Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 6:31AM 
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Tuesday evening shelf cloud
A line of thunderstorms moved in from the south-southeast out of eastern Kentucky, which is a somewhat unusual direction to see a storm move into Charleston this time of year. I had been doing heavy yardwork all afternoon, taking a break every once in a while to check radar. I didn't plan on chasing unless something good came within 20 miles or so of town. The storms weakened rapidly before they arrived in Charleston - but this is not always a bad thing photogenically speaking, as a collapsing storm complex will often develop a nice shelf cloud on the leading edge of the outflow. That's what happened on this occasion. As I piled the last of the tree branches I just cut on the back fence, I saw this coming in, grabbed the DSLR and walked up onto the cemetery hill. My video cameras were locked in the car, and since I didn't feel like walking all the way down there for this, I just stuck with stills. I was exhausted from cutting and moving branches in the 90 degree heat for several hours, and the outflow arriving from this felt great! In this first image, my house is actually visible in the extreme lower left. I cut down a half dozen small trees around the perimeter of the backyard and trimmed the branches on the larger ones this week, which resulted in this being the first storm image that my house is actually visible in. These four images are 5 to 8 frame panoramas assembled with Autostitch.
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The lightning was OK, but remained sporadic and distant. With the full daylight, only reaction-type exposures were possible. Even then, the distant bolts and bright sky resulted in poor contrast with any lightning. In these two shots you can barely make out the lightning.
 
Sunday, July 20, 2008 - 10:20PM
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Charleston lightning on Sunday evening
HD CHASE VIDEO: Lightning over Charleston on Sunday
All of West Virginia's post-sunset storms avoided Charleston this evening, passing just to the north and to the south of town. For once that wasn't a bad thing, as it allowed me to have two hours of shooting time at Fort Hill with no rain to deal with. The lightning was good, but with the distant vantage point, not much to write home about tonight. Right at sunset, a small storm fired just to the northeast of town, sending frequent CGs directly behind the skyline. It was still too bright outside for long exposures, but I did scrape by with one bolt at F9 with 2-second exposures (the fourth photo below).
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The following are a couple frames from video. The first shot is an isolated cumulonimbus sending out a cloud-to-ground strike behind downtown earlier in the afternoon.
 
 | Hi Dan good captures, does the tower at the start of your clip get many direct hits ? all seemed to miss on this clip which supports what you have posted regarding lighting. Tis me still learning
- Posted by Mick from United Kingdom | |  | |
Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 11:58PM
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Cristobal forecast to reach 65mph Sunday
Update - 11:58PM Saturday: In a change that would have almost made a Cape Hatteras trip worth considering, Cristobal's peak sustained wind forecast has been increased to 65mph - just 14mph shy of a Category 1 hurricane. If the storm continues to intensify as expected, I would not be surprised to see Cristobal reach hurricane status off of the Virginia coast on Monday. The center of the storm is still forecast to pass very close to the Outer Banks, possibly directly over them late Sunday. The catch-22 for chasers with this storm is that the farther the center is offshore, the stronger the intensity will be. If the center passes closer to or over land, the degree of strengthening may be reduced or eliminated.
Update - 11:12PM Friday: The NHC has declared this system Tropical Depression 3 as of their 11PM advisory on Friday evening. TD3 is expected to become Tropical Storm Cristobal within the next 24 hours and pass very close to, if not directly over, the outer banks of North Carolina on Sunday. The maximum sustained wind speed forecast for this system is only 40mph by late Sunday into Monday, making Cristobal a very minimal tropical storm as it affects the NC coast. As such, this will not be a chase event for me.
3:09PM Friday: The first tropical system to affect the US this season is developing off of the Georgia coast today. The circulation is very evident on satellite imagery, and the system could officially become tropical depression later today.
This will likely not be much of a chaseworthy event, bringing little more than some gusty winds and rain to the coastal areas from Georgia to Virginia. Cape Hatteras would be a fun place to be in the next few days, however.
I'd been watching the progress of this low pressure circulation when it was down near Florida, as earlier models indicated that it might drift inland more to the north, bringing storms and heavy rain to the southern WV mountains and coalfields this weekend. Now that the low track is actually heading over the ocean, not only does it introduce the possibility of tropical development, but the effects for West Virginia will be minimal aside from maybe a few high cirrus clouds.
Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 5:49PM
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Mountain storms firing
And so the quiet time ends: storms firing on the mountains may provide some photo opportunities during the next few days. A small storm near Summersville is already visible from my front window.
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Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 7:52AM
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Charleston to St. Louis in 35 seconds
TIMELAPSE CLIP: May 19, 2008 Charleston to St. Louis
I found this clip that I had uploaded back in May but never had a chance to post. This is an assembly of frames captured every 30 seconds from the camera in the car during the first leg of my trip to the Plains on I-64 - with stops for fuel, photography in Louisville and a distant thunderstorm in Indiana. The clip ends at the arch.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 4:40PM
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Some downtime and thoughts on 'Chase Season'
Looking at the total lack of precip on all of the models over us until at least Sunday actually brings me a feeling of relief, knowing I can take a break from the several-times daily routine of scrutinizing the weather patterns in search of the next storm event to cover. I've taken advantage of the calm to get some other needed things done - yardwork, web site and stock video archive updates, and cleaning and re-configuring my office. These downtimes to take a break from the chasing scene are quite welcome, as the one certain thing about the weather is that there will always be something interesting happening in the not too distant future. It looks like the next stormy pattern in West Virginia may arrive on Monday.
