funnel at left background may or may not be on the ground. Also almost touching ground is the wall cloud's low point at left center. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Got Its Act Together

From New Mexico, we retraced our highway route back into the panhandle of Oklahoma. Less than three miles west of the town of Felt, this sight greeted us looking north on US Highway 56/64 at 4:27 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016. The origins of what would become a full-blown wall cloud can be seen as scud-like formations at center. A tornado would also soon form at left background. A diagonal junction of US Highway 56/64 and E0310 Road provided a quick turnoff observing spot.

Safely off the road and parked on E0310 Road 2.2 miles west of town, the wall cloud quickly organizes further at 4:34 pm. A funnel, probably on the ground at this moment, can be seen--ghostlike--at the left and background edge of the wall cloud structure. Below is a zoomed-view of the wall cloud during the same time.

                                                         Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Getting Their Act Together

The base of the northernmost supercell, located in northeast New Mexico, featured this ragged base (background center) as it drew nearer to this location along Highway 406 at Seneca Road (A081), and just over 10 miles north of US Highway 56/64. This image looks north at 3:56 pm CDT on Monday, May 16, 2016.

A zoomed view of the lowered base is shown two minutes later. Though no real definite funnels would emanate from the base at this time, the area would get its act together as it entered the Oklahoma panhandle and produce a tornado near the town of Felt about a half-hour later.

Meanwhile, at the same time and location but looking southwest, the underside of another supercell moved steadily east (left) and would produce another tornado near US Highway 87 in the far western Oklahoma panhandle around 5:40 pm. Note the protruding small hills of the Rocky Mountain foothills in the landscape of the background. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Double Trouble

The two images above show the billowing updraft of a growing supercell in northeast New Mexico. The camera looks north alongside Highway 406, between 6-7 miles north of US Highway 56/64 and about 7.5 miles NE of Clayton, New Mexico. Top image was captured at 3:44 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016; the above image at 3:50 pm. At the same location but looking southwest, is the anvil underside of separate supercell shown below. Capture time also 3:50 pm.

Both supercells would produce a tornado, the top one just north of Felt, Oklahoma just after 4:30 pm. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Plains Vigil

My son (background) and I continued to wait as this storm cell billowed to life. The image looks west from E0132 Road, about .2-mile west of Highway 324, about 16.3 miles northwest of Boise City, Oklahoma. Despite the fact that this road runs for miles, its entrance from Highway 324 contains a gate. Cattle roam free on the open land. Time and date here was 2:46 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016.

This image looks northwest and was shot at 70mm focal length. The zoomed view shows dark cumulus clouds and mesa-like ground features at 3:00 pm. The dark area at the top of this image is the line of clouds seen at lower right in the first image.

A group of storm chasers from Texas parked a short distance west of us just after 3:00 pm, and are here observing a mother cow and her calf which were roaming the area. The two cows were getting their looks in too. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Enhanced Risk Day

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had issued an Enhanced Risk for severe weather for the panhandle areas of Oklahoma and Texas on Monday, May 16, 2016 (above), but our confidence for tornadoes or any form of severe weather was in doubt because of cool temperatures (low-to-mid-60s). There was however, enough instability and shear to initiate storms.

The supercell above was in full organization when the image was captured. The leading edge was laced with mammatus clouds, but there was a curious lack of lightning activity. This image was captured at 2:46 pm CDT and looks west from E0132 Road, about .25-mile west of Highway 324 and about 16 miles northwest of Boise City, Oklahoma. The flat and open terrain made for excellent observation/photography.

The above image looks north toward the storm at the same time. Note the obvious turbulent nature of the approaching storm in the background. Standing watching the storm near our vehicle is son Ryan. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Let The Storms Begin!

The first of many images I captured from a storm chase that took my son Ryan and me through Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas on Monday, May 16, 2016: The above image looks southwest as we were approaching Fowler, Kansas on US Highway 54 at 11:12 am CDT. Clouds are beginning to form in the distance after a foggy and overcast morning earlier in central Kansas. iPhone 6-plus camera.

By 2:36 pm, signs that severe weather was indeed initiating as the sky to the north and west began to darken. Here we were pulled off at the junction of a dirt road at the bend of Highway 324, about 15.5 miles west of Boise City, Oklahoma in the Oklahoma panhandle.

As we continued north on Highway 324 at 2:40 pm, the darkness of a distant building supercell was punctuated with mammatus (seen in the background above the white foreground cumulus). This image looks northwest. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Smoked Sky

Elevated smoke from wildfires in Alberta, Canada on Saturday, May 7, 2016 stretched some 1,300 miles to the southeast, diffusing sunsets over eastern Iowa. The above image looks west from Interstate 380 just south of the Center Point, Iowa exit at 7:24 pm CDT. Below is a closeup of the sun about 20 minutes later as seen from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The amount of smoke was potent enough in Iowa to cause breathing aggravations to people. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...