http://www.redcross.org/

With the death and destruction we've seen from a Spring of horrific and historic storms, please take time to donate or give blood to The American Red Cross.  http://www.redcross.org/

Brian Johnson
http://www.ruminationofthunder.com/

Jefferson City,Mo Wednesday May 25, 2011

Taken by Crawford Brantley in downtown Jefferson City, Mo. during a tornado warned storm.

May 24,2011

We were under a high risk of severe weather and some of the most influential storm chasers I know were commenting how bad the forecast for Wichita looked.  Although it has been a mostly quiet spring, we were due for bad weather, and with Joplin, MO so fresh in our minds, many people including myself were worried.

Storms began firing up in Oklahoma west of OKC and heading here fast.  Even the management at work released us to go home early.  Of course, I went chasing.  I hate fast moving storms.  These were coming in at 50-60mph and beginning to join into a nasty multicell storm.

For this storm I decided to take out the Chevy POS.  No point in destroying totally reliable transportation.  I grabbed Ruminator Brent again (he was with me on the previous storm posted) and we headed out west to intercept.  Right before we left, a cell formed before the multicell and looked interesting.  We ran to Maize, Kansas and set up.  Once again at Nancy's A-Mazing Sandwiches, sorry Nancy there was a weather apocalypse we had to get ready for, so we stayed in the parking lot.

Boosted the shadows in this to show cloud definition now I see an inflow line.

While watching very dark, very overcast sky, two bicyclists passed us holding up traffic on one of the main streets in Maize.  I think my chase partner and I stared at them as they went by thinking of a case to present on functional Darwinism.  Unfortunately dark, overcast, and rainy sky does nothing for photography.

Lots of rain.

We sat in the parking lot watching the storm came in and the lightning gave a show that now I kick myself for not recording.  Seemed like we were surrounded by lightning and thunder for a while.

We ran back across town to the east side seemingly to get rained on a little harder.  Thank you Rain-X.

The storms flew through the area and slowed as it hit the city.  Reports were coming in about the destruction in OKC and surrounding areas, but Wichita really dodged the bullet.

We ran back to the house to check radar (I know I need to upgrade and join this decade, hmmmm maybe I'll add a paypal account for help).  The storms in Wichita weakened drastically and a large strong squall line had formed in western Kansas spawning several warnings.  As the sun went down, the line decided to start moving east.  The bottom of the squall line would hit Wichita and as it grew close, thunderstorm warnings were issued, although they were borderline severe.

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They appeared to build for a while, then weakened as the sun dipped below the horizon.

The winds were still as this moved in then a moderate gust of cold wind let you know it was coming.  I tried taking lightning pictures and developed a game called Capture/Processing.  When the Sony DSC-V3 is capturing and lightning strikes, I get it.  When it's processing, I get nothing.  Last night the storm won.

After dark I started playing with long exposure as the shelf cloud came into sight.  The below was taken with a 5 second shutter speed.  The light on the left is from Wichita, the light in the middle was lightning.
Not too much on the horizon, yet.  I could use a couple days worth of rest.

May 21, 2011 storm

It's been a slow year in Central Kansas for the exclusion of the last few days.  April had only eight reported tornadoes for the state, May didn't have any until the 21st.  So when you are posed with apt attention and nothing happens . . . you give up.  The clouds were gathering Saturday evening, and after dinner noticed a great super cell anvil building to the northeast.

With a fellow ruminator, we ran out K-254 and watched the action in Benton.  So far this year we had been on three local chases that ended up in hail or a nice gentle rain.  We sat and watched the anvil begin to get hazy then look like it lost upflow while raining its contents to the ground below.

Even the inflow stopped moving toward it.  With a heavy heart I called the chase and we went home.  Later that evening I looked out the window and saw very impressive overshooting tops.  Apparently it kicked into high gear and ended up hitting Emporia and Reading, Kansas near and after dark.

Storms on May 19th

There was a hope for storms near the Wichita but the all important afternoon sun lacked.  Storms were popping in Oklahoma but seemed to be lacking energy near here.  There was a good cell coming up just south of Kingman and I ran up on K-96 hoping.  Yes, sometimes all we have is hope.  We3 made it out near Mount Hope and could tell that a strong squall line was developing to the west.  I pulled over and took one panoramic.  By the time we got on the road, the inflow disappeared and the storm died quickly.  We went back to Maize and stopped at Nancy's A-Mazing Sandwiches.  If you're near Maize, KS stop by, the food is awesome.

‎. . . horrific and violent acts of nature.

‎. . . horrific and violent acts of nature was quoted by local weatherman Leon Smitherman.  I think this above all sums up the storms this week.  I chase for the fact that I can warn the public, but I also chase because I truly believe this is the raw power of nature.  I think this also reminds us that even though we get tired of our shows being interrupted by the weathermen, and sometimes ask why do I need to know about a tornado in Wichita at the Colorado border, that there is a human toll.  Watches and Warnings save lives, and it becomes dangerous when we become complacent.  

This aerial photo from Thursday, April 28, 2011, shows damage to an east Tuscaloosa neighborhood. (The Birmingham News/Joe Songer)

Beginnings . . .

Fear.

I was seven years old and I hated thunderstorms. Being a child of the Midwest, this meant every summer I was in abject terror. We lived behind a TV station and all around their radar tower was lightning rods. Across the street, was a church steeple. To this day, I don't know what got struck by lightning more. Knowing me, it was probably the church.

My family loved to fish and camp, so every summer we went to a little spot called Melvern lake and we camped beneath the dam. We were there over Memorial Day weekend. Storms had hit earlier in the evening and intensified overhead in the dark. We sat in our fifth wheel camper and listened to hail plink off the roof and rocked as the wind buffeted the trailer's side. The weatherman looked nervous and tired on TV, there had been a lot of thunderstorm warnings, so we headed to the campground's storm shelter. I will use this in the loosest terms since it was a brown brick structure that housed the showers, washer and dryers, but solid if all hell broke loose.

The shelter was full but we squeezed in. There was a nice place in between a washer and dryer and I hunkered down. I remember the sound of thunder but not the conversations. There was a lot of thunder and hail in the storm. People seemed tense, but the storm slowed down. My father called me and we went back to the camper. (Hint: for all you Twister Fans think of the term “Cone of Silence”).

Back at the trailer, Dad knew I was scared, and to counter that, tried to show me Solitaire. To this day, I still don’t know how to play. The rain started again, lightning hit right outside flickering the power, and the weatherman interrupted regular programming. A tornado was sighted at Melvern Lake heading to the dam we were right below.

Dad ran outside and got the truck. He pulled it close enough to the camper door that mom and I were able to jump right in when it started hailing. It was the largest hail I remember, but sometimes that’s how childhood memories are. We made it to the shelter with a line of people screaming and forcing their way in. We made it, right in front of a ripe pregnant woman screaming, “Oh my God. It’s going over the top of us”.

I found my spot between the washer and dryer and waited for the apocalypse. . .

My novel “Hell to Pay” will be coming out August 2011 from Hellfire Publishing.

Stay Turned . . . I might tell you more.