Friday Funnels

The upper low responsible for pulling all the recent cold air down into the Central US moved through the area Friday and with that, helped generate numerous cold air funnels under developing showers and storms. From just ENE of Decatur, one cell with a robust updraft region produced a nicely tapered funnel that I was able to capture through the 300mm. On the downdraft side of this particular storm, pea sized hail was reported at Argenta as well as further downstream near Mt. Zion. Though I have video of this event, the quality is not very good thus I did not include it. The time for upgrade is sorely overdue.









The complex would become less organized as it progressed.






A pair of Herons with nary a care about the weather!


Frost in May, there are no words...

May

Though it has been a busy month and I have kept up for the most part, it has not exactly been easy. Between mental fog, pain and a less than ideal frame of mind, I'm not sure what's going on with me these days or how to correct it. Withdrawing on social media as to not convey this negativity towards good people who are otherwise for the most part strangers has netted some unexpected and at times disappointing reactions. Not so sure that was a good idea but the damage is done. So long as the bills are paid, mouths are fed and there is general stability then I am 'happy'. Everything else is just filler so the key to satisfaction is to try and do it in the most creative manner possible which couldn't be more true with a well timed recent accomplishment. Per the first image, I am in a local show for the month at the Decatur Arts Council hosted by an art group I have been with called The Barn Colony. Attempting to counter my bad aura, I decided to enter something whimsical and (as far as I know) not done in Decatur before. The lighthearted nature of a few recent minifig shots was not only entertainingly successful by the personal reviews received while attending the opening but earned ribbons including best of show! Who knew that my Lego figurines from the 80's would bring as much joy at age 40 as they did at age 10? Seeing adults identify with a familiar childhood subject in such a positive fashion was very fulfilling. Ava enjoys these pictures and is my inspiration for "toying" with this theme as they are also a great tool for scale representation.



On the night of the critique, we "played" while the juror talked.




Nature walk from the 4th.


Dust devil from the 5th.


Wide angle fun during a Moultrie county nature walk on the 7th.






Kaskaskia River








Fairview Park, Decatur

April 28th Storms

Central Illinois was under the gun for severe weather this past Monday with particular emphasis on a well defined warm front that was in place and expected to interact with an approaching dry line from the west. Though attention was predominately to the north along the I-74 corridor, favorable conditions well to the south near I-70 as noted by StormHighway.com would verify and become the more significant activity of the day. Development in eastern Missouri would quickly congeal into a severe warned linear mess. As this line propagated eastward, I decided to go south from Decatur towards Mt. Auburn and just wait for whatever may come. A cell at St. Louis lifting northeast earned tornado warning. Given my position in correlation to it, I dropped southwest through Taylorville towards Morrisonville after which I would stair step south and east on country roads to end up at Nokomis.

Morrisonville


Between Morrisonville and Nokomis




Staying ahead of the precipitation wasn't too difficult given the relatively slow storm motion. The lead edge of the severe warned complex I was paralleling is overhead with the approaching tornado warned mesocyclone to the immediate southwest. Prior to this shot, I saw what appeared to be a brief spin up out ahead of this area. Bearing the characteristics of a landspout, a slender tendril looking funnel cloud arced down to the ground and was churning up dirt in an open field. Unfortunately there are no images as it was gone before I could stop or determine exact location but from my vantage, it did not seem threatening. Nokomis is relatively small with a population density of roughly 2200 residents and surrounded by open farmland.


Continuing east of Nokomis and upon finding a decent pull off, organization was loose but persistent.


Complete push button luck as I was also not out of the vehicle much.






Traveling east to give some space from namely the intense CG's (cloud to ground lightning), the parent feature would briefly wrap up into its best funnel cloud display while I was driving. On getting to a safe pull off despite having seen it firsthand, it was gone. Though I missed it, Andrew Pritchard fortunately did not.


The cell would try to organize again somewhat while approaching Pana.


Continuing northeast into Pana, I would get pinged by quarter sized hail but then clear the precipitation with enough time to fuel up at Tower Hill. Eventually I would stop from just north of Shelbyville.




Not sure what the message is but this area would go on to produce additional funnel cloud activity at nearby Findlay along with future tornado warning. It was also here that I surrendered to the core and made my way back towards home. Thankfully in spite of a few significant wind damage reports, the region was largely spared.


Finally, near sundown.