Prairie Dog Town Fork Of The Red River

Morning Doves

Anybody seen Bob?

Dusty Dry Cold Front

A dry cold front pushed through the Panhandle at sunset tonight pushing ahead of it a band of dust, that most likely was once Canadian soil. Although no moisture is expected, it did make for an interesting sky.

-Steve Douglass

Dry Winter In Palo Duro Canyon

We've been having a nice run of warm winter (dry) weather but it doesn't mean out Panhandle skies are any less photogenic. Here is a shot I took of the winter sun cutting through some tangled and hibernating trees in Palo Duro Canyon.

This is the longest part of the year for me ( and my brother storm spotters) waiting for Spring to come, so you do what you can to cope.

I'll post some more soon.

-Steve Douglass

Morning Test Flight:CV-22 Osprey

I heard the familiar clatter of rotor blades, grabbed my camera and went out on the balcony a took a few shots of a new CV-22 Osprey heading out t o the West practice area. I was tempted to zoom in, but liked the sky so I kept it wide.

V-22s are fairly common here (because the Textron factory is on the East side of town) but I never miss an opportunity to photograph one of these weird airplane/helicopter hybrids.

-Steve

Conjunction , Venus, Moon, Jupiter

Last night's conjunction as photographed from Amarillo.

Flying Over A Panhandle Sky

Tonight just before 7:30 we had a fly over of the Space Shuttle/International Space Station. I shot some (a bit shaky) video of it as it flew from the SW to the N.

It didn't fly directly over Amarillo (skirted it to the West) so it wasn't the best sighting opportunity. There is another one tomorrow evening and an even better on on Thursday. I'll keep those interested advised.

Although I've seen it several times, every time I see a pass it's a thrill. To most of the populace, space travel seems mundane, but never for me. 

I remember when I was just a wee-sprout Dad taking us to Columbus, Ohio to watch a parade honoring astronaut John Glenn, not to mention watching man first set foot on the moon in July of 1969. I guess I've been bitten by the space bug ever since.

Since then I've intercepted communications (on a regular basis) space shuttle communications and even photographed the tragic demise of Columbia, but I've never seen a shuttle up close.

Needless to say, a year ago, I was extremely irked when the NASA 747 that transports the shuttle (on its back) landed in Amarillo to refuel (with shuttle in tow) and I missed it because I was out of pocket.

When I came home and everyone told me about it and then I saw the news video footage, I was kicking myself for weeks. Me - Mr. Communications, missed it, didn't even hear about it until it was all over.

In any event, to witness a space shuttle launch is on my bucket list - I just hope it keeps flying long enough until I can afford to fly down to Florida and see it.

Panhandle Halloween Sky

While sitting here waiting for the grandkids and trick-or-treaters, I couldn't help notice the lovely sliver of the moon gracing a Halloween sky. All it needs is a witch on a broom!

Enjoy!

-Steve

Gorgeous Clouds Over Africa. From NASA, Expedition 16 [PIC]

Gorgeous Clouds Over Africa. From NASA, Expedition 16 [PIC]: "Photographed by astronauts, part of Int'l Space Station-Earth Observatory program. Here dense, thick rain clouds ('cumulonimbus') shot in early 2008."

(Via digg.com: Stories / Popular.)

Sunrise Ascent

Balloon Glow In Amarillo.

The winds in the Texas Panhandle are rarely calm, so holding a balloon rally here is always problematic, but tonight (and hopefully this weekend) Mother Nature will hold her breath and let us grace the Panhandle skies with hot air balloons.

Tonight they held a balloon glow. The winds were calm, it wasn't too cold for the kiddos and we all had a great time. They launch again at sunrise and in the late afternoon, that is if the winds behave themselves.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Enjoy!



(C) Steve Douglass



Photos (C) Steve Douglass and require permission for reproduction.





(C) Steve Douglass




(C) Steve Douglass

Eat your heart out Batman. TIV 2 is ready to roll this Sunday.

The TIV 2 is proof that beauty is only skin deep - but ugly goes all the way to the storm.

Soar

Even though the fall rain might ground you - your imagination can still soar.
Photo by Steve Douglass

Unexpected October Storm

Some storms that went up in New Mexico actually survived (unexpectedly) and blew into Amarillo just after sunset tonight. Although not severe (they dropped some pea-sized hail) the shelf cloud was impressive. I shot this from the balcony of my apartment looking West.

-Steve Douglass

No, its not a UFO.

What it is - is a NASA high altitude instrument package flying ( as I write this ) somewhere just north east of Plainview. After sunset it will glow bright like a star and undoubtedly (like it does every time) prompt dozens of UFO reports.

Special thanks to Dale Stanton took this photo with his long telephoto lens from SE Amarillo. The balloon is flying above 100,000 feet and at a speed of 22 kts. To track the balloon in real time visit the link to the right.

-Steve Douglass

Update: Dale Stanton shot additional photos just after sunset showing it glowing after dark.

I hate thieves.

Last week my car was broken into and some low-down good-for-nothing thieves ripped out most of my storm chasing radio gear. I called the police, they found a few fingerprints and they tell me they have a pretty good idea who it was.

I lost my prized ICOM CR-3 wide-band communications receiver, which cannot be replaced because it isn't being manufactured anymore as well as a Radio Shack frequency counter and a Sunpack 500 series photo strobe. All in all the total is about $700 bucks.

As much as I'll have to struggle financially to replace my gear, what really gets me is that the prime suspect is one of my neighbors and the theft occurred in broad daylight during a 45 minute window of opportunity when i was out.

But, in some way, I can't but help blame myself. My car sprouts antennas and practically shouts to the meth addicts (that live in my apartment complex) "come rip me off!

