Full Pink Moon

Yesterday's full moon rising was perfectly timed with the flyby of the International Space Station for a composite idea as it departed to the SE.



I've also been working on my SmugMug site and although it's kind of useless for not currently having a print order option, I did introduce new galleries including WEATHER 2013 and NATURE 2013. Have a look!

Lyrid Meteor Shower

Over the past few nights when skies weren't too cloudy, I tried for the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower. The morning of the 20th netted two from a near hour long session including one to just graze by Polaris.





The morning of the 22nd and able to be out, I saw about a dozen or so over the span of two hours but most were short and too fast to be imaged save for one. Several long, slower ones naturally fired from out of frame.

Broken lunar halo through an approaching cirrus band.


42 minutes, no meteors, lots of cloud debris.


28 minutes, one meteor and an unknown satellite.


Yesterday was also Earth Day so I took Ava to the park.

Friday Flooding / Cold Showers

Stevens Creek which is usually little more than a shallow ditch over along the tree line is running exceptionally high, the likes of which I have not seen since 2008. You can tell where the water had been even higher per the flotsam sticking to the foliage. HERE is a look at recent regional rainfall totals c/o NWS. Later in the evening, a very cold pool dropping through on brisk northwesterly winds produced light rain showers and even some frozen graupel.

Girard Revisited

On this day two years ago, I found myself unintentionally going toe to toe with a large tornado from just north of Girard Illinois. It was an experience unlike any other and one that still affects my way of thinking today. I caught some heat from the storm chasing community for having been in such close proximity but I handled the situation appropriately and will leave it at that. Contrary to what anyone including notables in the field will say, there is a significant degree of risk involved in severe weather observation regardless of how careful one conducts themselves. Personally, I believe in being as cautious as possible but if there is one truth about storm chasing, at some point everyone has an "oh s***" moment that they are forced to deal with. This particular tornado went from as they say "bird fart" to full blown EF3 faster than I imagined possible. As alluded to in the original post from this day, the tornado was of lesser concern than the galloping power lines that posed a far greater threat and was the focus in my decision making. Enough about the past though for we live, we learn, and as discovered on yet another unintended visit back on March 19, 2012 the story did not end that night.

Awaiting for storms to initiate on a slight risk that would end up being a bust, none of these images have been previously published.




Heading west and then eventually south, I decided to bail on precipitation 'blips' appearing on radar that would amount to very little. I had not been back to the tornado site so with a good friend following, I opted to revisit and share the experience. We parked up by the farm that had been for the most part restored. The house was surprisingly intact and a pole structure was erected in lieu of the massive old barn that collapsed. A fence had also been put up around the perimeter with numerous "NO TRESPASSING" signs which was a bit unsettling as I surveyed from the shoulder area.

Measuring the space between power poles, it is 200'. Using this as a frame of reference, it was 700' from where I was crouched down to the center of circulation. The first pole used as a starting pointing is just out of frame to the right and due E of the fence corner. Several of the poles were also new.




Looking south, it is another three power pole lengths equaling 600' to the elongated building. This brings the total to 1300' feet away from the center of circulation where numerous other chasers were 'safely' observing the tornado.


Moving back up to the house, a man pulled into the driveway for whom I recognized as being the property owner. Angrily asking what we were doing, I reintroduced myself at which point his demeanor immediately changed to one of welcome. Someone driving by alerted him to our presence for which apparently he has had issues with people trespassing since the event. He went on to tell me more about what happened in the time since which was nothing short of mind blowing.

Despite heavy damage, he attributed the survival of the house to the copper that was fastened to the roof with large nails and kept it from being ripped off. Both he and his girlfriend (who had also arrived by now) sought safety in the cellar. He noted that moments before closing the door, he saw a large drum style tank ascend vertically.




He also mentioned about a vintage pedal car ending up in his yard yet no one knows where it came from. I knew what he was talking about for I remembered seeing and even managing to document it in a picture that has not been seen till now. He also spoke of small debris that flew through the house including a piece of straw that embedded itself in the upper corner of a room near the ceiling. A distant shredded tree line to the west was littered with rubble from other properties upstream that were hit shortly after the tornado first touched down roughly three miles away.


Remember when I alluded to other chasers 'safely' observing the tornado? Turns out down at the building where they were parked, a large projectile fell from the sky, punched through the roof and embedded itself in the flooring. He didn't remember what it was exactly but the thought that were it to have shifted a short distance and land on an unsuspecting vehicle was chilling. People are welcome to their opinions but ultimately, no one was exactly 'safe'. I have maximum respect for those who were there and know how this tornado behaved for there were no "adrenaline junkies" or other dumb labels present, just people who stumbled upon an unexpectedly intense intercept.

