Moon Glow-Storm Glow

(C) Steve Douglass

Video of tonight's duster!

Duster Lightning Strike

Video still frame of a nearby lightning strike in the midsts of the dust.

-Steve

Another duster

Some photos of the rain/dust storm that blew through Amarillo tonight. These were shot just south of town at Georgia & Loop 335.





I'll post some video soon.

-Steve Douglass

Panhandle Skies - a work in progress.

For the last decade or so I've been collecting sky images in the hope of someday getting a book published. I've finally have enough images (some featured on this blog) and have put together a prototype book which you can download and view HERE.

If anyone has any contacts in the publishing industry (and likes what they see here) please let me know.

Keep in mind, this is a work in progress. Some text is missing and this book is not nearly in its final form.

Let me know what you think - PLEASE!

All images are (C) Steve Douglass Any reproduction is prohibited without the written consent of the author.

Dirt Storm Video

(C) Steve Douglass



Audio has been removed because it was just annoying!

Why storm chasers shouldn't drive white cars.

Wash me!

Tonight's Wall of Dirt

I'l post video tomorrow - but first I have to clean my camera and cough up an acre of Deaf Smith County real estate.

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland

Shared via AddThis

Lightning Video Anomaly?

I was shooting some video of lightning (last night) when we had a nearby strike. As i was watching the playback I noticed (as I have before when shooting video) a weird thing that happens. In slow motion one can see a bolt that seems to appear impossibly close to the camera and then you see the main strike. off in the distance. I can't explain it and wish I knew a video technician who could because I would really like to know what causes it.

First you'll see the video in slow motion, showing the strange arc and then the main event. After that is the video in real time.

Weird huh?

-Steve Douglass

A Wall Cloud that no one reported.

Saw this obvious wall cloud last night but ironically I didn't hear any of the spotters report it. Good thing it never produced anything because it moved into the south side of the city.

-Steve Douglass

One from the front ...

Are dimes getting smaller?

A rant: I used to be an AES (Amarillo Emergency Service) spotter - but not anymore (for reasons too many to list here) however while I was in AES they stressed we be accurate in our reports because the public is listening in - and they depend on the spotters for accurate and honest storm reporting.

And yet tonight this:

e


Its' ironic because AES 706 once accused me of exaggerating my hail size reports, in particular during the infamous June 21st 2004 storm which did 175 million dollars in damage to the city.

Don't get me wrong,, I still have friends in AES (guys like Jay McCoy you can trust not to embellish their reports) but when I was out tonight and seeing the same thing AES 706 was seeing, and he was reporting something else I couldn't help but be a bit miffed.

I guess "Jim's" dimes are smaller than mine.

However, knowing the organization as I do, I'm sure they will write it off as sour grapes,.

The proof is on the video. I was less than a half a block from AES 706, and yet he was reporting bigger hail.

You be the judge.

Make sure you listen closely to the audio.

-Steve Douglass

Arcus Tonight!

Storm coming in from the Southwest tonight - quite impressive. It blew and blew, dropped some small hail and turned into another toad floater.

Today's Windstorm

Major Awesomeness over PDC.

Beautiful storm over Palo Duro Canyon today.

-Steve

Click to enlarge - please!

Bird Chase?

I was out chasing a storm south of the city this afternoon (over PDC) and I caught this guy flying alongside my car so I took his photo.

Enjoy!

-Steve

Towers & Towers

Thunder & Lightning PDC

Here is some video of lightning on the South rim of Palo Duro Canyon taken last night before the bottom fell out of the sky and nearly drowned us.

Eye level storm

Before I went chasing yesterday I happened to be in the Amarillo Club (doing some photography for a client) and I glanced out the window and saw the storm building on the West side of Amarillo.

What a great opportunity to photograph a storm from a different perspective!

I'd love to shoot some nigh-time lightning shots from up there.

- Steve

Today's Severe Forecast

AREAS AFFECTED...SERN CO / SWRN KS / NWRN TX AND WRN OK PNHDLS

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH LIKELY

VALID 141805Z - 141930Z

THE THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS INCLUDING SUPERCELLS IS EXPECTED TO
INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON. CONVECTIVE TRENDS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR
A WW.

