Dark Skies

Never thought I’d be snapping photos in the plains in October, but here I am! Was almost a bust of day… but headed northward late in the afternoon to catch up to some cells northwest of Enid. Missed catching a brief tornado near Jet, OK, but at least I was chasing the right storm as it was the only one that day to yield a tornado.

The consolation prize are some lightning shots. Just unfortunate that I couldn’t get the nice sliver of a moon (on the right side) exposed properly which still capturing the storm… so you’ll have to use your imagination!

Today’s goal was to drive to Lubbock in preparation for tomorrow’s chase day… but some storms fired and I couldn’t resist snapping some photos. Here’s the only one post-worthy.

Not much happened when the shelf clouds collided but not too long after I saw some stronger rotation on radar. Low and behold I looked over while driving and saw a very brief tornado (maybe on the ground for 15secs). This was south of Leon, KS. Craptacular picture, I know, but that’s what happens when I had to quickly stop the car to snap a shot. It was gone before I could set my aperture and re-focus. But it’s a tornado nonetheless!

A fun day.

Storm Overhead

Merging Cells on May 27

Turtle Taking Shelter

Tornado near Leon, KS

Radar Loop

Only got a few lightning pics out the day… overall a mess of storms that never stayed discrete in nature for any length of time. Pictures were taken near Kinsley, KS

When you stand underneath the base of a rotating storm and stare upwards into the swirling mess of ominous clouds, while not the safest place to be, it’s truly beautiful, mesmerizing, and surprisingly calm. This is what I’m chasing!

Headed out to Colorado for a few days of chasing. Here’s a video of two of the four tornadoes that developed in the area near the city of Wray. Thankfully, no reported injuries from the tornado itself.

And here’s the radar…