Trav's Twister Triumphs

01/12/12 Old Man Winter Returns...

2012-01-30T00:11:00.001-06:00

Snow blankets the horizon at the apartment
complex providing a winter scene here in Peoria, IL

A little over a week ago, we officially received our first accumulating snow in Peoria, IL which was long overdue to say the least. We received a solid 4" inches here on the northwest-side of Peoria, IL. Other snowfall reports around the area can be found here from the ILX SWOP network. This wasn't a huge snowstorm, but the first decent snowfall of the year in this area as it has been a very warm winter in central Illinois. A radar loop of the winter storm system can be found here (large-file) from DVN. It will take a few minutes for that loop to load so I recommend opening it in a new window if you haven't already. Anyhow, I didn't find much to take photos of, but I managed as best as I could. This storm allowed me to test out my GoPro array of cameras for this spring. I have a total of three of them and another more "interesting" camera and setup slated to arrive in late-February just in time for the spring season. I've upgraded a lot of technology over the last few months in preparation for the upcoming spring season. This storm chaser and photographer loves his "toys"! I've added a few photos of the first winter storm of the season as well as some video below:

Starting to get into a habit of shooting
more night photography...

Animated .gif of a couple of my stills...(above)

The start of the storm (powdery snow here)

Another shot here as most of the snow had
been blown around already...

Construction around this complex
has been ridiculous recently...

Day...

To night...

Drifting snow a common occurrence
in rural-areas

Cool perspective here...

The beauty of a wide-angle lens!

A mess around these parts "construction-wise"...

A horse trailer amidst the snow...

Initial snow accumulation of the
snow on the deck

I've added a YouTube clip from my GoPro (above)...

That will wrap up this post. The 2012 tornado season already kicked off in the Deep South with several confirmed tornadoes across that region on January 22, 2011. Just the beginning to what may be another interesting severe weather season that will only start to ramp up over the next few months...

01/11/12 Thunder: Once Again...

2012-01-23T12:51:00.003-06:00

Thunder, my kitten enjoying a winter afternoon
at my apartment in Peoria, IL

A little over a week ago, I shot some more photos of my kitten: Thunder. I had nothing really planned on this afternoon as I was beginning to prepare for our area's first snowstorm here in central Illinois that was slated to arrive the following day. A boring day was in store for myself so I decided to pull out the camera once again and shoot some more photos of Thunder as he enjoyed the afternoon on my day-off. Here are a handful of photos I've added below:

What an adorable kitten!

A true weather watcher...when he's not at my
desk staring at the animated weather radar he's
looking to the sky a lot like myself...

Yes, he even has his own pillows.
Quite a spoiled kitten!

A great shot here!

Lounging around after some play time...

This cat loves observing nature out my window...

Stay tuned for a future post of some winter photos I shot over the last couple of weeks as we finally got some accumulating snow here in Peoria, IL. Talk about long overdue eh Old Man Winter?!

12/28/11 East Peoria, IL: Festival of Lights

2011-12-30T09:26:00.001-06:00

A beautiful Christmas light reflection at the
Festival of Lights in East Peoria, IL

Wednesday, I took a quick stroll down I-74 to the Festival of Lights display in East Peoria, IL. I haven't been back to visit this display since 2009 so it was definitely time to revisit this location. After all, I haven't had much else to do since their has been a lack of winter storms in the area to my dismay. I've however found myself getting-out a lot more for photography purposes thanks to the rather tranquil weather though. I'd really like a winter storm at some point though! I'm just not sure when/if Mother Nature is going to cooperate. We ended up hitting 50°F again yesterday for a high temperature. It has been quite an unusual winter here in the Midwest to say the least. Than again we've had some terrible winters in the last few years so maybe this is Mother Nature's way of averaging everything out?! Anyhow, I've posted a large amount of photos from Wednesday and Wednesday night below:

Wednesday morning's sunrise
in the eastern horizon...

Beautiful colors and a light pillar (center-right)...

And the show begins after 5:00pm...

The entrance to the show!

Warp speed!?Cool shot of the space shuttle!Closer-view...
Reaching for the stars here...
Love this shot with that reflection!
Another angle here of the "lit-up" train...Another train at this "lit-up" railroad crossing!
Side-view of the train cars...Looking back toward the train cars...
From a slightly different angle...The riverboat casino
(I didn't see this back in 2009)I saw these (Budweiser Clydesdales) a few years
ago too and they are still a part
of the display today...
I'm sure the kids like this: The Batmobile!Monster truck!I'm not sure what this is?! (Robotic dog?!)The huge whale display!Skiers skiing on bare-ground...Not the way
I'm sure the organizers for-seen I bet...
Cool horse display!
A closer shot...A classic car seen here (above)A Caterpillar bulldozer...another new addition?The only version of a snowman you can
find in central Illinois this winter thus far...A nice chopper here...The stars & stripes!A firetruck display!
A new addition: A dragon that changes color...A seal display...
They used to inhabit this planet nearly
140 million years ago...Another shot of the riverboat as I've done some
gambling at the Par-a-dice Casino
this past year myself...
Maybe we'll get to build a snowman soon?Who wouldn't want to be under a
palm tree right now?!
Now that's one mighty dragon!Triceratops!The "Wally" display!A tank...yes...really!Peacock display...Another interesting display!For the Star Wars nerds: A TIE fighter!And another Star Wars spaceship...

I've added a YouTube video showing some
clips of the event (above)

That will wrap up this post. It was nice to get back to this location. It had been a few years since I've revisited this holiday light display in East Peoria, IL. It all worked out this year since I found some free time to make the short trip. As far as the weather goes it still appears we are going to be locked-in to this winter pattern with brief shots of cold-air. It still looks though temperatures will be above-normal in the long-term. A crazy winter that is leaving everyone wondering when will Mother Nature's snow machine kick-in?! Your guess is as good as mine right now...

12/25/11 Christmas & Pets: 2011

2011-12-29T11:30:00.008-06:00

The Christmas holiday I celebrated in
Kewanee, IL this past Sunday...

On Christmas Day, we all open up gifts from our family. As part of our family tradition our pets also open up gifts as well. So this year, I decided I'd capture some of these moments with my Canon EOS 7D to illustrate just how even your pets can enjoy the Christmas holiday as well. This was also my kitten's (Thunder's) first Christmas as well so I was curious of how he'd react to a new cat toy. I've posted a few photos from a few days ago of the Christmas holiday below:

Thunder: One crazy, but cute kitten!

My ornament on the Christmas tree...

A cat tunnel you see in many pet stores
creating an interesting photo-op...

Angel: She's getting eager to open her gift I'd say!

He still plays fetch...

Another Christmas ornament shot...

Another great shot!

Indiana, our yellow lab opening
his Christmas gift!

Luigi, posing with his Christmas gift (bottom)...And another cute shot!This one took some patience to get the Christmas tree
in the (background) with Angel in the
(foreground), but as you can see it
was worth the effort...Another shot of "trouble-maker"!Thunder opening his gift...Angel opens her gift and I guess she enjoys it?!One last shot of my goofy kitten...

I'm currently working on another post as I ended up photographing the East Peoria, IL Festival of Lights last night. Stay tuned for that update in the next few days.

12/24/11 Starry Skies & Star Trails: Part II

2011-12-25T19:00:00.002-06:00

Star trails on a cold clear night
outside Kewanee, IL

Christmas Eve (last night), I ventured outdoors at my family's residence in rural-Stark County, IL outside Kewanee, IL in hopes to do some star trail photography. It was nearly a perfect night for photographing some star trails to my liking. After sunset the cold crisp night took over and without any moonlight it was as simple as choose a location that would be a good photo-op and get the tripod set up. All of the shots I've added in this post were long exposures (about 30 minutes) with my Canon EOS 7D. I froze my butt off, but hey it was worth it! I've posted a few photos from last night below:

This might very well be my favorite shot
from last night...warp speed Captain Kirk!!