I mean, who am i to think that in this day and age someone might actually respect other peoples property, especially a person who is a volunteer and spends his own money, risking life and limb to provide adequate and accurate storm warnings for the very same community the thief lives in.

I will chalk it up as a lesson learned, never again trust one's neighbors and never again leave anything of value in my car.

My only solace is that I know some day they will eventually be arrested and my stuff will probably be found among a big collection of other stolen items.

I'd wish for a tornado to destroy their home, but unfortunately it would take me out as well, since they are after all my good neighbors.

-Steve Douglass

September Sunset

Sometimes one can get rather good storm photography without wasting a drop of precious gasoline. I shot this (from my apartment balcony) as the sun was setting behind a far-off storm located on the Texas/New Mexico border. The birds sitting and chattering seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. I hope you do too.

-Steve Douglass

Waco mostly spared damage from Ike; evacuees worry about home

By Erin Quinn

Tribune-Herald staff writer

While Waco and most of Central Texas seemed to have dodged major damage from Hurricane Ike, many of the 1,000 or so coastal evacuees who are holed up in local makeshift shelters were not so lucky.

Through fuzzy cellular service and repeated dropped calls, 28-year-old Rainah Hadley, her husband and four children spent Saturday morning at Waco’s Seventh & James Baptist Church, able to hear only bits and pieces of the damage their Conroe home sustained from the massive hurricane.

Something about damage to the carport. And roof. And furniture. Then the harried service would fail. Again.

“I can’t get through to anyone long enough to find anything out,” a frustrated Hadley said late Saturday afternoon.

Juan Maldonado, a 33-year-old forklift driver from Willis, didn’t need to hear details of the damage his trailer home sustained Saturday morning. His neighbor called and told him enough — everything was gone, Maldonado said Saturday afternoon through a translator.

He, his wife and five children said they didn’t know what they would do Saturday, or where they would go.

While coastal areas saw 110 mph winds and widespread power outages and flooding, Waco was calmer, as Ike pushed off further to the east than was originally expected, said Jennifer Dunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The official rainfall reading at the Waco Regional Airport Saturday was .25 of an inch, Dunn said. Wind speeds averaged 22 to 25 mph with gusts up to 38 mph, Dunn said.

American Airlines and Continental Airlines, Waco Regional Airport’s primary carriers, canceled all flights Saturday, an airport spokesman said.

Both companies are offering free flight changes to some customers whose plans were altered by Ike.

Freestone and Limestone counties reported downed power lines and trees after receiving as much as 2 inches of rain Saturday, Dunn said.

Widespread power outages were reported for Entergy Texas Inc. customers, and service had not been restored late Saturday, the company’s Web site stated.

Up to 500 customers were without power in an area including Tehuacana, Mexia, Groesbeck, Lott, Marlin and Cameron, the site stated. Up to 1,000 were without power in and around Buffalo, and up to 5,000 in Caldwell, Calvert, Franklin and Bremond, the site stated.

Two accidents were reported on Interstate 35 Saturday.

A heavy wind gust around noon lifted the driver’s side front tire of a northbound 18-wheeler over the highway’s concrete median just north of the Hewitt exit, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper David Murphy said.

The driver hauling the empty trailer complained of a leg injury, Murphy said, but a DPS spokesman later said the driver was not taken to the hospital.

Just minutes after the 18-wheeler accident, Murphy was sent south to Bruceville-Eddy, where two Federal Emergency Management Agency employees headed to Waco’s evacuee shelters were involved in a wreck on northbound I-35.

Murphy said the two FEMA workers spotted a vehicle spin out of control on the roadway, and they pulled off to the side of the interstate to see whether its occupants needed help. While that vehicle’s driver corrected its steering and continued to head northbound, the Chevrolet sedan in which the FEMA workers were traveling was struck from behind by a man driving a Mazda sedan, Murphy said.

Both Austin-based FEMA workers were treated by paramedics at the scene. One was taken to the hospital as a precaution, said Mike Jones, a FEMA community relations field officer who was traveling in the vehicle ahead of the Chevrolet.

No one was ticketed, Murphy said.

Hurricane Chasers

(CNN) -- With at least three video cameras trained on the Gulf of Mexico and floodwaters rising around him in Galveston, Texas, Mark Sudduth prepared Friday to ride out Hurricane Ike from a hotel room on the city's wind-whipped oceanfront.

"Most of the north end of Galveston near the bay is now going underwater," Sudduth told CNN Friday afternoon. "The island is filling up like a bathtub."

Despite that, and the fact that hundreds of thousands of anxious Texas residents have fled inland, Sudduth and partner Mike Watkins had no plans to leave Galveston. Their only concern was the safety of their Chevy Tahoe -- and the fate of their equipment that will stream live video of Ike's fury to Internet users around the world.

The two men are part of a small fraternity of storm chasers who plant themselves in the paths of hurricanes to gather photos, video and meteorological data they hope will help scientists better understand these natural disasters.

What sets Sudduth apart, however, is his pioneering use of remote, battery-powered video cameras, packed in watertight cases, to train unblinking eyes on lethal storm surges that are too hazardous to film by hand.

"The stronger the hurricane and the more [news] reporters have to leave, the more important these cameras become," said Sudduth, who lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. "There's absolutely zero risk to human life. Plus they can stay there for 15 hours and never have to go to the bathroom."

For decades, journalists with shaky video cameras have shot footage of approaching storms, only to retreat when the winds, and danger, grew too great. Thanks to his remote-camera system, developed around the time of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, Sudduth may be the first storm chaser to capture live streaming video from inside a hurricane as it blows ashore. His footage has appeared on CNN and numerous local TV broadcasts.

Read the full story at CNN.com