The opportunity to talk to Glenn and his girlfriend helped me have some closure. I asked how they were doing psychologically and it affected them almost identically as did me. He had difficulty sleeping for weeks and it took awhile for that terrible hell sound to ebb from his consciousness. I shared my experience and they appreciated that someone else understood. I had the audio on my phone and asked if they wanted to hear it. They said yes and their reaction along with the noticeable goosebumps as though they were living it over again is something I will never forget. Since I was unable to get his information that night, before parting ways I asked if they wanted video and pictures to which they also said yes. Throughout our talk, an exceptionally friendly outdoor cat milled about our feet. He told me that it rode out the tornado from somewhere on the property and upon discovery, its fur was soaked and matted with mud. We can only imagine what it may have witnessed.

Heavy Rain / Flooding

A massive, slow moving squall line in advance of a frontal system came through around 7:00 AM CDT. Though relatively tame upon passage, it was expected to intensify further east but never really did. The copious amounts of heavy rainfall that fell throughout the day resulted in a flash flood situation affecting nearly the entire Midwest. The passage of the front has brought the rain to an end but for area residents who are dealing with flooding woes, a forecast high around 25° cooler than 24 hours ago is hardly the ideal clean up weather.

Overnight Severe

A particularly strong storm as part of a nocturnal MCS developed after midnight and ran straight over my location with nickel sized hail and intense cloud to ground lightning.


c/o RadarScope

ISO 100, F8.0, 6 sec.




Much later as the complex departed... (ISO 400, F7.1, 13 sec.)

April 10th Storms

A stalled frontal boundary draped across the state last week brought periodic showers and storms. Wednesday was the day of greatest interest as the parent system out west lifted across the area and put us in a slight risk for severe weather. A morning outflow boundary would drop through and make conditions less favorable for storm development or so we thought as a tornado warned cell would form across EC IL with a secondary round of storms after the outflow passage. The day would end up being cloudy, cool, showery and overall stable. I was out with the secondary round and chose to stay up this way instead of drop SE with the boundary and thus, missed the tornado warned storm. Afternoon development just to the S of the warm front which had nudged its way down to I-72 would however, produce a remarkable storm with jaw dropping structure from inside Christian County. Heavy rains through the overnight with the cold front passage effectively put any drought concern to rest.

Morning outflow from earlier storms up N.


Approaching hail core from the secondary round that produced 1/2" to 3/8" stones at my location.


Much later from just S of I-72 and watching turbulence along the boundary.


Attention quickly turned to activity approaching from the SW that was generating a significant velocity return.

(c/o RadarScope)

Yes please...


180° panoramas featuring the unbelievable dual tail cloud formations.








Continuing from behind, upstream development including rapid scud ascension along with noticeable (albeit disorganized) rotation. The storm would go severe but I would let it go for lacking fuel and needing to get back home.


Extremely heavy drought busting rains through the overnight.

(c/o RadarScope)

From Saturday evening, at the same time last year, this portion of Lake Decatur was dry.

Monday Night Surprises

Arriving home at 8:25 PM and unaware of the flyby time, I happened to look up and the International Space Station was cruising by. My gear was in hand so I was able to pop off a quick shot before it was gone.


Around 1 AM, an extremely small storm with surprisingly intense lightning lifted out of the south.

Griswold Conservation Area / Lightning / Misc.

Sunday was the picture perfect spring day so I took Ava down to the Griswold Conservation Area located outside of Blue Mound Illinois. It is park built around a glacial kame that was deposited during the last ice age. I figured she would enjoy the steep walk to the top. Upon reaching the observation overlook, I noticed a family of distant dust devils to the WSW. They were easily over 1 mile away but the zoom lens at 300mm plus our elevated vantage made for an interesting composition. Later, as we explored a wooded area at the bottom, she spotted a bat just "hanging out".









A weak line of showers and storms came through early this morning.




and finally, on Friday it was decided to scrap my 94' GMC Jimmy. It had sat idle all winter with the intent of being fixed once the weather warmed up. What was thought to be a electrical issue after extensive tinkering was determined to be a fuel system problem. For what it would cost to fix this along with everything else that was wrong did not justify the investment. Parting ways when I wanted to get a few more months out of it so as to save up on a down payment was not in the plan for this season. In the short term I have transportation for work but not sure what I will do long term. Ten years and over 200k miles, I definitely got my money out of it though. It was the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned and I am certainly going to miss "The James".