A short exposure here...
You may remember this location here

Another favorite!

Looking south toward Peoria, IL, but
no sign of Santa and his nine reindeer...

I wish I could of stayed up longer last night, but the next day was the Christmas holiday so my time was once again limited last night. I'm planning on a few more posts in the coming weeks so stay tuned for those...

11/23/11 Dense Fog: Peoria, IL

2011-12-21T19:01:00.012-06:00

Dense fog invades the northwest-side
of Peoria, IL on November 23...

About a month ago before heading to my hometown of Kewanee, IL for the Thanksgiving holiday I captured some photos of some dense fog that was starting to burn-off here in Peoria, IL. You had to be up early to notice the dense fog in this area on this day and before I headed off to work I pulled out my Canon EOS 7D to take some photos near the apartment complex. I've uploaded a few photos from the foggy landscape on this day below:

Kind of a fish-eye effect here...as you can clearly see
the fog starting to burn-off at sunrise...cool shot!

Evergreen tree in the foreground with the fog
burning-off in the background

Lingering low-level fog along the horizon...

This pond has been a frequent hot-spot locally
for me for photography-purposes including
this past fall...
(You may remember this location here)

A tad ghostly if you ask me...

Interesting shot here as the low-level winds
start to mix out the fog as well...

Portrait shot of the ghostly pond on this morning...

One more of the pond...

Blue-skies to dense fog...Mother Nature
can be quite extreme.

Another foggy landscape shot!

More dense fog...

Last shot before it I was off to work on this day...

That's all for now, but stay tuned for another post in the coming weeks as I find some free-time for some local photography after the Christmas holiday. Stay tuned.

11/05/11 Starry Skies & Star Trails

2011-12-14T19:44:00.001-06:00

A few star trails over our outdoor glass
enclosure outside Kewanee, IL

About a month ago I made a short trip back home to my hometown of Kewanee, IL. On my visit I snapped a few photos after dark of some of our family's holiday light display and for the first time did some star trail photography as well. I didn't have too much time to do some very long exposures with some star trails to my dismay, but I'm sure I'll find some time in the future however. One thing that I determined during this outing was that I really need a battery grip for my Canon EOS 7D DSLR in the future. Hmm...maybe Santa will bring me one of these this Christmas?! Anyhow, I've added a few photos I shot below:

Kind of reminds you of a greenhouse
or an outdoor observatory huh?

Shot at dusk (obviously not as long
as an exposure in this photo)...Here was a quick star trail shot. (Would have been
even better as a longer exposure if I had more
free time on this night...grr) Shucks!Another perspective here...
A much longer exposure and here
come the star trails...Interesting colors here at dusk...
Now we are inside the enclosure where our pool
resides which right now is a block of ice...

As usual...you'll find some Christmas
lights at my family's residence

Alternating colors...

Sunset with a large jet contrail

Another vantage point at dusk looking west

Tis. the season for these Christmas light
displays in neighborhoods!

That will wrap up this post. I'll be making more of an effort to do this type of photography (star trails) in the future when I have some free time. I haven't been posting that much recently since I've been settling into a new job here in the past month or so. Heck, and really their just hasn't been much to blog about weather-wise since it has been unseasonably warm this December and we've yet to see our first official inch of snow in Peoria, IL. It has been a strange winter thus far. Old Man Winter hasn't buried us yet, but something tells me he'll be knocking on our doorstep soon enough...Stay tuned.

10/28/11 Fall Foliage: 2011 Part II

2011-10-30T10:20:00.002-05:00

Spectacular fall foliage here in Peoria, IL as the
fall colors have now peaked in this area...

Over the last few days I've shot another good handful of photos of the peaked fall foliage in Peoria, IL and Kewanee, IL. I actually had the pleasure to use my new camera lens in this bunch as well. I like my Sigma 10-20mm lens, but I'm finding I like my Canon 10-22mm wide-angle lens better! That should be a lens I'll use much more next spring. Anyhow, I posted another wide-assortment of photos I've shot in the past few days adding more to my 2011 fall collection. My photos from the past few days I've posted below:

Stunning fall colors here!

A nice scenic route here on the west-side of Peoria, IL

My 2011 Ford Escape providing a cool fall reflection
(almost looks like a mirrored image of some kind)...

Golden trees here reaching vertically
in the deep-blue sky...

A low sun-angle portrait-shot that allows an
orange tree to become a red tree...

This might be my favorite shot of this bunch!

A red maple (macro-lens)

Talk about a wide-assortment of colors...

My chase vehicle got a car wash and
is taking part in a photo-shoot...

Another interesting fall perspective here!Beautiful colors yet again...I guess I need a "shot" too right?
Fall colors galore!Geese enjoying a swim (foreground)
with a fall reflection (background)...The sun comes up here illuminating these fall colors...
Another rather cool fall portrait-shot!Reds beginning to turn brown...
A rather stunning yellow maple!More fall winding roads...Another fall photo of the chase vehicle...The fall scenes that come along can be quite a sight!
Early morning low sun-angle helping
this red maple "pop"...Another fall photo of yours truly...More good stuff! (macro-lens)
I'm pretty good at car washes anymore! She doesn't look like
she has nearly 15,000 miles already...just sayin'Another awesome fall view...(wide-angle)A stellar portrait-shot! (macro-lens)
Cemetery's are always a good spot
to find some fall foliage
This hill actually provided a pretty cool photo-op!Yellow maple (macro-lens)One of many photos I took of my Ford Escape...Another wide-array of colors present here...A red maple in this wooded-area...
What is around the bend?...
One of those shots you are instantly happy
with when you see it appear on your camera's LCD...One last photo of the chase vehicle on this day...
Cirrus clouds (above) trying to mimic the
Aurora Borealis about a week ago...
Another close-up fall photo...(macro-lens)Yet another beautiful shot!
Close-up of a red maple...(macro-lens)More and more fall colors...
This view would make me get up early and
walk/jog on a fall morning...
Another stunning yellow maple...(macro-lens)Fall colors are present everywhere
you look in this cemetery...Love this shot!
Another variety of colors!
Red maples providing an interesting
perspective shot...

That will end this post. Like I said I couldn't pass up a few more photo opportunities in the past few days to let some of the scenes above pass by. For the weather enthusiasts out there I'm keeping an eye on a storm system around next weekend that could be interesting for the Southern Plains and Midwest. The GFS model has been fairly consistent in developing a strong mid-latitude cyclone in that time frame. After that it looks like winter will soon be knockin' on the door in the Midwest...

10/21/11 Fall Foliage: 2011

2011-10-28T21:52:00.000-05:00

Fall foliage peaking in Peoria, IL

Over the last few weeks I've captured an enormous amount of fall landscapes across west-central Illinois. Every year when I'm not chasing storms I'm usually doing some photography on my down-time when their is no extreme weather in the forecast. As in previous years I managed to venture out to many locations in Peoria, IL for some fall photography. I really do enjoy this season and winter as they get your "battery charged" for next spring. This year I shot many different fall photos and I'm quite happy with the results. It has been a year since I moved to Peoria, IL and this year I made a rather large effort to capture stunning fall photos in this area and the surrounding-area. Many of the photos shot are from the Peoria, IL-area. Some other fall destinations this year included: Kewanee, IL, Brimfield, IL, Jubilee College State Park, and Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park. Their were a few destinations I couldn't get to this fall, but there is always next year. Anyhow, I've posted an enormous amount of photos from my fall collection this year below:

Remember this location?! If not click here...

Got to love light/water droplets being refracted
and reflected...it's a recipe for a rainbow!

A stellar portrait-shot!

Beautiful yellow maple tree here...

A red maple under deep blue-skies in Brimfield, IL

Takin' a walk in the woods...

One of many fall reflections I captured in the last
few weeks in west-central Illinois...

Amazing yellow/gold colors here
reaching toward the heavens...

Jubilee College State Park outside Brimfield, IL

A cemetery with a fall reflection off U.S. 150 in Peoria, IL

Highway to fall!