LATEST MESOANALYSIS INDICATED DEEPENING SURFACE LOW OVER FAR NERN NM
WITH AN ASSOCIATED WSW-ENE ORIENTED BOUNDARY INTENSIFYING ACROSS
CNTRL KS. TO THE S...A DRYLINE WAS RAPIDLY MIXING EWD THROUGH ERN
NM...WHILE A WARM FRONT /DELINEATING OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM SATURDAY
STORMS/ WAS RETREATING NWD THROUGH THE TX PNHDL.

FORECAST IS COMPLEX TODAY OWING TO THE NEWD TRANSLATION OF A LEAD
IMPULSE CURRENTLY OVER THE TX PNHDL INTO WRN OK...AND THE EARLY NEWD
EJECTION OF PRIMARY SHORT WAVE TROUGH THROUGH CNTRL INTO NERN NM.
AS A RESULT...STRONG DEEP-LAYER FORCING FOR ASCENT IS ALREADY
BEGINNING TO OVERSPREAD DISCUSSION AREA PRIOR TO PEAK AIR MASS
DESTABILIZATION. CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH
DISTURBANCES WILL RESTRICT DIABATIC HEATING ACROSS THE REGION THIS
AFTERNOON. NONETHELESS...THE PRESENCE OF STEEP MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES
AND MODEST BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO POCKETS OF
MODERATE INSTABILITY WHERE MLCAPE WILL APPROACH 1000-2000 J/KG.

GIVEN THE RAPID ARRIVAL OF THE DYNAMIC FORCING ATTENDANT TO PRIMARY
MIDLEVEL TROUGH...EXPECT STORMS TO GRADUALLY INCREASE IN COVERAGE
AND INTENSITY THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE FRONT RANGE AS WELL AS INVOF
SURFACE LOW AND ABOVE-MENTIONED BOUNDARIES. ABQ VWPS SHOWS A 50 KT
JET STREAK ACCOMPANYING SHORT WAVE TROUGH IN THE MIDLEVELS WHICH
WILL CONTRIBUTE TO MORE THAN SUFFICIENT DEEP-LAYER SHEAR FOR
SUPERCELLS. WHILE LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT...A
TORNADO OR TWO WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY SUPERCELLS THAT CAN
EFFECTIVELY UTILIZE AVAILABLE BOUNDARIES AND CONVECTIVE INSTABILITY.

..MEAD.. 06/14/2009


ATTN...WFO...DDC...GLD...AMA...PUB...BOU...

Leader up a guy wire.

Ii was talking to my brother Paul last night about this photo I took a week back of a nearby lightning strike and a small "leader" bolt I caught arcing up the guy-wire on a telephone pole.


These "sympathetic" bolts arc off nearby wires all the time, but the main strike is usually so bright we don't see them.

Not the best lightning photo - but interesting.

-Steve

Super Cell On Hwy 60

Almost ...

Looking north of the Pantex Plant this evening. This storm kept cycling and producing very short lived wall clouds and brief funnels. Vortex 2 was all over this amazing storm but alas, for all its beauty it only managed one weak funnel.

I'll post more later.

-Steve

Who are you? Hoo! Hoo!

See Storm - See Serpent

I was out chasing our dust storm today, found myself on the east side of town on a county road (shooting the storm) when the wind suddenly died and I became aware of this buzzing sound pretty close to me. The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end when my brain finally realized what it was.I found this slithery fellow coiled up and about a foot and a half away from me. I slowly backed away took a few photos and let him be.

Luckily he was pretty sluggish (cold from the rain) and not too aggressive, so i was able to get fairly close. I wouldn't have heard him if the wind hadn't died.

-Steve

Super Cell - Super Night.

Yesterday's dry-line made for some very photogenic storms- especially to our Northwest. I just love it when a storm cooperates and all the ingredients come together (except for a tornado) and provide for a spectacular display of Mother Natures power.

I must of shot 300 frames yesterday. Here are just a few.

Fun with funnels!

Surprise - surprise. We had an actual tornado warning in Amarillo this evening. I caught these two photos of a brief land spout funnel over southwest Amarillo that prompted the warning. I shot these looking West from about 34th and Teckla.

Alien Sky

The clouds looked unworldly tonight and made this common street lamp look like something out of War of the Worlds.

I'll post more tomorrow.

-Steve