Absent Minded Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Gehl Country, Wis.
to be cranky. A tiny little storm decided to cause a little alarm, yesterday, in my neck of the woods. Early yesterday afternoon, I read a weather statement that said spotters had seen a few funnels in the afternoon t-storms that were popping up. I figured, since the lake breeze was moving inland & would pass through before any of the storms reached my area, there would be no exitement. I went back to work on the tractor until I noticed the storm, that was dying out & drifting lazily (10 mph) out of the north, seemed to be getting darker. The radar confirmed this fact (the radar image, top pic, is of the warning polygon & rotating cell before it lost it's steam). I put the tractor away & washed up. While walking back from the barn, I had noticed one of the darkening clouds getting a little lower just north of the town to my west. I grabbed my camera & headed to town.
There was no rain 'till the edge of town. A half-mile after that, the dowmpour had everybody at a crawl. I positioned myself on the northwest end of town, first. If I was going to capture anything on film, I needed to be out of the rain & in a safe spot. I sat there, watching, for about 15 minutes when the sirens went off in town & a buddy called to tell me there was rotation in the storm to the south of us. I needed a few bucks & some gas if I was going to travel any further, safely. I headed back to town & into the downpour.
While sitting at the ATM, the parking lot had about 2" of standing water in the pouring rain. I rolled down my window to put the card in & by the time I could get the numbers punched in, there was a small creek runing down my arm, down my shirt & running all over the seat. All this nonsense under a canopy! Did I mention it was windy? I went from the bank to the gas station "up river" & into a cross wind that was sending the spray, from the tires, up over the hood. I went to an end pump (with no one there). I needed the shelter of the building & 4 pump islands to keep the rain out of the gas tank while pumping. My buddy called again & informed me the storm was petering out & the waring had been cancelled. I hopped on the freeway & headed south to the first exit outside of town. There was still quite a downpour on the way down that started to ease up a bit as I approached the exit. The local FD was still observing from the bridge when I parked on the off ramp & waited for the rain to clear. It was a great vantage point to catch the decline of the storm. As the rain dissipated, the storm revealed it's slightly rotating updraft column, which also dissapeared within a matter of a few minutes.
We were treated to a beautiful sunset on the way home, highlighted by the dying storms & collapsing cumulus that were up north earlier in the afternoon. I reflected upon the storm on the way home. There was something missing. Thunder! All that storm energy & no thunder or lightning. That's ok in my book. I've had enough close calls with untamed, unbridled, excessive amounts of voltage. Yep, it would have been nice, but I ain't too heartbroken.
Well, so much for "grab a bite to eat & post a quick note with a picture or 2". I think I've been blabbering for an hour. I best get. Enjoy the pics.
Mike
P.S. One of these days I'll figure out how to caption the pics. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.
There was no rain 'till the edge of town. A half-mile after that, the dowmpour had everybody at a crawl. I positioned myself on the northwest end of town, first. If I was going to capture anything on film, I needed to be out of the rain & in a safe spot. I sat there, watching, for about 15 minutes when the sirens went off in town & a buddy called to tell me there was rotation in the storm to the south of us. I needed a few bucks & some gas if I was going to travel any further, safely. I headed back to town & into the downpour.
While sitting at the ATM, the parking lot had about 2" of standing water in the pouring rain. I rolled down my window to put the card in & by the time I could get the numbers punched in, there was a small creek runing down my arm, down my shirt & running all over the seat. All this nonsense under a canopy! Did I mention it was windy? I went from the bank to the gas station "up river" & into a cross wind that was sending the spray, from the tires, up over the hood. I went to an end pump (with no one there). I needed the shelter of the building & 4 pump islands to keep the rain out of the gas tank while pumping. My buddy called again & informed me the storm was petering out & the waring had been cancelled. I hopped on the freeway & headed south to the first exit outside of town. There was still quite a downpour on the way down that started to ease up a bit as I approached the exit. The local FD was still observing from the bridge when I parked on the off ramp & waited for the rain to clear. It was a great vantage point to catch the decline of the storm. As the rain dissipated, the storm revealed it's slightly rotating updraft column, which also dissapeared within a matter of a few minutes.
We were treated to a beautiful sunset on the way home, highlighted by the dying storms & collapsing cumulus that were up north earlier in the afternoon. I reflected upon the storm on the way home. There was something missing. Thunder! All that storm energy & no thunder or lightning. That's ok in my book. I've had enough close calls with untamed, unbridled, excessive amounts of voltage. Yep, it would have been nice, but I ain't too heartbroken.
Well, so much for "grab a bite to eat & post a quick note with a picture or 2". I think I've been blabbering for an hour. I best get. Enjoy the pics.
Mike
P.S. One of these days I'll figure out how to caption the pics. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.