This state park provided some fantastic
colors to say the least...

Another of several fall reflections in this post...

Almost looks like these leaves
are crawling up this tree

Glowing yellow colors at the
end of this fall scenic route!

A simply awesome early morning fall reflection!

And another...

A trail at Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park
outside Kewanee, IL

I shot this same photo last year and yet this year's
photo still provided a nice fall reflection...

Got to love winding roads through a park
while fall colors are peaking!

Portrait-shot of the fall reflection here...

The fall colors were just "patchy" on this day...

A leaf off a red maple (macro-lens)

The rainbow yet again...

Fantastic fall colors here mixed together!

Another insane fall reflection!

I used to call this the "big red-barn" as a child
and that's how I remembered it.

Some orange colors here!

Another dramatic fall reflection! (a great example what
the effect calm winds have for reflections
off bodies of water)

This equates to storm chasing in the "jungles" I think!

Beautiful colors here at this local cemetery!

Pretty cool assortment of colors changing...

Yellow maple (macro-lens)Halloween orange I'd say!
Yellow colors all over here...Look close and you will see a rainbow (left)...
Click to enlarge...The woods alright!Another cool perspective!
Colors all thrown together here...
Good stuff!I got a little bit of exercise this fall to say the least!Who doesn't like fall seriously?!
I shot several photos "under-the-lights" a couple
weeks ago at this exact location
You'll get interesting ideas while shooting photos...
here was one I had!
I like these kind of shots! That's one reason you
see me post a ton of them...Crazy array of colors seen here!An early morning shot here on
the west-side of Peoria, IL
This state park is a hot spot in the fall locally!
Everyday is a winding road!Umm...yeah! Spectacular!Fall leaf (macro-lens)
My Ford Escape needed a car wash
right here badly. Yikes!
Everybody wants a white picket fence right?!
Classic!Scenes like these make you really embrace Mother Nature!Seein' red?!
Bright orange with a deep-blue backdrop!

Another cool perspective on the drive to work!

More amazing fall colors!

Another interesting array of colors...

More fall foliage...

Yellow(s) and red(s) here.
Amazing what Mother Nature can do!

Colors were just starting to change here...

Fall is a transition season

Another dramatic fall-view!

More yellow(s)!

One of those shots in the moment
that just "turn-out"...

Fall foliage overlooking this river

The sun begins to set on a day of
fall photography for myself...

Reach for the sky!

I was using my GoPro on this day...
Stay tuned for that!

Interesting perspective!

Fall colors beginning to show here at this lake...

Pretty cool to come back to the same locations
at different times in the day

Colors beginning to change here.

A fall sunset casting a shadow on this corn field...

This tree showing "some" signs of life here...

Fall foliage in Kewanee, IL

Here's a video clip from my GoPro camera illustrating
the peaking fall foliage in the area (above)

That all but ends this post, but don't be surprised to see a Part II to this post. I hope you enjoyed my fall collection this year! It's always fun to share the places you travel and landscapes you see through photography on an annual basis. I'll be gearing up for the winter weather in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

10/01/11 Fall Foliage at Midnight

2011-10-21T22:06:00.003-05:00

Fall foliage and streaming traffic in Peoria, IL

A couple of weeks ago after work I spent a hour or so doing some photography around midnight on a chilly October night. I set up shop on the west-side of Peoria, IL where I scoped out a couple of decent locations during that previous week for fall foliage. I had the idea of doing some low-light photography with the peaking fall foliage in the area hoping to capture some interesting colors "under-the-lights". I was pretty happy with most of the results and I posted a few of my favorite photos from the night below:

Peoria city lights illuminating beautiful fall foliage...Good shot, but with some streaming traffic
it could be better...
That is more like it!Animated .gif of a couple of my stills...(above)
Another cool long exposure here and
I was freezing my butt off at this point...One last photo of the fall foliage under starry skies...

I'll be posting a rather large post in the coming days with my fall foliage collection from this fall. Most of the colors here in Peoria peaked about a week or two ago if you were wondering. Stay tuned for that post.

09/29/11 Valley Fog at Sunrise

2011-10-18T10:12:00.002-05:00

Valley fog at sunrise outside Toulon, IL

A few weeks ago some chilly fall mornings and left over moisture at the surface led to some valley fog in rural-Stark County, IL and rural-Bureau County, IL specifically on 09/29 and 10/04. This provided a few photo-opportunities since I had many errands to run over the past couple of weeks back and forth from Kewanee, IL and Peoria, IL. On the morning of 09/29 a nice alto-cumulus cloud deck also provided for some good photography at sunrise as well. I've added photos from these two days below:

A very nice shot to start the morning...

The sun rises here in the east illuminating
some fog in low-lying areas...

A nice fall early morning landscape here in
rural-Bureau County, IL outside Neponset, IL

Fog starting to burn off a little bit here, but
looking kind of "ghostly" as it was moving over
this country road to the left...

Maybe my favorite shot on this early morning?!

A foggy landscape and a wind farm (background)...

Quite a spectacular sunrise that probably
most people slept through...

A grain bin providing a nice fall landscape with
the alto-cumulus field (above)

Another nice landscape shot...got to love Illinois!

The sun rises on this farm field that's being harvested...

Wind farm at sunrise and more of that
"ghostly" valley fog...

Another shot outside Bradford, ILOne last shot here of an abandoned church in Elmira, IL
beneath the alto-cumulus cloud deck...

That will wrap up this post. I did manage to photograph fall foliage here in the past couple weeks. Stay tuned for that post here in the next week or so...

09/25/11 Against the Wind...

2011-09-30T14:48:00.002-05:00

A wind farm showing off a fall landscape
outside Camp Grove, IL

In the last few weeks I've done some fall photography at a local wind farm in rural-Stark County, IL near Camp Grove, IL. This wind farm was established in 2007 and is a frequent destination for myself as of late for photography purposes. It's nice to check this location out in the fall and winter as it usually provides some beautiful landscape photography here in west-central Illinois. One of these days I need to get a good shelf cloud passing over this wind farm. Guess, I'll have to wait till next spring for that opportunity though. Anyway, I've added a large collection of photos I've taken in recent weeks at this local wind farm below:

Highway to wind?!This cloud-deck really provided some
interesting photography on 09/23/11...

A circular polarizer filter is very
important on a bright sunny day!A great location for some fall landscapes...One of my favorites in this bunch...A departing storm system on this day 09/14/11...Their are some ice crystals up there!Beautiful portrait-shot here!
The sun peaks in behind some clouds here...

Harvested farm field with the wind
farm in the background...

Gravel road and one of the wind turbines...

A barn in the the middle of the yellow landscape
as the beans begin to dry out...

Now looking north...(wide-angle)

My 2011 Ford Escape looks so small now eh?

This was a fun morning for photography!

Another favorite...this area will be quite photogenic
in the winter after a snowfall...

Harvested Illinois farm field!

Looking west!

High-level cirrus clouds moving east after a rainy day...

Another shot of the wind farm...

Another pretty cool shot!

The wind turbines are moving bringing
in the winds of change...

Abrupt contrast from beautiful pale blue
skies to a sharp cloud deck...

I shot this on a different day here as you can
tell by the deep blue skies...

Most of these photos were shot between
7:00am-8:00am on this morning...

An evening shot at the "bridge" adjacent to the wind farm

Looking west...pretty cool to see how each day these things
change direction based on the wind direction...

Yellow landscape and another wind
turbine in the background...

One last photo at this location...Perspective shot in the evening of the bridge...
I'll go where the wind blows...Cloudy skies on this day...grr!Another favorite here...

One last photo to end on as a cold front
pushes east of the wind farm...

Stay tuned for a fall post in the coming weeks as the leaves are starting to change color in Peoria, IL. Lets chase some fall foliage eh?

