Storm of the Summer I

August 26th was without a doubt the most incredible lightning event of the 2014 season. A lone cell to fire from just NW of the area would quickly mature into a ridiculous CG (cloud to ground) producing beast. Though I was unable to image any of the strikes while it was still daylight, the level of intensity was both extremely unsettling and on a level I have not experienced in recent memory. Two things I wish I had thought to do was a.) get video and b.) study meso-analysis to better understand why it was so insane with emphasis on regional CAPE values at the time. Beginning from NW of Decatur, lightning would not become an issue till NE of town out near Argenta so initially, I thought it would simply be a leisurely end of day structure tour.















This was where it began to get serious for while standing between a 200' power pole span, lightning struck the pole to my right placing me 100' from the point of contact. I would spend the remainder of the time inside a vehicle.


This scene does no justice for demonstrating the CG barrage occurring at the I-72 exit near Argenta. It was an incredibly beautiful storm but far too dangerous to be outside plus I was low on fuel and unable to stay ahead.


Abandoning so to backtrack for fuel, I was disappointed for not being able to get well ahead to somewhere safe as it was also capturing the light perfectly. Thinking this was it for the day with this particular storm now getting away from me, I was not prepared for what would come with nightfall.

Gusty Storms

Back on the 25th of August, a line of storms well north of Decatur cashed out and ejected a massive surface outflow boundary. Though it was very defined on radar it wasn't very photogenic where I was but certainly packed a punch on arrival. Wind damage in the form of downed trees was reported in Mt. Zion. I took a short drive into NE Macon County to see it for myself. The intent was to practice time lapse but it ended up not being worth all the clicks.




Looking east, Pileus Cap on a cell hovering over Eastern Illinois




By now it was very windy, if not for the crops it would have been very dusty as well.




Back at home and shortly after dark, a new storm went up on the tail end of this boundary on the east side of town.


Literally going to the end of my block, it was a prolific lightning producer. I posted this next image to a local news page and they aired it on the 10 PM broadcast.

Beautiful Sunrise

Awaking before dawn this past Thursday the 25th after having monitored overnight satellite trends, I had a feeling that there might be something. Stepping out while still dark as the first light was just beginning to break the horizon, cloud bases suggested today had the potential to go big. This would be an understatement for the entire Midwest including all of Illinois from Chicago to deep down in SW Missouri was treated to a phenomenal sight.









Phone pic


Speaking of phone pics, below is a vertical shot created exclusively for use as phone wallpaper. Feel free to save the text free version and add to your home screen as to celebrate autumnal color and harvest season!






180° panorama

Mammatus at Sunset

Anvil blow off streaming up from the SSE generated by a severe thunderstorm in Southern Illinois caught the end of day light in a most remarkable way on the 23rd of August. Satellite would have been an ideal reference but I did not save a capture though you can still get an idea per the weak return left of my location indicated by the dot. Struggling for a suitable location before the magic was gone, a nearby church provided the perfect foreground subject.

Indiana Lightning

Back on August 19th, a line developed in far SE IL and moved into Indiana. Crystal clear skies here made it possible to see them with ease. Carefully tripoded with the 300mm, I did a little out of state chasing while hoping for an aurora event that never happened but was what got me out to begin with.

105 miles away over Terre Haute


Later, 138 miles away over Bloomington










A separate camera pointed north for an hour long stack

Southern Illinois Lightning

The past few months have been exceptionally busy despite seeming to have abandoned this blog. Though my desire to take advantage of available photographic opportunities has not waned, I've been somewhat burnt out and not in the most stellar mindset. My intent is to hopefully bring things current with emphasis on the more significant highlights since last post. Eventually I'll sit down and update my SmugMug with everything from what has been an unbelievable year. Anyways, back on the 21st of August on a night off while finally getting the opportunity to be out in the country after dark, a small rouge storm developing in the vicinity of I-70 went nuts. It was part of a severe complex pushing across Southern Illinois and was the most prolific clear air lightning event I have personally experienced.