So I'm a little late...
With a score of 18 to 2, Entry 2 is the victor.
Entry 2 was submitted by
Orgazmo and
Ugly Bastard. They'll be receiving the golden N's for the victory.
Entry 1 was submitted by
Shaw.
The three pictures submitted in total by Mr. Shaw follow:
Unfortunately, I don't know any of the details surrounding Mr. Shaw's storm...so I have nothing to post. If you'd like to elaborate upon it a'tall, Sir Shaw, feel free.
I can, on the other hand, elaborate on the storm which found itself as the subject of the entry submitted by Ugly Bastard and myself. The storm brewed during the late evening hours of May 9th. The pictures which follow were all taken somewhere in between Da-Lite and a little bit north of Milford.
Before we get to the main pictures, I'd like to tell a bit of a story about that fateful night.
Eager after seeing the line of red on the weather map (even purple in some areas...which was a first for the Bastard and I), we headed north, snapping a few pictures on the way whilst speeding down the road.
<font size="1">This picture is completely illuminated by a flash of lightning.</font>
Our initial travels took us to what appeared to be some type of semi depot on the north side of Milford.
Bastard parked his carriage and we unloaded...looking westward at the approaching lightning. I tried my hand at capturing a bolt or two on digital film...but, much to my dismay, the delay of the camera made the photography session a thing based more on luck than reaction time...though this is beside the point.
Anyway, we're sitting there, surrounded by semis in weather that couldn't be more calm, staring at an incoming swarm of lightning. Things were good...until an oddly powerful wind began to blow. It wasn't a gust at all...it was a constant force which was very strong...and gradually increasing. After a few minutes, it's intensity was to the point where it was uncomfortable to do anything except lean against the car (trying to stand straight up against the wind just wasn't the easiest thing to do). Also, at this point, rain had begun to fall...and, mixed with the wind, it was really quite painful.
<font size="1">An attempted picture taken during the midst of said downpour.</font>
After pussyfooting around with trying to stay dry by kneeling on the otherside of the car (because the wind was so strong that there were a few feet of dry pavement on the otherside), Bastard and I decided that our only refuge was inside of his chariot.
Now, before I continue, it should be said that the weather conditions at this time aren't really anything too out of the ordinary in comparison to other relatively fierce storms that we had chased. Sure, it was really windy and an absolute downpour with 0 visibility...but we had/have experienced that quite a few times in our travels past. The only thing new at this point was the type of wind that we were experiencing. Instead of gusts, as previously mentioned, it was one solid force...completely constant and unwaivering. Back to the story.
As we sat in the vehicle, I attemped to snap a few pictures of the still-approaching lightning...but nothing worthwhile a'tall came from it.
<font size="1">An attemped picture through his sunroof yielded more of a mirror shot than anything else. This was just a few seconds before shit got scary.</font>
As we sat in the car, talking about how disappointed we were that we hadn't gotten any really good pictures before the downpour came, something very odd happened. Without any type of warning and as quickly as a blink of the eye, the wind's speed increased dramatically...to a speed which I can't even guess. I exaggerate not when I say that, at that moment in time, I was 100% convinced that a tornado had touched down right beside the car. The wind was so intense that it felt like the car's weight was completely lifted from the suspension...like the tired were barely touching the ground. It's tough to put into words exactly what was happening at that moment in time...what was going through our heads, how the car felt as it creaked under the strain of the wind, even the various shit flailing violently from the semi trailers behind us. It was easily the most scared I've been during any type of storm...one of the most scary moments of my entire life. It seemed to last forever, but, in retrospect, it turns out it was only a 30 seconds to a minute. Either way...it was enough to make me question stormchasing...
After this incident, we headed south, stopping every mile or two on sideroads to capture the incoming line (the line was like a slash moving through indiana...so, as the storm went through a northern part, all we had to do was move south a few minutes and wait for more action). We actually did this about 5 times until we ended up back at Da-Lite (and the storm had pretty much completely died).