09/24/11 Change in Seasons

2011-09-29T21:08:00.001-05:00

Driving off into a fall sunset outside Wyoming, IL

Over the past few weeks I've done some late-summer/early fall photography in west-central Illinois. I've had to drive home to Kewanee, IL a few times in the past few weeks which meant I found some time to do some photography during my travels. I live only a short 30 minutes from my hometown of Kewanee, IL and along the short drive home Mother Nature usually provides some decent photography in rural-Stark County, IL. Most of the photos in this post were in rural-Stark County, IL and at my parent's house as well. Summer has ended as we have now changed seasons' as the autumnal equinox passed last Friday (September 23). It's all downhill from here so enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. I'm sure we will have plenty of snowstorms to dig out of in the coming months. Many of my photos I shot during my travels I've added below:

Harvest time! Farmers, are actually behind on the
harvest this year for those interested...My parent's above-ground pool about to get
shutdown for the year...
The sun setting on a fall evening in Peoria, IL
We haven't had our first frost in the local area
yet so scenes like this can still be
found in west-central Illinois...Some alto-cumulus on this day and this lighthouse
kind of makes you think of Boston Harbor...A Morning Glory in this Illinois farm field...They're back!!...those pesky ladybugs that like
to take refuge in your house (macro-lens)Winds of change...A caterpillar in the yard (macro-lens)...A fall landscape shot!Butterfly enjoying some nectar...(macro-lens)Fox, one of our pet goats...Another fall sunset shot!One last dip in the pool?!Fall rains creating some spectacular
color here...(macro-lens)Our three goats...sun-bathing I guess...As one season changes...another begins...It has been quite rainy as of late...
Spectacular colors here...

One last photo of the caterpillar
I found in the backyard...

More amazing colors...

The stars & stripes under an alto-cumulus deck...

The recent wet weather hasn't helped farmers
get their work done at all

Another shot of the ladybug

Indy, our yellow-lab enjoying the shade...

Yes, we have an aviation windsock at my parents house!

A sign of fall indeed...Our fountains still in-use for nowWide-angle shot of our pool!Another Morning Glory in this field...The start of fall colors...Hummingbird!
It will be pumkin' time soon enough!Another wide-angle shot of the pool enclosure...
it's pretty cool for photography I must say!The butterfly yet again...More fall colors on this Burning Bush...
Picturesque fall sunset in the western horizon!This corn field not even close to be harvested...
The sun setting on a busy fall evening for farmers...
The sun setting along the Spoon River...

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be shooting some fall photos in the local-area on my down time. I'm also still planning on traveling to some fall destinations in the state if all goes to plan and of course the weather cooperates. Stay tuned for future updates...

09/08/11 A Taste of Fall

2011-09-09T18:25:00.003-05:00

Double rainbow providing a picturesque
fall preview in Peoria, IL

Yesterday, some rain showers rolled into Peoria, IL shortly after 6:00pm from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee providing some early-fall photography opportunities. I grabbed the camera bag and got out the door pretty quick as a spectacular double rainbow could be seen looking northeast out of my apartment window. I ended up on the northeast-side of the apartment complex which is nestled in on the west-side of Peoria, IL. I managed to get some excellent photos of this double rainbow that lasted nearly 2o minutes as the late-evening sun-angle cooperated quite nicely creating some beautiful colors. Frankly, yesterday's sunset was amazing around here if you didn't mind a few raindrops. I actually shot some other photos earlier in the day as well near a local pond 5-minutes from the apartment complex as well and I've posted some of those photos below as well. Looking back I think this may be one of the only rainbows I got the privilege to photograph this year. I guess I didn't have many chances to find a pot-of-gold this year for some particular reason. Odd, oh well! I've added photos from yesterday below:

The fall harvest is set to begin...

Double rainbow as a backdrop to the
ready-to-harvest farm fields here...

I told ya...a simply amazing sunset!
A photographers dream when it comes to
"lighting" seen here...

Beautiful September landscape with the
rainbow as the backdrop...

A shot earlier in the day of a fountain in the area

Sunflowers galore in the field across
from the apartments...

My 2011 Ford Escape "under-the-lights"...

I took this shot since it's quite appropriate with the
9/11 10-year anniversary a couple days away...

Sunset last night at the Apartments of Grand Prairie

A local fountain creating its very own rainbow!
Dive-in for that pot-of-gold!

Now that's a bright rainbow. Impossible to miss!

One of those "golden" sunsets!

A swan enjoying the early fall weather...

Myself, enjoying the evening...

Another beautiful wide-angle shot!

Another shot of my Ford Escape...

Just a spectacular double rainbow!

Fountain on the west-side of Peoria, IL

Wide-angle shot of the rainbow stretching across this pond

One last photo of the rainbow as its
vibrant colors begin to diminish...

Fall foliage already has begun...(background)

Dramatic fall sunset...

A nature shot here...most of the flowers and plants will
be gone in the next few months unfortunately...

Close-up shot of our nation's colors....

The swan yet again...

A sunrise a few days ago...(looking east)

One last photo of the photogenic swan
in this local pond...

Stay tuned for some fall photography in the coming weeks once when the leaves begin to show off their colors. I have some destinations I plan to visit in the local-area and I'm planning on posting those photos over the next few weeks for my fall collection. Until then...

08/25/11 New Pet: Thunder

2011-09-09T18:14:00.002-05:00

My new kitten: Thunder!

Over the last few weeks, I've had a new roommate in my apartment! After a few weeks of searching the local-area(s) animal shelters I found the right kitten for my busy life-style. I ended up finding this lil' guy on petfinder.com at a local shelter outside Peoria, IL about 20 minutes from my apartment near Edwards, IL. I ended up picking out this domestic gray/white short-hair male kitten. It was hard to make a decision with several amazing kittens to choose from, but he seemed like the right "fit" for myself. He was quite playful and a cute kitten so it made the decision to adopt him pretty easy. When I was informed his birthday was approximately May 18th of this year it all made perfect sense. After all, isn't May the month that usually coincides with the peak of the tornado season! Just sayin', throw it in their that I have a May birthday too. Hey, some things are just meant to be! Anyhow, after adopting this new kitten I ended up settling on the name Thunder since he's rather energetic pretty much leaving a thunderous destruction in his wake already in my apartment. A kitten will be a kitten right?! I had a decently large "name bank" to choose from, but settled on Thunder since it seemed to fit his personality. I'll save some of those other names for later in life to ponder I suppose. I shot most of the photos below with my Canon 7D and my 70-300mm Canon telephoto-zoom lens to capture the "action-shots". Kittens move quite fast so you better have some fast shutter speeds is all I got to say. Check out some of the photos I shot in my apartment below:

Playing hide-n-seek...

Lounging around...

He's a trouble-maker...

Close-up shot!

A kitten's version of a jungle gym...

Watching the sunrise...

A weather watcher already...go figure!

An aww moment...

Sun tanning...

He's definitely a playful kitten

I'm bout to get "pounched"...

Enjoying the cool hard-wood floor on
a summer afternoon...

He has a tunnel too. Yes, he's kind of spoiled!

Sharpin' those claws!

Goof ball!!

Another huskie fan?

Kittens are quite photogenic, but sometimes
hard to keep up with...

Upside down!

One of my favorite shots over the last few weeks...
Rollin' around...Another favorite...
He actually does play fetch...funny as hell!More playing...I swear he has more energy
than I do anymore...He's probably wondering why I'm
taking these photos?!Playing with a motorized mouse...Hanging out...Deep in-thought!For a kitten he's getting big already...
More relaxin'...
That toy ball is bout to get owned!Nice to have a camera to capture action-shots I tell ya!After a hour of playin' around he has
had enough here...
Playin' with his toy mouse...

That will just about wrap up this post. It is sure nice to have some company around here from time to time with my new kitten. Always being career-oriented in life can have some negatives. Sooner or later that will change and I'll be more focused on other aspects of life. For the time being, I can't complain. Stay tuned for another post here shortly...

