• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

8/29/06 REPORTS : Tropical Storm Ernesto *rescued*

Joined
Apr 8, 2005
Messages
609
Location
Winnipeg, MB
**rescued post**

M Kucera
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 5
Location: Florida Keys
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:41 am

A weak tropical system in deed. Since it passed right over my place I went out anyway.

http://www.floridalightning.com/TS_Ernesto_2006.html
_________________
----------------------------
Martin Kucera
FloridaLightning.com


Dan Robinson
Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 900
Location: Charleston, West Virginia
Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:14 pm

Video clip (Windows Media, 4.1M:
http://wvlightning.com/2006/ernesto-wvl.wmv

I left Charleston at 2PM on Wednesday to chase Ernesto's landfall, just missing a significant thunderstorm that passed through back home, bringing large hail and flooding to Kanawha, Putnam and Cabell counties. After an overnight stay in Raleigh, I chose Wrightsville Beach as the initial target despite the official forecast calling for a Myrtle Beach landfall. Ernesto's forecast track had been inching northeastward, and I figured that if that trend continued, Wilmington area would at least be a good location to begin the day.

After shooting some outer bands in the Wilmington area, Bill Coyle arrived from Virginia Beach - and we headed south to Carolina Beach at 4PM to shoot the next set of rain bands rotating onshore. Later that afternoon, my brother Matt arrived from Raleigh, giving our team a third cameraman.

Ernesto's initial outer bands were more like summer thunderstorms, with lightning and heavy rain but not much in the way of wind. However, the bands closer to the center that we experienced at Carolina beach were beginning to feel more intense. By sunset, signs, billboards and gas station canopies were rocking, and wind-blown rain created white-out conditions. We were able to catch a decent amount of action, despite Ernesto falling just short of official hurricane strength (details and photos below).

By midnight, the center of Ernesto was overhead and winds were calm. City police re-opened the bridge out of town, and we headed back to Wilmington and checked into our hotel for the night, bringing our Ernesto chase to a close.

Photos:

A transformer continuously arcs in Carolina Beach:

ernesto2.jpg


Winds and rain buffet palm trees in Carolina Beach:

ernesto3.jpg


In Carolina Beach, this sign underwent a progressive destruction as the innermost bands of Ernesto arrived:

ernesto4.jpg


One of the most eerie sights of the night was the insulators on many of the power lines partially flashing/arcing over with continuous orange and blue arcs:

ernesto5.jpg
 
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