Tag Archives: raining

Summer “Pop Up” Storms 8/10/15

Posted on by October 5, 2015

8/10/15 – This was a warm and humid day, and there was some instability around. That usually leads to what’s commonly called “pop up” or “popcorn” convection. These types of pulse showers and storms can be isolated, scattered, or numerous, depending on the given conditions at the time. These were of the isolated variety. A few showers and storms had developed off to the north and northeast, and they produced outflow boundaries which touched off a few more storms as the afternoon and evening progressed. These were quite photogenic, and I ventured out on my bicycle to have a look around. I snapped lots of photos, but picked the best ones, or the most interesting ones for this article. I saw several cumulus and cumulonimbus towers, and was also treated to a beautiful sunset. In one of the sunset photo, you can see a cluster of sunspots on the lower right of the solar disk. I encountered a small Rabbit on the way to the fields, it wasn’t scared of … Read More…


Electra, TX Supercell – Lawton, OK Flooding 5/8/15

Posted on by May 22, 2015

5/8/15 – This was the first day of a short “chasecation” weekend with my buddy Michael Gavan. We were talking about heading down to the plains a few days prior, noting the chances for severe weather to come for Fri/Sat/Sun. The setup looked promising, so we decided to partner up and head out for some good days of storm chasing. Loaded up his Toyota RAV4 and hit the road. We took turns driving all night/day from Allegan County, Michigan all the way to north Texas. We slept in shifts, and for a brief time, stopped at a Walmart parking lot among some semi truck drivers for a 30 minute or so nap. A long grueling, tiresome drive, but well worth it to see some storm action. The drive was about 16 hours long, not including stops for gas, bathroom breaks, or to stretch. Storms began firing and most of which were really junky, and you couldn’t see much. Some of which also had trouble sustaining themselves. The storms we saw … Read More…


Fall Color Tour 2014

Posted on by December 19, 2014

12/19/14 – This article is dedicated to my best Fall Color photos from this year’s Fall Color Tour. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, for the changing colors, for the great Bass fishing before winter, and also for the ever changing weather conditions. We could have bright sunny days with warm temperatures, stormy days (including severe weather) or even snowy days. Autumn is a transitional time of year. My favorite things of all though, are the Fall Colors. Click Here to read all about the Fall Color process. It’s fascinating. This year’s foliage display was one to remember. It was one of the best that I have ever witnessed in my whole entire life. Only 2010 and 2008 come close. The best colors lasted for weeks! Great weather for getting out to enjoy them as well. I was able to do a lot of great things with my photography of the colors this season. So here on this last day of Fall, I present to you, Fall Color Tour … Read More…


Rainy Day On The Trails

Posted on by November 9, 2014

10/12/14 – It was a rainy day to be out on the trails, but I didn’t let that stop me from heading out and enjoying the day. Temperatures were warm enough to where the rain really didn’t bother me. I set out to fish originally, and then along the way, I found much in the way of Fall foliage. Fishing took a back seat, and I decided to go documenting photos instead. There was fog on areas of the river too, which was pretty cool to see. Some of the trees were a brilliant orange, with red and yellow mixed in. Some of the trees were mostly yellow, and many still green. I snapped an assortment of images along the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail, and also a couple of images that showed the Fred Meijer Heartland Trail. One of which showing the old railroad bridge. I also found a couple of blankets along the trail, which I thought was intriguing. I have no idea what they were there for, … Read More…


Heavy Rain and Urban Flooding

Posted on by October 22, 2014

9/1/14 – With a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for the day, and high precipitable water values across the area, I knew that if any storms developed, they would be putting down quite a bit of rain, and that is exactly what happened. I had been looking at computer models and other data in the days leading up to the storm day. I didn’t think there would be a lot in the severe weather department, at least not for my immediate area, so I decided to concentrate more on the wind and rain element of the storms. I figured a decaying line of convection would be moving toward lower Michigan during the morning hours, and a new line of storms would fire up ahead of that area of decaying convection. That is exactly what transpired. The storms took a little while to get their act together, but once they did, they packed a punch in many areas. Here’s a radar image of the storms as they moved through my … Read More…


