July 24 - Along the Dewitt / Macon County Border

A severe thunderstorm with a history of producing significant straight line wind damage developed in WC IL and churned it's way ESE. Schuyler, Fulton and Mason Counties received the brunt of this storm however its trajectory put us in harms way as well. The strongest part of this storm appeared to be headed between Decatur and Clinton so I took a short jog N for the easy intercept. On arrival, it appeared to be weakening yet did not disappoint in producing ominous structure as well as gusty winds.





Traveling E to get ahead again, it quickly transitions into an outflow dominate squall line with whale mouth of a shelf at which point I call it quits but not before grabbing a few more snaps.






Time lapse clip VIDEO LINK

July 21 - NE Macon County / Chase to Charleston IL

Despite missing a few significant local events earlier in the week, on this day I was treated to a nice surprise. Around midday I had to run a few errands so before leaving, I peeked at local radar to see what was happening. A few small storms had popped up to the N so I decided to grab the cameras and check them out as well. Not thinking I would need it, I left the laptop at home and rolled blind. Noting supercell characteristics with the storm as I approached, I was completely blown away by what I would encounter in the way of a healthy rotating wall cloud on the base. Laughing at myself for the irony in finally getting up close to a storm where data would have been nice, I approached with caution from the S and ended up spending time from just NW of Argenta. All the while as I plotted my moves, a little voice in the words of Dick McGowan kept telling me "get closer, shoot wider" so I did. The first image is with the wide angle affixed to the EF 18-55 and I am within 1/4 mile of the storm.



In the time it took for me drive closer and find a suitable location to park, the above wall cloud dissipated as it went through a cycling phase. This is where outflow descends from behind the updraft base and chokes off the inflow. Once this transfer of cool downward air has exited so long as the storm is able to resume drawing warm moist air into the updraft, it will "cycle" to form a new wall cloud. I didn't think the new wall cloud would do it but it came very close as evident by brief, rapidly rising scud observed above the tree line. You can see what appears to be a thin funnel and I would place this feature over the Friend's Creek Park area.





By now the storm was tornado warned but since I had no data or communication, I never knew. I continued following though it never really exhibited structure leaving me to think it would do it again.


Now in Piatt County, it was here I cut off to finish errands. Arriving home to review radar as well as warning issuance, it lost the warning not long after breaking away so for going blind, the situation worked out quite nicely. A secondary cell in Vermilion County reportedly did produce a tornado.


VIDEO LINK



Later, a new batch of storms moved into Dewitt County. Riding on the same boundary, they looked good in the beginning but as they drifted SE, lost their intensity. I ended up getting suckered into following all the way to Coles County from near Charleston.






Now approaching Charleston/Mattoon area, the pileus cap is what caught my eye.



Riding it's own outflow boundary, bases were interesting but never reached warning criteria.








Abandoning at Charleston, I dropped down to Lerna just to see what this small town of about 300 looked like. Not much to view other than depression but wasn't about to go home empty handed.


Later at Lovington.

Lips

While on a short walk at Weldon Springs yesterday, the updraft portion of a passing shower produced an unusual base bearing obvious similarity to a human facial feature.











Heading out, crossed paths with this little fellow.

Sphinx Moth

My neighbor informed me that there was a big moth on her porch. It was a Sphinx Moth though my entomologist daughter on the other hand insisted it was a "leaf moth". The opportunity proved worthwhile for turning an otherwise lazy afternoon into a productive one.

Post Lakeside Art and Music Festival

First up, hoping you had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July. For those who have served with the armed forces in some capacity including several of you who are my friends, thank you for protecting the integrity of our Nation and in turn, the sanctity of this holiday. As per the title, the Lakeside Art and Music Festival is a 4th of July weekend event held annually at Nelson Park in Decatur. Showcasing a wide variety of creative talent, this year we were blessed with spectacular weather unlike last which was a complete washout. I was there as tent coordinator for the Barn Colony Artists group for which I am a member. We had six participants including myself which isn't a strong showing for the membership body but we still managed to fill the tent. Also filling the tent were dozens of mayflies that although delicate and harmless were at times somewhat of a nuisance. Foot traffic was good and we had many visitors but unlike the first few years of this event, it wasn't as good as it could be. There is no one reason why this event doesn't jump off like popular Arts in Central Park event that is held towards the end of summer but I think if crafters were reintroduced, this event would do much better for everyone. Independence Day is a family holiday so (IMHO) it would seem fitting to assemble a program that includes diversity going beyond just presenting fine art. Nevertheless, those who are in charge work very hard to keep things running smooth thereby making this event one we are proud to be a part of each year. Many thanks to WSOY, Gallery 510, The Decatur Arts Council as well as local media outlets and other business entities.













On a seperate note, light showers at dawn this morning produced the following.