Thursday, May 13, 2010

Severe Thunderstorm SW of Taylorville IL

A series of strong storms developed along I-70 in S IL Thursday evening. The cells I was most interested in were from near Vandalia to Effingham. Unfortunately there was no way I could get down there before they would either dissipate or move towards IN however, a strong storm drifting NE from near St. Louis caught my attention. It would be the only one to earn a warning so I took off towards Assumption and then over to somewhere S of Taylorville. I anticipated that it would die or be near to doing so by the time I arrived which ended up verifying. Just a few minutes after the first snaps, the warning was canceled and all that was left was some brief heavy rain.









Heading back, I noticed the setting sun peeking through so I decided to spend some time on a country road to see what would happen. The last light of day ended up generating colorful opportunity as evident in the rain bands. The distant line is the actual cold front that had been drifting along ever so slowly.


After the above, I was facing E for awhile trying to get distant lightning on storms now over by Charleston/Mattoon which proved unsuccessful. With the showers from above having pressed on, mammatus from under the anvil appeared and was catching the last bit of light.


The only lightning capture way off at lower right. Those crawlers which I missed would fill the lower half of the scene. No complaints as it was just nice to be outside.

4 comments:

Suz said...

everytime there are warnings I think of you and hoping you will capture what you chase...
country roads....you should make a book of your photos..country roads...and sky
I love how you capture the beauty around you no matter where it is...what an artist's eye you have
but I can see you have a left brain going on too
gorgeous sunset....

p said...

I have been throwing around the idea of doing a book. Lord knows I have obtained enough material over the last few years to be able to pull it off. I'm still holding out for a few more opportunities on my to do list but yeah, it is something I hope to pull off. Thanks as always for your kind words, generosity like yours does wonders for my spirit.

Suz said...

Your work is fabulous...not just nice photos but words
you capture something intangible in your photos that I know everyone will know immediatley upon seeing...your talent is great
and I love the Illinois I haven't seen....you have shown me that..and I love it...the nooks and crannies of the land of lincoln

Dann Cianca said...

Oooh, Paul, love the colors in the last few images!