07/27/11 Northern Illinois Supercells

2011-08-03T16:39:00.007-05:00

A developing (LP) supercell along U.S. 20
north of Worthington, IA

Last Wednesday, featured a local storm chase for my standards in eastern Iowa and northern Illinois. I was forecasting for this potential chase day for a few days and kept a close eye on this date. It appeared that along a surface warm front on the edge of the heat dome the "cap" (warm-layer aloft) could be broken which meant a chance for supercells and maybe even tornadoes. I remained skeptical however since Iowa is notorious for busts thanks to warm 700mb temps in late-July. With that being said, I pulled the plug on my day off to take a chance on this chase day since I hadn't chased in nearly over a month. It was time to get a supercell and/or tornado right? I started the day in my hometown "rooming" at my parent's house the night before. By noon, I was out the door initially targeting an outflow boundary near Waterloo, IA. I arrived to my target shortly after 2:00pm. After enjoying some Arby's in the area for lunch I kept a close eye on the atmospheric setup. I quickly began to notice some towering (Cu) cumulus to my northeast. This is when I had to make a "gutsy" decision or well you can use another word for it if you wish. All the mesoscale models were indicating storms initiating in my area, but I wasn't buying it. I relied solely on instinct rather than models that didn't perform well the previous day for chasers as well. Everything seemed it was shifting east where a weaker cap resided so I made the call to head east on U.S. 20 before any storm initiated. I found myself along the warm front in an area characterized with extreme instability in place with 5,000J/kg of CAPE, 0-6km shear at 40kts, a supercell composite of 20, 0-3km shear nearing 300m2/s2, and a moist boundary-layer. This area seemed prime for supercells along the warm front, but it all was conditional on whether the cap would break. Storms began to initiate however after 5:00pm. The most photogenic photos I took actually were at this moment as storms were (LP) low-precipitation in nature creating some awesome supercell structure at this point. The first cell developed along U.S. 20 north of Worthington, IA and would later interact with the warm front off to the east. I continued to head east keeping up with the developing supercell. I ended up getting flooded in Dubuque, IA. Good thing I got out of there before the real "deluge" began as that area was already starting to flood severely. Once across the Mississippi River that supercell started really getting going wrapping up a nice hook on radar right behind me along U.S. 20. I jogged southeast along U.S. 20 setting up shop on the north-side of Galena, IL looking northwest as the supercell approached. This is where I witnessed intermittent brief tornado touchdowns to my north/northwest. These touchdowns however, lasted only a few seconds where it was hard to discern any damage. The topography in this area also didn't help much. A local sheriff from Galena, IL also observed these vorticies as well at my location. Anyhow, once the storm gobbled me up I progressed further and further south to get out of the flooding while taking some photos of the developing MCS as it began to interact with its cold pool. Once sunset came I called it a chase quite happy with the chase day. I've added photos and some video below:

Condensation funnel with vorticies responsible for
some intermittent tornado touchdowns
north/northwest of Galena, IL

First shot of the developing mesocyclone
(rotating updraft)
Cool shot with this cell phone tower in
the foreground showing off the vertical nature
of this rotating updraft...

(LP) supercell a couple miles to my west along U.S. 20

Beautiful (LP) supercell for late-July!

You spin me right around, baby
right around like a record, baby
right round, round round...

Cool perspective here...now that's meeting under the meso eh?
(also notice the mobile weather station giving you a clue
of how the surface winds are blowing (SE))

Supercell crosses the Mississippi River
looking due west towards the river...

Storms begin to interact creating a
cold pool and shelf cloud (above)

Evil looking shelf cloud at dusk...

One last storm photo at least before dark...

Sunset along Rt. 78 near Mt. Carroll, IL

One more as the chase day ends...

I've added a YouTube time-lapse from
my GoPro camera (above)

A successful chase day this ended up being for myself. Storm reports can be found here. I still may chase locally in the next couple of months if it's "warranted". Stay tuned if I do end up again on the open road. Until then...

07/26/11 Summer Convection

2011-08-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

Summer convection blossoms
near Camp Grove, IL

About a week ago I shot some picturesque convection in rural-Stark County, IL looking southeast toward Camp Grove, IL. All of these photos were shot with my Canon telephoto-zoom lens (70-300mm) and my newly acquired Canon 7D. The late-July heat and humidity sparked off some summer convection near sunset on this evening as convective temperatures were reached in the local-area. The isolated nature of this convection provided some excellent photography near sunset. I've added some photos of the bubbling convection near sunset below:

Beautiful shot of my new ride this year as
"she" just got washed and waxed just prior...

Awesome shot here as the sun sets behind a distant
anvil creating a "shadow effect"

Got to love CAPE!
(Convective Available Potential Energy)

Towering (Cb) Cumulonimbus cloud

Sun dips below an anvil casting a shadow on the
updraft in the background...

Prime example of isolated convection!

What goes up, must come down...

Moderate instability + convergence = thunderstorms

An example of what deep moist convection
looks like in the summer months...

Distant thunderstorm looking east toward Elmira, IL

Convection at sunset near Geneseo, IL

A distant severe thunderstorm
along the Mississippi River...

That wraps up this post. I actually storm chased last week in far eastern Iowa and northern Illinois. Stay tuned for a future post in regards to that chase day...

07/19/11 Pulse Thunderstorm

2011-08-03T08:59:00.007-05:00

A distant severe thunderstorm that produced a
funnel cloud near Washington, IL

A few weeks ago I had to head back to my hometown of Kewanee, IL for some dental work to lose some "wisdom" so to speak. I took this photo on the short drive home as a severe thunderstorm initiated behind me near the Illinois River. It turns out this severe thunderstorm actually produced a brief funnel cloud in Washington, IL as many people documented the funnel on the local news during a summer event in the area. Take a look at the story in the local newspaper in this area here. That's about all for this post though. Stay tuned for some more posts shortly...

07/18/11 Summer: 2011 Part II

2011-08-03T08:57:00.001-05:00

Summer rains in Kewanee, IL creating
some picturesque photography...

Over the last few weeks I've done some photography in the area mostly in my hometown of Kewanee, IL testing out my new Canon 7D. I decided it was time to post a few of my photos that I considered were "post worthy" on here. Some of the photos I have taken in the last few weeks can be found below:

The sun sets on our pool enclosure creating
a pretty cool effect with the setting sun...

A tree frog I found in the backyard bout to
take a dip in this fountain...

This year I was finally able to photograph the local
crop-dusters in rural-Stark County, IL

A favorite for local butterfly's in the area
(macro-lens)

The approach...

Now that's an action shot!

And another...

Close-up shot! (Looks like I'll have to
attend an airshow in the next year or so...)

One last photo maybe a few feet off the ground...

Summer is full of colors!

Maybe one of my favorites in this bunch of photos...

One last photo of some summer
flowers in the backyard

I must say I'm very impressed with the Canon 7D and it's sure to be worth the investment for many years to come. I'll post a few photos over the last week or two as well of some convection and even a local storm chase about a week ago in northern Illinois. Check back in the near future...

07/13/11 Summer: 2011

2011-07-13T10:45:00.002-05:00

Summer has arrived in the local-area and in my
hometown of Kewanee, IL

A few weeks ago before I drove endless miles in search of supercells and tornadoes I visited a local greenhouse nursery (Sunnyfield) near Galva, IL. I wanted to bring out my macro-lens and test out my photography skills to do some "summer" photography. It's not all about chasing and photographing storms. Heck, I'll photograph just about anything if I can find the time to do so. Anyhow, enjoy some of the photos I've posted using my Canon macro-lens below:

I bought this Canon macro-lens (60mm) a few years ago for
winter photography, but over the years I have found several uses
for this lens making it well worth the investment...

Quite possibly my favorite shot!

A colorful shot to say the least...

The fine-detail a macro-lens can bring out is why many
photographers purchase these lenses...

Nature at its best during the late spring/early summer!

More good stuff...just seemed everywhere
I looked provided a great photo-op...