That thought brings me to a point I've probably mentioned before - that 'chase season' in the USA never really ends. Unless you're only interested in one specific phenomenon (tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, etc.), there are things to 'chase' year-round in this great country of ours. This time of year (as the traditional Plains season is long gone until next March) typically brings on the equivalent of post-holiday depression for most chasers. But not for me. I always have something to look forward to, regardless of the time of year. Chasing is a lot like hunting - if you diversify your subject interests, you'll have many 'seasons' to enjoy.
Lightning season: July is the middle of lightning season, which here in West Virginia, runs from March to September. That means that currently I can look forward to the chance of a good chase day at any time through the end of summer. Lightning knows no season in the USA, however - I've seen it even here in West Virginia every month of the year. While WV's summer storm season (the best time for lightning photography) winds down in a couple of months, a willingness to drive about 100 miles west of the border can extend that into mid-November. November has yielded a few successful lightning chases in Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. Even if lightning was my only subject, the camera gear would never go into storage in the winter. If I had the funds to travel, the deep South could keep my lightning season going all winter.
 Fall tornado season: Tornado season in the USA is also one that has no real annual beginning and end, unless the Plains is your only focus. Coming up in September and lasting through November is the midwest's fall tornado season. As the northern Plains summer tornado season ends and most chasers are packing away their gear and their enthusiasm, I'm already looking forward to this little-chased and relatively ignored 'secondary' severe weather peak. I expect to be chasing for tornadoes at least once between September and November each fall in the midwest (east of the Mississippi), and possibly a couple more outings for lightning in Kentucky and Ohio.
Winter tornado season: The Southern US's severe weather and tornado season gets going in December, lasting through March. Occasionally, the warm sector in those events gets far enough north to bring some lightning to West Virginia and Kentucky - sometimes more. This February, during one such outbreak in Kentucky, I captured the best upward-moving (tower) lightning event I've ever seen.
 Hurricane season: From July through November, the prospect of a hurricane chase is something to anticipate even as my lightning season is winding down. With Raleigh as a 'base', the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Georgia is within easy reach if a tropical system affects it.
Winter storms - Even with the downturn in the video market, I am still looking forward to West Virginia's winter weather season which runs from October to April. Beckley has been consistently experiencing thundersnow several times each winter, providing a worthy chase goal to anticipate. With the new DSLR, ice storms and snow events will provide plenty of still photography opportunities to get out and enjoy.
Spring tornado season: Once winter starts to fade in late March, it will be time to start gearing up for the Plains again, followed by the heart of West Virginia's lightning season - starting the cycle all over again.
Because my lightning, tornado, flood, hurricane and winter storm seasons overlap, I never truly have an 'off season' where I can put the weather out of sight and mind. Traditionally, October tends to be my quietest month - but still not enough to put the cameras away and stop looking at data.
| That's what I love about weather...It can NEVER get boring!!! There's always something to talk about...
- Posted by Alex C. from Borden, IN | | | |
Monday, July 14, 2008 - 4:21PM EDT
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Chase Expedition 2008 Photos & Summary
PHOTO GALLERY: Chase Expedition 2008
VIDEO CLIP 1: Perry, Oklahoma tornadoes - May 24
VIDEO CLIP 2: Pratt, Kansas tornado - May 26
Better late than never - a busy June kept me from getting to this as soon as I'd have liked. This weekend I went through the couple thousand photos I shot during the chase expedition in May, and picked 100 to post here.
Unlike my previous expeditions, I don't plan on writing chase reports for each individual day. This is mainly because it's been so long that I don't remember enough details to write much of an accurate log, without going back and looking at GPS logs, timestamps, maps, storm reports, etc. That's just too much work, so I'm just going to offer a quick summary of the trip. If you're interested in details of a particular day, my 2008 chase blog archive has a little more info from each chase that I posted from the road.
I teamed up with veteran chaser Warren Faidley as a driver on a four-day chase tour expedition, departing from Amarillo, Texas on the 22nd and returning on the 25th. We covered ground in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, the highlight of which was capturing three tornadoes on May 24 near Perry, Oklahoma. My tour guests, Shrenik and Rashmi from India, were a blast to chase with. The entire group and I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to doing more of this in the future. After the tour was finished, I solo chased my way back east through Oklahoma and Kansas, capturing another tornado near Pratt on the 26th after meeting up with good friends Dave Crowley, Justin Teague and Greg McLaughlin.
This will of course 'wrap up' the 2008 spring chase season feature of this blog. This season was a cliffhanger in terms of my ability to embark on an expedition at all, but things worked out well in the end. I give credit and thanks to the Lord for not only allowing me to have a chase trip this year, but making it a safe and successful one. Stay tuned for next spring!
