Thunderstorm season has arrived!

Thunderstorm season has arrived! · Posted by *photo_mom*, 06-14-2007, 04:44 PM

(I thought I posted this here this morning when I posted it at DPR, too. But I guess I didn't press the right buttons and messed it up! Sorry it's late here! I divided the post up into 3 separate threads here to keep from overloading the people on dialup.
Storm #2 is here: Storm #2
Storm #3 is here: Storm #3)

Looks like it’s going to be a busy thunderstorm season this summer. Heinrich and Stephen have already shown it's busy elsewhere, too! In the past few days we’ve had 4 thunderstorms! But I only was able to get out to see 3 of them.

Thunderstorm #1:
Friday night was lightning night. These were all taken between 9:56 and 10:05PM! At times, the whole sky was lit up like it was daytime. The lightning was coming from all directions - in front, to the side, and behind me - but really far away and no rain.
(All taken w/K10D FA50 f2.8 or f4.0 10s 200ISO)

The beginning was subdued and distant:

But two minutes later it got really interesting. The storm was moving faster than I thought at first:

There was not bolt here, but the sound was spectacular!

And then it was fast and furious for about 5 minutes:

A lot of cloud-to-cloud diffuse ligthning:

Bolts, bolts, and more bolts!

By the time the last one was taken, it had started to sprinkle so I stopped taking photos and went back inside. We never did really get any rain from this storm, though. After about 30 minutes it was all gone and the lightning bugs were all that were left:
*istDS w/Zenitar 16mm 25s 800ISO f2.8

Matthew Roberts · 06-14-2007, 05:16 PM

I like number 4, with the lightning right over the house.

Thunderstorm season has been here for months in Texas.

*photo_mom* · 06-14-2007, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew Roberts

I like number 4, with the lightning right over the house.

Thunderstorm season has been here for months in Texas.

Thanks Matthew!

Yeah, ya'll have some wicked storms down in Texas. I've been on the receiving end there before.

**J.Scott** · 06-14-2007, 05:47 PM

These are great! There is definitely something attracting the lightning behind that house. If I were the owner I would be tearing that TV antenna down, they make great lightning rods.

Matthew Roberts · 06-14-2007, 05:48 PM

In the middle of one right now. Heat produced. It's cooled more than 20 degrees now.

We've had some excessive rainfall down here this year. It's June and it looks like March, everything is still green, nothing's beginning to be coated by dust yet! It's really weird. Usually by now only the trees are partly green, mostly the cedar (Ashe juniper) and mesquite.

Mr Hyde · 06-14-2007, 06:11 PM

I love lightning. I rarely have a good view of it from the house. Sometimes I'll go for a drive just to see the light show. Thanks for posting

*photo_mom* · 06-14-2007, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by J.Scott

These are great! There is definitely something attracting the lightning behind that house. If I were the owner I would be tearing that TV antenna down, they make great lightning rods.

Thanks Scott!

The storms were actually pretty far off. I'd have been in the house long before the last photo was taken if that lightning was directly behind that house!

*photo_mom* · 06-14-2007, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew Roberts

In the middle of one right now. Heat produced. It's cooled more than 20 degrees now.

We've had some excessive rainfall down here this year. It's June and it looks like March, everything is still green, nothing's beginning to be coated by dust yet! It's really weird. Usually by now only the trees are partly green, mostly the cedar (Ashe juniper) and mesquite.

Yeah, I love the cool-down feeling after a really good thunderstorm and the smell that goes along with it!

I have relatives that live near Austin, and the last time we visited it was dry as a bone. Glad you're getting some rain!

*khardur* · 06-14-2007, 06:18 PM

Tracy - these are awesome.

and that last one with the lightning bugs is very cool too!

Thanks for sharing.

*photo_mom* · 06-14-2007, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by Mr Hyde

I love lightning. I rarely have a good view of it from the house. Sometimes I'll go for a drive just to see the light show. Thanks for posting

Thanks Mr. Hyde! Hope you get to go find some lightning yourself soon!

*photo_mom* · 06-14-2007, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by khardur

Tracy - these are awesome.
and that last one with the lightning bugs is very cool too!

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Khardur!

I've tried forever to get a good shot of the lightning bugs in my yard. They're out by the thousands every evening and sparkle like stars down on the ground, but I never can seem to get them to show up in a photo in the numbers that I can see with my eyes. The human eye is amazing!

**Ole** · 06-14-2007, 06:28 PM

Wow, Tracy, these are great! No. 2 and 4 are right on the mark! The lighted windows makes all the difference!

Ole

Nixarma · 06-14-2007, 06:36 PM

Excellent photographs! 4 and 8 are ominous!

Nikhil

vievetrick · 06-14-2007, 06:41 PM

Great shots. I love them all

*photo_mom* · 06-14-2007, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by Ole

Wow, Tracy, these are great! No. 2 and 4 are right on the mark! The lighted windows makes all the difference!

Ole

Hi Ole!

Thanks! I took a few above the roof line to try to get rid of the lights, especially when the one neighbor's annoying garage spotlight kept coming on, and you're right. Those just didn't have the same feel to them as the ones where the whole houses and lights were shown.