Pick any color and you can find it
at this greenhouse nursery!

Annuals can produce some vivid colors at times...
Cool contrast here...

Pretty cool shot!

Yellow daisies...

Blue-bell is the common-term for this flowing plant...

Crazy assortment of colors!

This local greenhouse nursery really was worth the visit...
(They have just about everything here)

Many of these we have back in my hometown
in our backyard and they get quite colorful
during the spring and summer...

Spectacular colors!

Portrait-shot!

Yellow, umm...still not my favorite color though!

Now that's some orange...maybe too much!

More and more colors...

Shot of an annual...

Mother Nature confused on what color
she likes quite possibly?!

I'll wrap-up this post with this (spooky) cemetery shot...

I'll be posting more photography posts in the coming months so keep a look out for them. This post actually will be the last for my camera (Canon T1i). It's time for an upgrade! It did do me justice for the last 2-3 years though! With that being said after playing around with a more advanced DSLR at work I thought it was about time to move on to a better DSLR for my photography-needs. So I made the "large" investment and I'll be shooting now with a Canon 7D DSLR for years to come...

06/21/11 Hanna City, IL Supercell

2011-07-08T22:20:00.001-05:00

Grungy looking supercell over Hanna City, IL

Tuesday, (June 21) I had to work most of the day in Peoria, IL. Once I got off work at around 5:00pm I noticed thunderstorms erupting along the cold front to my immediate west. I headed west out of Peoria, IL analyzing the situation on the drive. I noticed a thunderstorm becoming more and more interesting on radar and entering a favorable area. This area near Hanna City, IL was characterized by 2,000J/kg of CAPE, 0-6km shear at 40kts, and a moist boundary-layer as well. This storm tried to wrap its precipitation at one point (hook echo) around its updraft. Quickly though this storm became outflow dominate but for just a moment looked interesting. I've added some photos and video below:

First view of the storm outside Peoria, IL
near Hanna City, IL

Supercell shows a brief funnel here (left), but
quickly goes outflow dominate...

And another...

Wide-angle shot as I could feel the outflow
from this storm at this point

Hang-me-downs wrapped in rain (center)...

The storm passes providing some
more photography opportunities
(Canon telephoto-zoom lens 70-300mm)

No it's not a tornado, but pretty neat I thought!Convection now northeast of Peoria, ILSpectacular view near sunset looking
east toward Peoria, IL

I've added a YouTube time-lapse (above)

I'm finally all caught up on posts. I will be posting a summer post in the coming weeks with some photos I've taken this summer that are post worthy. As far as storm chasing goes that pretty much wraps it up for me as far as the Great Plains goes. I still plan on chasing in the IL/IA area this summer, but since the season has calmed down you'll see me chasing locally more than anything...

06/20/11 Nebraska Tornado Magic

2011-07-08T22:00:00.007-05:00

Tornado along I-80 near Bradshaw, NE

On Monday, (June 20) it appeared that this may be the "day"! The night before it looked like Iowa may be under the gun for a potential tornado outbreak on this day. That quickly changed though at the storm system slowed down putting Nebraska once again in the cross hairs. I targeted the York, NE area as it seemed this would be the area along and north of the surface low-pressure where winds would back strongly creating an environment favorable for supercells and tornadoes. By midday, this area was becoming quite unstable along the warm front northeast of the surface low. This area featured 4,000J/kg of CAPE, 0-6km shear at 50kts, a moist boundary-layer, decent low-level shear with SRH around 200m2/s2, a supercell composite around 20, and a significant tornado parameter around 3. I could go on and on! By early afternoon, the chase was already on. I headed west on I-80 to intercept a supercell that was producing tornado after tornado from northern KS to south-central Nebraska. Unfortunately, by the time I got close to this supercell it finally dissipated near Kearney, NE. By this time, the atmosphere along the warm front was becoming "uncapped" and supercells began to erupt vigorously. At this point I took the approach to stay along I-80 as these storms were moving pretty fast to the north and northeast. I headed east to intercept a supercell near Kearney, NE. I had to let that storm go and found out it produced a few tornadoes thereafter...grr. I headed east to intercept another supercell near Grand Island, NE where I nearly got pelted by golf-ball size hail. I took some photos and time-lapse of this storm as it tried to drop a funnel at one point. It started to look more ragged so I headed east again not forgetting about my initial target a few miles to my east. Along the way I could tell this supercell was becoming quite dominate as I headed toward Aurora, NE where I got gas watching the supercell funnel at this point. I blasted east along I-80 finding myself watching tornadoes develop along I-80 near Bradshaw, NE. At this moment I observed a nice elephant trunk tornado roping out north of Hampton, NE and the stronger more dominate tornado near Bradshaw, NE just outside York, NE. It was crazy to say the least at this moment! I actually have one photo of both tornadoes occurring at the same time. This ended up being my first multiple tornado day and the first time I've observed two tornadoes occurring at the same time. It was magic! Simple as that! I took a few photos and of course some video at this moment feeling pretty damn good. Not as good as some though that saw double digit tornadoes on this day. I was quite happy though as my target pretty much verified and I executed much better than the day before. My only regret is I wish I was closer for photography purposes, but hey Mother Nature puts down a tornado where she wants and not where you want one. After watching these tornadoes sunset was quickly approaching and the supercells were finally consolidating into an MCS which I wanted to stay in front of as I headed back east into Iowa and into Illinois. It made the drive home that much easier knowing I ended my chasecation like I needed to. Kind of like a story book ending if you ask me! Photos and video from this chase day I've added below:

Hmm...any idea where the warm front is?!

Supercell heading north out of Kearney, NE

Supercell #2 outside Grand Island, NE
trying to funnel (center left)

Wall cloud over Grand Island, NE as the storm
moves off to the north...

Another weird base near Aurora, NE

Supercell #3 had the magic! (wide-angle)

Elephant trunk tornado ropes out (left)
Bradshaw, NE tornado (right)
Crazy shot with two tornadoes occurring at the same time!!!
Click to enlarge...

Another shot as motorists stop to
grab a photo or two on the interstate
Click to enlarge...

Closer view of the elephant trunk tornado (left)...
Click to enlarge...

Wide-angle view...Click to enlarge...

One last shot!

I've added a YouTube time-lapse of the tornado (above)

Well this day for me probably was the most rewarding of the year. You never forget your first multiple tornado day or when you see multiple tornadoes occurring at the same time. That rarely happens and is something you might see every few years if you are lucky! This chase day left me happy to pretty much close out chasing in the Great Plains this season. If interested more I'd recommend you check out Walker Ashley's blog and Victor Gensini's blog as they have detailed chase accounts from this chase day as well. I'll be posting another post soon as I chased the following day as well locally. Until then...

