Severe Storms And Lightning Strike

We've been in a pattern of severe thunderstorms over the last few days. Last night a storm moved in over Lake Erie and brought in very high winds and heavy rain. The video below shows the storm wind up in intensity as it moved through. The following day, there was more of the same. This time,  I captured a lightning strike. In the second video below, a section of the lightning bolt can be seen striking only a few hundred feet away. (A slow motion video of the lightning bolt is toward the end of the second video,  where the strike is more visible.)

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Lightning At Sunset

A strong line of thunderstorms moved through the area last night at sunset, bringing some heavy rains, big winds, and lots of lightning. I captured one lightning bolt that shot out from the edge of the storm as it moved into the area, the surrounding sky glowing orange from the setting sun. Here’s the photo.

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A Pair of Lightning Bolts

Storms moved in off Lake Erie starting at about 2:00 AM and caused lightning, thunder, and rain to develop in spurts over the next few hours. I was able to grab some lightning photos as one of the storm cells passed through at about 5:30 AM – here’s one of the better photos.

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Storm Clouds & Lightning

Last Friday, we had a severe thunderstorm move through, and as it approached, we saw some very ominous cloud formations. Here are two photos of the clouds, plus one photo of lighting that I grabbed from a short video I took of the storm as it rolled through.

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Lightning!

Every now and then a storm comes through in the early hours of the morning when it’s still very dark and when the lightning is very active. Perfect conditions for lightning photos!   A storm moved in off Lake Erie this morning and while most people were sleeping, I was taking photos. (Don’t worry, I never stand outside or in the open to get lightning photos.)  I took about 300 photos, and here are the best of the bunch.

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Early Morning Lightning Photo

A good thunderstorm and a very dark sky makes for a great opportunity for lightning photos. It also helps to have a protected area in which to stand to avoid getting hit by lightning while trying to grab a picture of it. Timing is also a big issue – if the camera shutter isn’t open the split second the lightning flashes, the shot is missed.

All those things came together very early this morning when a small thunderstorm moved through. The lightning and thunder diminished as the storm approached, though. Despite keeping the camera shutter open for several seconds per photo, only one forky flash of lightning popped into view within a period of about 30 minutes. Lucky for me, I had just opened the shutter and caught it. So, after taking over 350 pictures of this storm, I managed to get one decent shot. The photo is below. (The color of the sky has not been altered; the sky was just showing a little morning light, and the sky had a blue/purple cast.)

Click on photo for larger view

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Lightning In The Early Morning

A thunderstorm rolled in very early this morning. Although the sky was beginning to show faint light in the east, it was still very dark out west from where the storm approached, making it a perfect time to get a few lightning photos. Remember, if you are going to attempt lightning photos, make sure you stay protected as lightning can strike nearby, even when it looks like it is far away. Of course, you also need longer shutter speeds on your camera, plus lots of patience and luck that the lightning will flash while your camera is taking the picture. Out of 58 pictures taken, here’s the two that looked the best.

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All Content © Chris A. Zimmer and chriszimmer.blogspot.com