2011 Storm Chase 17 - July 17th - Dinner Break Desert Chase

Note: This storm chase log is from 2011 but has not been posted yet.

A Sunday evening during the monsoon usually keeps me pretty busy at work, but on my dinner break, I elected to head out to the edge of the desert... just a few minutes from the studio to get some video for the 10PM show.  I also brought along my camera to try and snag some lightning shots.

Big H5 high over the center of the country, nice fetch of moisture through the Rockies.

So, I sat out in the desert, hiding from the rain when I could... it seemed to want to sprinkle a lot.

The only bolt I captured... you have to look real closely to the right of the frame. (click to enlarge)

Nothing too exciting, just some pretty desert vistas.

STATS
Mileage: 18
2011YTD Mileage: 1777
States: Colorado
SPC Risk: Categorical
Max Hail: None
Tornadoes: None
Other Phenomena:  None
Applicable Mesoscale Discussions: None
Applicable Weather Watches: None
Storm Reports for July 17th

Dann.

2011 Storm Chase 14 - July 7th - Lightning Strikes Twice In The Desert

Catching up on a few 2011 entries since I'm still backlogged on 2012 imagery...

This entry details a storm chase from July 7th, 2011.

With the Monsoon in full swing on the Western Slope, I actually started to have a little hope that I'd get the opportunity to see a decent storm or two.  On the previous evening, I scored my first "bolt in frame" shot on the Western Slope, as unmemorable as it was.  This evening yielded yet another possibility for lightning.

A fast-moving shortwave which you can see in the image below was on its way in and by 2Z, convection began to erupt in eastern Utah.  I headed out into the desert to set up and await my chance. 

I found a nice spot to park, turned on some jams and awaited the storms.  Luckily, as the shortwave passed, we actually got surface-based convection in the valley!  (That's a rarity).  This time around, I was much more successful at capturing some good images.  Here are a few:

Finally, I was starting to feel a little better about the weather out here. 

Detail Map:

STATS
Mileage: 16
2011YTD Mileage: 1662
States: Colorado
SPC Risk: Categorical
Max Hail: None
Tornadoes: None
Other Phenomena:  None
Applicable Mesoscale Discussions: None
Applicable Weather Watches: None
Storm Reports for July 7th

Dann.