06/19/11 Nebraska Supercell Extravaganza

2011-07-08T21:00:00.008-05:00

Supercell along I-80 near Kimball, NE

Sunday, (June 19) I chased once again in western Nebraska as conditions seemed to be coming together for a possible tornado outbreak and severe weather. This chase day looked to be the most "favorable" during my entire chasecation. It's a day I will look back at as I learned quite a bit. After rooming the previous night at a Best Western in Kearney, NE I ended up targeting North Platte, NE on this chase day. A warm front in Nebraska in June usually means trouble folks! I headed west on I-80 to my target arriving there around midday. The atmosphere was quickly loading-up by early afternoon. Along I-80 in western Nebraska the atmosphere was getting rather ripe along the warm front with 3,000J/kg of CAPE present, 0-6km shear nearing 50kts, and rich-low level moisture with dew points around 60°F. Lets also not forget strong low-level shear with SRH 250-300m/s2, a supercell composite around 16, and low LCL's around 1000m. As the atmosphere quickly destabilized throughout the day the stage was set for a severe weather outbreak. I changed my mind on my original target around midday thinking I could get a few supercells and maybe even tornadoes farther west near Sidney, NE before the "cap" broke around the McCook, NE area by evening. I ended up heading west on I-80 chasing a supercel l near Kimball, NE (first storm of the day). I chased this storm for most of the afternoon slowly working my way back east along I-80 toward the evening target-area. This supercell was rather photogenic around Kimball, NE as it gained more and more rotation as it worked east. I shot many photos of this slow-moving tornado-warned supercell and took some time-lapse video as well at this moment around 4:00pm. By late-afternoon however I noticed I had to ditch this storm as new convection looked to ignite along the warm front and may hold a little more tornadic promise. I headed east along I-80 reaching North Platte, NE by 6:30pm. I was probably about a hour too far behind as supercells erupted to my southwest near McCook, NE. If only I pulled the trigger a hour earlier! Furthermore, knowing I couldn't get to those storms before sunset I turned my attention to a developing supercell northeast of North Platte, NE that visually was intensifying. It quickly went tornado-warned so I watched this supercell rotate for a bit with a well defined wall cloud and lots of weird motion along the ground. Was there any spin-ups with this storm?! Good question! I really have no idea as it was rather messy below the base. I later gave up on this storm as it weakened and called it a night annoyed that I missed the main show to my southwest. Next time I won't get so "greedy" early-on in the day since those storms I missed produced several tornadoes along the warm front and spectacular structure as well. I shook this one off and went to sleep hoping for better things the next day. I've added photos and video of the two supercells I chased below:

Now that's some deep-moist convection right there...
Along the NE/CO border!

First view of the supercell near Kimball, NE
(pretty crappy at this point)

View from the north-side of the supercell... (mammatus)

Wide-angle view now she's getting
her act together...(wall cloud)

They don't call this area the
Sandhills of Nebraska for nothin'!

Yep, here's the Colorado sign too!

Supercell really getting going now as the wall cloud
is nearly on the ground at this point...

The first of many wide-angle shots of the supercell!

A spinning top here as southeast winds were
gusting to 25mph at this time

Supercell moving over I-80 east of Kimball, NE

Maybe my favorite shot?!

Many other chasers were along this exit off I-80
as well including fellow chaser
Brad Goddard from Convective Addiction!

Supercell #2 northeast of North Platte, NE

Wide-angle shot here...

This supercell looked good for about 20min...
(lots of chaotic motion under the base however)

I've added a YouTube time-lapse featuring both supercells (above)

I've added a short YouTube clip of the North Platte, NE
supercell from my GoPro as well (above)

That wraps up this chase day. I really needed a tornado on this day as my chances of seeing a few more tornadoes before the season was over were quickly diminishing! Than again I had no idea what the next day may hold at that point! I'll update with that post shortly. Stay tuned.

06/16/11 Sandhills of Nebraska Convection

2011-07-08T20:30:00.004-05:00

A severe MCS in western Nebraska creates a
dust storm in Bridgeport, NE

After an unexpected productive day the previous day. Thursday, (June 16) I made the long trip to the Great Plains to kick off several days of chasing severe weather as the weather pattern looked to become more and more favorable over the next few days. I believe I may have left around 4:00am that morning. It was quite an early start to the day nevertheless! I headed west on I-80 through Iowa and into Nebraska. My target for the day I believe was Sidney, NE if I remember right. This was my very first chase driving that far west and also my very first upslope-flow storm chase. I've never been able to partake on these chase days in the past since I'd rarely have enough time to stay out in the Great Plains for a prolonged period of time. In case you were wondering upslope-flow chase setups usually happen on a routine basis along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in CO and western NE. Due to orthographic lift and usually return-flow (SE winds pumping moisture into the region from the Gulf of Mexico). This area gets there fair share of storms in the spring and early summer. Add the fact you are close to the Rocky Mountains it doesn't take much to get storms to stretch vertically and produce some photogenic tornadoes, but as usual the conditions must all come together to do so. Anyhow, this was a more marginal day, however and I didn't expect much when it came to tornadoes. I expected some decent convection though. By early afternoon, I arrived in Sidney, NE seeing bright sunny skies as thunderstorms began to form over the mountains and began to drift southeast. The atmosphere was still relatively "capped" at this time so I sat in Sidney, NE for about an hour and got some good ole' Arby's for lunch. This area featured about 2,000J/kg of CAPE, 0-6km shear at 40kts, and rather limited low-level moisture with dew points 55-60°F. One thunderstorm came off the mountains shortly thereafter becoming severe to my northwest so I headed north on U.S. 385 toward the city of Bridgeport, NE. I sat just outside of town for a bit as this storm was becoming more and more severe. I got my first-view of this severe thunderstorm here. This storm was moving at a snail's-pace though at around 20mph allowing me to get set up for some time-lapse video as well. As the storm approached it was easily discernible that it was outflow dominate. This storm was not to be takin' lightly however, as it was producing some rather strong straight-line winds and even kicking up dust at one point creating its own dust storm for a period. As this storm began to overtake me I headed south to escape this storm and try my luck at its outflow boundary that would initiate convection a little later. It ended up being a good call as new storms formed along the remnant outflow boundary to the south. Here, I ended up chasing an outflow dominate supercell! This thing never got real close to producing a tornado, but provided some decent storm structure. Once darkness approached I called it a chase thereafter eventually getting a hotel at a Best Western in Kearney, NE. I've added photos and some time-lapse video of the chase day below:

Awaiting the severe thunderstorm as I'm about to get
blasted by dust from the storm's outflow...

Hail, rain, and dust about to clobber me!

Shelf cloud (looking back to the
southwest toward Redington, NE)

I kept up with this severe convection along U.S. 26
eventually letting it go around Oskosh, NE

You will find a lot of "Dead End's"
in western Nebraska...

More and more dust being kicked-up
by this storm's outflow

One last shot along U.S. 26 as I start to head south...

Here comes the whale's mouth!

If you thought Illinois was flat...

Storm highway?!

First view of the new severe thunderstorm beginning
to rotate with a daylight bolt (right)

Wide-angle view of the supercell along the dusty
western Nebraska landscape

View south of Sidney, NE

Shot of the shelf cloud as the sun
begins to set on this chase day

I've added a YouTube time-lapse of the
severe thunderstorms I chased (above)

My first upslope-flow chase turned out actually to be quite fun. I'll be doing more of these "type" of chases in the coming years now since I got my feet finally wet with these type of chase setups in the Great Plains...

06/15/11 Illinois Twilight Supercell

2011-07-08T16:45:00.003-05:00

A surprise twilight supercell outside Neponset, IL

Wednesday, (June 15) was a surprise day if one wasn't keeping a close eye on the mesoscale setup during the late-afternoon and evening in northern Illinois. I was busy most of the day as I photographed a local wind farm not really paying much attention to the weather. One of those rare days in my life when I'm not all-in when it comes to keeping a close tab on severe weather potential to say the least. Anyhow, after doing some photography at a local wind farm I drove home where I noticed some nice convection to my northwest. I quickly pulled out the laptop and saw a rather nice-looking supercell along the Mississippi River diving southeast. If only I paid more attention during the day...argh! This supercell was entering a region characterized by marginal instability with 1,000J/kg, 0-6km shear at 30kts, and dew points around 60°F. Doesn't sound like much right?! Well, here is the thing their was plenty of CAPE in the low-levels (vertical stretching) for tornadogenesis and low-level rotation. Add just enough shear aloft and that's a recipe for a supercell! Check out a fellow NIU classmate Victor Gensini's blog as he shot a few photos on this evening as well. After watching the storm get closer on radar I got set up on the north-side of our backyard taking in the approaching supercell as the sun began to set. This allowed me to take a few photos at sunset and twilight of the northern horizon looking north and northeast towards Neponset, IL. I will tell you though I really regret not being closer to this storm and chasing it because at times it really had some nice structure. I also shot some time-lapse video at this point showing the robust CAPE in the low-levels accelerate into the atmosphere. I've added photos and some time-lapse video below:

A random idea turns into a spectacular photo!

