October Storms

The first week of the month has been exceptionally busy. On Thursday the 3rd, we had a line of elevated storms lift through the region that brought sorely needed beneficial rainfall shortly after daybreak. I was at home and unable to be at a better location to take advantage of the morning light but it made for an interesting start to the day.







Later that evening, another system coming in from Missouri kicked off an additional round of storms. Twilight passage made for a cool looking "blue hour" scene.















Saturday the 5th was also very active with the passage of a frontal system accompanied by a number of sub-severe storms including two photogenic cells from near Argenta IL at noon and another later at Dalton City around 2 PM. Unfortunately with the Dalton City cell, I would clip a deer that ran out in front of me while traveling down a back road. The animal took off so it is unknown if it survived but thankfully there was no vehicle damage.

Argenta Cell




Dalton City Cell (facing S)


Traveling S while being slightly overtaken.




S looking back N.




Distant smoke from a barn fire started by lightning in Champaign County as seen from Moultrie County.


Much later at sunset.

More Steam Devils On The Sangamon River

Wednesday morning I stopped by the river to film and photograph morning steam devils at a favored location with the just right balance of light and shade to create the thermal contrast necessary for ideal development. Unsure of what to expect, a particularly large and slow moving spout formed for which I was fortunately able to capture in both mediums. Be sure to check out the end video.

Waiting for initiation, crepuscular rays caught my attention in the adjacent woods.


Initial puffs were mediocre though ascending rapidly which is a good sign.




Then it happened!




And just like that, it was gone.


Violent macro atmospheric correction.

Aurora Borealis Over Central Illinois

On the Wednesday into Thursday overnight of last week, a powerful CME (coronal mass ejection) emitted from the sun plowed into the atmosphere generating an intense display of Northern Lights even at low latitudes. Despite missing the impressive pre-midnight substorm, I still caught aurora glow and a separate smaller burst from around 2:30 AM. As has been typical with my luck when it comes to these events, condensation, cloud and eventual fog impeded my overall success. It was however the first time since before 2000 that I was able to view pillars with the naked eye.

Don't see readings like this too often.




True UFO in the sense that whatever is creating the erratic path/orbit only appears in this frame as I was shooting continuous for time lapse video found at bottom.


What I saw...


What I thought.