Memorial Day

While most people were enjoying the holiday, it was just another day for me. Such is life but anyways, as I was heading down to check my mail, I had the unfortunate pleasure of running over a massive heat buckle on US 51S between the I-72/US36 split and the Sangamon River. The location was somewhat obscured for being on an incline and impossible to miss. Despite the massive impact *THUD* my vehicle was spared. Two others pulled to the shoulder up ahead however, weren't so fortunate with multiple blow outs and front end issues. Rather than continue, I backed up and threw on my flashers as well as reported the buckle. Not surprisingly, many motorists still hit the fault at full speed. Another gentleman came along and between the both of us, tried our best to alert drivers till a State Trooper arrived. I tend to stay away from getting involved in roadway incidents but from the experience of careless drivers flying by, I can appreciate the need for high visibility attire despite the flack some people get for wearing them. The near exhausted flare seen below was mine for I do at least keep a roadside safety kit. Exchanging dialogue with the officer, I offered a weather update since he was concerned about incoming storms that for the most part fizzled. Just before leaving he asked that I check on the disabled motorists and inform them that additional assistance was en route. That was an experience as well for according to their testimony, I was the only one to stop (one was a mom with her kids). This bothers me as it happens all too often but is typical of the world in which we live where the vast majority of humans are not concerned with the plight nor well being of others. Little did I know this was only the beginning of a rather eventful afternoon...



After getting my mail, I noticed a large plume of smoke to the west and learned it was an oil tank that had been struck by lightning from south of Mt. Auburn. At first I was relatively far but would venture much closer. The firefighter I spoke to from the vantage I ended up at told me one of the tanks erupted shortly after they arrived and generated an enormous fireball as well as mushroom cloud. Thankfully no one was hurt.








Upstream, the smoke appeared to pool against what I believe was a surface outflow boundary and in turn developed laminar characteristics.