Talk about a beautiful (rotating) tilted updraft at dusk...

Twilight photo here...this supercell was tough
to photograph though as it struggled to put out much
lightning which is what I needed for photography-purposes...

Pretty cool shot at dusk of the robust
convection and (CAPE) evident

View here was probably 20 miles away...

(Canon telephoto-zoom lens 70-300mm)

Mother Nature was just playing with me
all evening I swear...grr!

I was just waiting and waiting for a big CG to light up this
rotating updraft, but it was all for naught...

A bit more of a long-exposure shot here...

Sunset shot...kind of amazing what a simple
$650 telephoto-zoom lens will do!One last shot of the distant (bell-shaped) updraft...Bubbling cumulus at sunset...

I've added a YouTube time-lapse of the supercell (above)

This was one of those weird kind of days where you expect to see no convection or even severe weather and you end up with a supercell. Mother Nature is unpredictable! I'll be posting more from several chases over my chasecation shortly...

06/15/11 Bradford, IL Wind Farm

2011-07-08T14:45:00.004-05:00

Wind farm in west-central
Illinois east of Bradford, IL

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a well deserved week-long vacation (June 13-20). During this time, I did lots of traveling and storm chasing ending up in several states (CO, IA, IL, NE). Before I headed for the open road however I shot some local wind farm photos near Bradford, IL. This was an interesting day as I didn't foresee much in the way for severe weather in the local-area on this day so I decided to do some photography of a different sort. Looking back I sure wish I had my laptop along the drive as a northwest-flow supercell developed along the Mississippi River during the late-afternoon and actually produced a "surprise" tornado near Erie, IL. I made sure though I didn't leave empty-handed per say from that storm however. After doing some wind farm photography I headed home noticing some convection in the northwest horizon. I was annoyed to say the least as I saw on radar this convection to my northwest had just produced a tornado. Unfortunately I didn't pay much attention to the mesoscale setup on this day. Otherwise, I might of been in this area during the afternoon. Oh well, I still managed to photograph this supercell as it approached my location east of Kewanee, IL. I shot a few photos and took some video of this supercell as well. I'll be posting another post dealing with that supercell very soon. Anyhow, here are a few photos I took of the local wind farm below:

I probably drop by this wind farm a few times a
year for photography purposes...

Low stratus deck (background) as the environment
destabilizes which should of been a clue to
convection in the next few hours...oh well

Portrait-shot!

One last shot of the wind farm as I head back home...

I drove back home quickly after taking these photos to watch the above-mentioned northwest-flow supercell approach from the northwest. I'll be posting photos of that supercell very shortly...

06/10/11 Rushville, IL Splitting Supercell

2011-07-05T22:25:00.003-05:00

Spectacular mammatus clouds along the Illinois River
southwest of Peoria, IL on this evening...

After having a letdown the previous chase day in roughly the same area of convective potential in west-central Illinois I was hoping for some better convection on this day (June 10). This chase day looked to have some potential once again in west-central Illinois as the previous day, but maybe a little more promise. After logging in another shift at work during the morning and early afternoon I hit the road shortly after 4:00pm once again analyzing the situation on the road. I found myself heading southwest toward Rushville, IL on U.S. 24. Why you ask? Well, this area was becoming increasing supportive of severe convection as instability was increasing with 2,000J/kg of CAPE available, 0-6km shear around 30kts, and a moist boundary-layer with dew points near 70°F. This area was also destabilizing ahead of a cold front and with convergence increasing along the front by mid-evening a discrete supercell quickly formed near the southeast IA/IL/MO border-region southwest of Burlington, IA. I found myself intercepting this tornado-warned supercell north of Rushville, IL and southeast of Littleton, IL around 7:00pm. Once I got a good view of this supercell I could clearly see it was outflow dominate. My positioning however put me in quite an interesting location as new severe thunderstorms quickly exploded to my southwest. I quickly realized these storms would contaminate this supercell's environment so I gave up on this storm and focused my attention to my southwest. This is where I observed a splitting supercell looking southwest toward Rushville, IL. I watched this storm rotate briefly for a bit as it became more and more severe. This storm quickly began to overtake me however as I nearly got clobbered by large hail as this storm was hauling. I decided to quickly retreat northeast to try to get out of the path to avoid some hail damage to my brand-new Ford Escape. You got that right! I took shelter at least for my vehicle's sake east of Littleton, IL and let the storm munch a few towns to my south with large hail and heavy rain. As the storm(s) began to pass and merge with other storms I followed in pursuit on U.S. 24 heading northeast back toward Peoria, IL along the Illinois River. I'm glad I chose this route because as a photographer I ended this chase very happy. I was treated with a breath-taking sunset as the departing convection provided some spectacular mammatus at sunset along the Illinois River. Maybe the best mammatus I've photographed this spring quite possibly? I also photographed a pretty cool roll cloud as well! Anyhow, I called it a chase soon after and headed back to my apartment in Peoria, IL. I've added some photos from the chase below as well as some time-lapse video of the splitting supercell below:

First view of the splitting supercell to
my southwest near Rushville, IL

I took this shot by pure accident (lucky daylight bolt)

Weird blue hues on the north-side of this
splitting supercell (looking southwest)

Brief rainbow as I wait out the storm to escape the hail...
(bout the only severe weather I WILL take
shelter for as a storm chaser)

First view of the picturesque mammatus at sunset!

Spectacular roll cloud at sunset west of the
Illinois River near Glasford, IL

One last shot of the mammatus clouds at this location...

Along I-474 beneath the undulating mammatus
under the anvil as the sun sets...

Kind of an end of the world kind of shot?!
One more shot as I start to lose all
my light as the sun sets...

A quick shot of the apartment complex
where I live in Peoria, IL

I've added a YouTube time-lapse (above)

This concludes this chase account. I may have ended this chase without a tornado, but I ended up intercepting a tornado-warned supercell however which is good enough for me. As a photographer I scored with quite a beautiful mammatus display which made the drive home worthwhile. I'll be posting more in the coming days as I haven't had much free time as of late as the work-load has piled up so to speak. I've around 7-8 more posts to go I believe. Good God! Stay tuned.

06/09/11 Illinois Convection

2011-07-05T22:20:00.003-05:00

Decaying severe convection outside Pittsfield, IL

After chasing the previous day in central Iowa another short chase looked to be in store after reviewing the numerical computer models early in the morning (June 9th). I had to work most of this day at Best Buy in Peoria, IL which usually isn't a good thing when time is of the essence on a potential chase day. We all have to pay the bills though! Once I got off work around 4:00pm I analyzed the convective situation as I hit the road to (hopefully) chase some severe convection in west-central Illinois. I quickly hit I-74 south and hopped on I-72 west to intercept a discrete severe thunderstorm on radar in eastern Missouri that was going to cross the Mississippi River near Louisiana, MO. This severe thunderstorm was entering a destabilizing environment along the I-72 corridor in west central Illinois. This area featured increasing instability along an outflow boundary with around 2,000J/kg of CAPE along this corridor, 0-6km shear around 40kts, and an increasingly moist boundary-layer. Anyhow, I continued west intercepting this severe thunderstorm east of Louisiana, MO near Pittsfield, IL. Unfortunately, upon arrival the severe thunderstorm quickly fell apart as the downdraft began to choke off the updraft. So the drive was pretty much all for not, but that happens from time to time when storm chasing. I took a couple photos outside Pittsfield, IL of the decaying convection and some time-lapse video as well. Afterwards, I made the relatively "short" drive back to Peoria, IL. I've added just a couple photos of the brief chase and some time-lapse video below:

View of the decaying updraft in west-central Illinois...

One more shot as the storm fizzles near sunset...

I've added a very short YouTube time-lapse (above)

That wraps up this chase day account. I got "bit-up" more by mosquitoes than I saw storms on this evening actually. I did manage to chase the next day as well in west-central Illinois however. I'll be posting that chase account shortly...