Urban Flooding and Hail Event

Posted on by August 2, 2014

8/1/14 – Today was a day that had low shear, but enough instability and forcing to pop up some pulse style showers and thunderstorms. There was enough CAPE to provide a hail and heavy rain risk. Normally I don’t even bother with these sorts of events, because of the random nature of the convection, but these were close enough to yield some good footage opportunities. The day started off mostly sunny, but cumulus clouds quickly filled in, and began to develop into showers and thunderstorms. The first ones popped up well to my north, and south. As the afternoon progressed however, some storms began to take shape right on top of me, and just a few miles to my west. I set out to document some hail originally, since I had been placed in a severe thunderstorm warning, mostly for a risk of large hail. As I began my trek westward into town, I got into some pea sized hail, and then the hail shifted south and the core fell … Read More…


After Shooting Cloud Time Lapses, I’m Forced To Take Cover!

Posted on by July 29, 2014

7/27/14 – Today was a day that looked to be a stormy one. A low pressure was moving through the area, which was bringing with it the chance for widespread showers and thunderstorms. Not everywhere would get rain, but many places did. The folks who saw rain, saw a lot of it. Me included. I was sort of losing faith in storms firing in my immediate area, so I decided to go for a ride on my bicycle to get some photos and time lapses of the developing showers and storms. I was in a hole, vacant of any convective activity. I first observed some nice Mammatus clouds from a storm about 20 miles to my north. Then I began to watch as cumulus towers filled the sky directly over, and around me. Since none of these showed any immediate promise, I decided it was safe enough to go 2 or 3 miles down the road. The scenes I captured were quite lovely. The clouds’ bases were dark, and you … Read More…


Time Lapse: Rain Showers and Sunset

Posted on by October 20, 2014

4/11/14 – Today was a day with some potential for something photogenic to take place. Low potential, but some potential nonetheless. With a couple of computer models predicting some light showers developing going into the late afternoon and evening, I had my plans set to go document the weather. I figured I’d at least get a good sunset. I decided to make this a cycling adventure, as well as a weather documentation event. Once I was on the road, I knew it was shaping up to be a good evening. There was a patch of cumulus growing to my west. The sun angle was very nice shining through those. As I arrived to my filming spot, I was also surprised with how nice the rain showers were looking. They developed in relatively short order. I was treated to a very nice display of rain showers, clouds, and a sunset. As an added bonus, I found a large puddle in the field to use as a reflection for some of my … Read More…


A Weather Time Lapse Day

Posted on by October 20, 2014

4/8/14 – Today was a great day for weather time lapse! The conditions were nearly perfect for some light showers to develop. There was some instability present, albeit weak. SBCAPE was on the order of 100j/kg, and the Low Level Lapse Rates were impressive, up into the 8.5 range as I was shooting these showers. Below is a PYKL3 radar screenshot from my cell phone. (my general location is shown on the screenshot, I was actually a bit east of there) I’ve also included some mesoanalysis images. Left to right, SBCAPE, SB Lifted Index, MSLP, Low Level Lapse Rates, and PWAT. Click images for larger view. They did have a hard time overcoming the drier air at the surface, so much of the precipitation was in the form of Virga. But that made for even better time lapse footage. Also, as you can see in the first photo in this article, the persistent snow pile along the side of the road. It was, at one point, nearly 6 feet tall. … Read More…


Photogenic Showers + Time Lapse!

Posted on by January 6, 2015

On October 19, 2013 I awoke to a patch of cumulus outside my window that looked somewhat photogenic. I drove to one of my favorite spots to better photograph them. Little did I know that I would be there for 2-4 hours snapping photos and recording videos for time lapse. Once the photogenic showers began, they just didn’t stop. One after the other, photo opportunities all around. Not only did I get to see rain showers, but I was also treated to a weak ragged shelf cloud along an outflow boundary. I was also treated to a large flock of Geese, and also several small flocks of Cranes. I did get photos of them, and videos too (videos of the Geese and Cranes will be posted at a later time. Look for them at THIS LINK). All in all it was a great day. The sunshine definitely played a role, more that just the destabilization, but also accented the scenes well. Below is a time lapse video of the rain … Read More…