5/26/09 DISC: TX OK

[Jason A.C. Brock]

I got on a cell near Olney Texas early but wasnt looking for it to do much. I saw the storm explode just North of Mineral Wells but didnt want to get on it during rush hour in Fort Worth. I headed over toward Bowie after some new cells going or trying to go there but they to soon died. I stopped for gas and twisted my knee stepping in a pothole while looking at the sky and got a coke and when i got back in vehicle the storm near GFort Worth split. I stayed in Bowie but decided to watch thr thing cross 287 near Decatur. Had some amzing structure and mammatus and inflow banding and anticyclonic rotation on the meso according to GRLEVEL 3 & ANALYST. I watched took a few structure shots then headed home as i was sure it wouldt tornado. North splits rarely do however this one did behave a little more oddly than any I had ever seen.
Didnt expect much today but maybe some intense multicells but I decided to head out since we have had a storm drought the past week and I was a little bummed about missing the Pampa storm the day before which had some decent structure if ya like shelf clouds ....and I do....I love structure....Not a bad chase just wish Dallas metro wasnt where it is.
We will try to get back into the swing of things next week as the good old dryline comes back....I hope.
Thx to Jeremy Wilson & Jeff Papak for nowcasting

 

[Graham Butler]

Have been watching the storms the past few days, contemplated going out, and usually talked myself out of it. Last night it was too close to turn down and boy am I happy I went. Storm moved in from the west and skirted Lubbock to the north. Apparently the lightning was impressive under the storm but I was captivated by the sunset and stayed too far west for the lightning show. At first I was bummed out by missing the lightning but after processing the images I am pretty much over it. All in all it was like a 25mi rainbow chase and I loved every minute of it!! Hopefully a round two tonight!!

Graham Butler

 

[Karla Dorman]

Graham,

OH my goodness, those are STUNNING images! Beautiful!

Will be back later (on library's computer), upload some of my own from a lone supe in North Central Texas, along with a video of some nightlightning. =]

 

[L.B. LaForce]

Wow Graham, those absolutely amazing! Are those edited? like they appear to be HDR photos. Still cool nonetheless!

 

[Graham Butler]

Wow Graham, those absolutely amazing! Are those edited? like they appear to be HDR photos. Still cool nonetheless!

Yup, I edited them with a conservative HDR workflow. Some frown upon HDR but I think when used properly can create some beautiful and awesome photography. Honestly, using this process has gotten me closest to the saturation that Fuji Velvai 100 or 50 slide film was able to provide me pre-DSLR.

Graham Butler

 

[sdienst]

Brandon McClung and I chased in north TX intially getting on the first storm that passed on the west side of Fort Worth where we sat in rush hour traffic on I-20 sampling some hail. We bailed on that storm and opted to go north to the developing storm near Azle heading north. Followed in behind it all the way to Decatur running into some 2" hail on SR114 between Paradise and Boyd.

 

[Karla Dorman]

Sam,

Those are amazing shots as well, great capture!

Here are three of mine, looking west/northwest (from Burleson) as the storm approached.

Also, you can watch some of the lightning at the following YouTube link -

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtEvxATYyPU

 

[Dennis Sherrod]

Outstanding Graham! Love the look.

 

[James Langford]

Great stuff Graham! You are really nailing that HDR workflow.

We did a little impromptu chase here in the Dallas area. Left my home in Allen around 7 and headed down to Whiterock Lake, where we figured we'd have a good view of the numerous high based cells around the area. In retrospect, we probably should have stayed in Allen, as there was an amazing lightning show up here.

Here's a few from Whiterock:

We then headed up towards Pilot Point to shoot a cell up along the Collin county border:

All in all, a fun chase for a night I wasn't planning on chasing.

Full chase account here: http://www.langfordphotography.com/gallery/8351160_Dpd56

James

 

[Karla Dorman]

Y'all are making me jealous with your stunning images ... *sigh* Maybe one day I'll capture some as lovely as these.

James - oh, I love the lightning shots - lightning my favorite element of Storm - especially anvil crawlers! Couldn't co-ordinate my camera (digital) or fingers with the lightning flashes. Delete, delete, delete - LOL Oh, well, at least I caught some on video. And it's fun to keep trying!

Well done, guys.

 

[Connor McCrorey]

This was by far the latest I have ever left on a chase. I got home at 6:30 after noticing that the sky was looking interesting and getting a text alert that I was under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. After checking the radar and seeing the big HP mess out west, I headed out with my dad. We got on the left split near Decatur, got some 2.00" hail, and finally just watched it drift into the sunset. The near-zero tornado threat helped in my decision to just sit back and watch, and it payed off with what was one of the most beautiful evenings I have had in a long time. Photos by my dad (and soon my video) up at www.texasstormchasers.com.

 

[Dennis Oswald]

Intercepted also the leftmover. We were a little late and we had some difficulties to reach the storm but while the storm was splitting we were right next to it.

Some hail about 2.75in

That was an amazing storm.