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Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 2:31AM
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Charleston, WV photo gallery
I've had this up for several weeks, but never really mentioned anything about it. This is one of several photography galleries that I'm working on for the site, the other main one being a West Virginia-themed collection. The Charleston gallery is fairly complete now, but of course I'll be adding to it as time goes on. Most of these are fruits of the Canon XSi purchase, with a couple of worthy shots from the older cameras included.
GALLERY: Charleston, WV Photography Gallery
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - 7:20PM
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Charleston severe storm and flash flood
HD CHASE VIDEO 1: Incoming storm, shelf cloud and lightning
HD CHASE VIDEO 2: Flash flood on Coopers Creek
A very intense storm slammed Charleston and points north today. Some of the most intense and frequent lightning I've seen in a long time was accompanied by a deluge of rain that overwhelmed small creeks in the area. The well-defined shelf cloud moving in at the leading edge of the storm was spectacular, dragging itself over the ridges above town. These views are from Spring Hill Cemetery, looking south and west over downtown:
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I encountered significant street flooding on Washington Street East (near the Capitol) in Charleston immediately after the storm. The bulk of the lightning passed north of town, indicating that the heaviest rain should have fallen there also. As a result, I headed up Greenbrier Street to check on the creeks and streams north of town. While Elk Twomile and Mill Creek were running swiftly, I saw no problems there. However, approaching Big Chimney, many severe 'excessive runoff indicators' in the form of rocks and debris washed across the roadway, as well as the distinctive 'floodwater smell' were signs that flash flooding was likely in progress nearby. I ended up on Coopers Creek Road, which was covered by more than a foot of water by the creek overflowing its banks. These stills were taken after the water had receded a few inches, however the video shows the creek at its peak level.
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| thats scary
- Posted by Vikram from home | | | |
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - 12:44AM
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Storms return to WV - lightning over the State Capitol
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A few good ones got away tonight, some by mere seconds. Every second counts in storm photography - I missed a vivid cloud-to-ground strike behind the Capitol dome by about 10 seconds as I set up the camera. Ouch. If my tripod hadn't kept the rear tailgate from latching at my previous location (which opened back up as I drove away, requiring me to stop), I'd have caught the shot. You win some and lose some in this game.
I got one decent shot, though it's not likely to be added to this month's 'keeper' file due to the Capitol being a slight bit out of focus. Some strange tropical-like storms tonight, dropping torrents of rain with mostly imbedded, obscured lightning. Mileage tonight was above average, with a trip to Ravenswood which was an outright bust. Again, the best action was right here at home, continuing the 2008 trend.
I'm not sure if the show is over for tonight - with an approaching frontal boundary, plenty of moisture and a little upper support, something could go anytime. I don't think I'm up to an all-night watch tonight, so I'll probably do the old 'crack the window so thunder will wake me up' trick.
| Just for fun, if you have a duplicate from just before or after, why not mask out the bad capitol dome and replace with a good one? Nevertheless, well done as always!
- Posted by Paul from 62526 | | | |
Thanks Paul, that would probably work if I had a good exposure out of the bunch. Unfortunately they are all the same. For some reason the gold dome is hard to lock a good focus on at night (maybe due to how reflective it is). The autofocus can't do it at all, so tonight I used liveview and did it manually. It worked better, but not perfectly. I think I'm going to have to use the lower stone section to focus next time.
- Posted by Dan R. from Charleston, WV | | | |
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - 4:28PM
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Charleston lightning strike
HD CHASE VIDEO: Lightning less than 1/2 mile away
Fast-moving garden-variety storms in the middle of the day don't really offer much in the way of subjects to chase, so I stayed home this afternoon and set up in the usual spot out of my living room window. I've built up enough stock of 'ordinary' lightning video now that I'm focusing on more out-of-the-ordinary type shots. This summer I've been opting to set up for close lightning, framing the shots to include more of the ground in the event that a close bolt (within a few hundred yards) happens to hit. This means I sacrifice more of the sky for 'ordinary' lightning video, but again, I feel like I have all I need of that subject.
A close strike did happen this afternoon, but it was after I'd taken the camera down and brought it back into the office to capture the video in. The storm was long gone and hadn't produced a flash in 10 minutes, so I felt it was safe to stop wasting battery power and expensive tape. As it sometimes happens, this was a bad choice - the storm decided to throw a bolt out somewhere within 200 yards of the house, flickering the power and shaking the windows. I'm not sure if it would have been in frame of where I had the camera pointing, and it sounded like a single-stroke anvil discharge (the type that produces one whited-out video frame and nothing else). I would have liked to at least been rolling during it to get the audio. Oh well.
About 15 minutes earlier, I did catch this nice CG about 1/2 mile away squarely in frame (video at the link above) - so I did end up with something worthwhile for the effort.
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Tonight and tomorrow may bring more opportunities, and I won't rule out a brief trip north and/or west late tonight to catch a nice Ohio MCS.
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