Weather Galleries

2008 Chase Season! : This was one of the busiest years for storm chasing, and comes remarkably close to the 2004 season in terms of tornado frequency. The storms were also, concomitantly, some of the less overall photogenic I've seen, but were experientially amazing and occasionally completely unfamiliar to me (I've never witnessed a more long-tracked, violent, tornado for example, as the one that struck Trego County (Quinter), KS, on May 23, 2008). The 2008 season was also the deadliest I've chased with multiple fatalities occuring across long stretches of the MidWest sometimes including storms I, myself, had been on (such as the May 23, 2008, tornadic storms that ripped through central Kansas obtaining an EF4 rating (highly destructive). A reasonable summary of those events is available on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2008_Plains_tornado_outbreak. The year is also unique in that this was the first time I chased along a major interstate, repeatedly, often during concomitant days...Mile markers 100-120 on I-70 in KS (near the town of Quinter, KS) were the sites of multiple different storms seen in these accounts. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL PAGES OF PICTURES--BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE "NEXT PAGE" LINK TO SEE THEM ALL.

2008 Chase Season!

This was one of the busiest years for storm chasing, and comes remarka ...

Updated: Jun 04, 2008 2:05pm PST

2007 Chase Season! : Several tornadoes this trip with myriad exquisite stormscapes. Some of these are among the most beautiful I've ever filmed. It is hard to believe all of there happened in one season. From isolated cells forming over the Texas panhandle with explosive lightning to "the wilds" outside of Pueblo, CO, where I got to spend a night off-road in a field waiting for the muddy road to harden back up enough to get traction. One of the best years I've ever had. But also the most costly as I drove over 6,600 miles this trip!

2007 Chase Season!

Several tornadoes this trip with myriad exquisite stormscapes. Some o ...

Updated: Jun 04, 2008 1:06pm PST

2006 Chase Season! : This year was unparalleled in so many ways: its almost complete lack of severe weather; the sheer number of miles I drove (4550); the myriad states I drove through (10); and the absence of a single Tornado Warning on any cell I chased this year. The lattermost is a major "first" for me, and underscores how quiet the season actually was. Nevertheless, it was a gratifying chase season in many different ways: I visited areas I'd never been (such as Mt. Rushmore) and I got to do more sightseeing than I normally get to. I got better lightning shots than I've had before, and overall I enjoyed myself in spite of the quiet season.

2006 Chase Season!

This year was unparalleled in so many ways: its almost complete lack o ...

Updated: Jul 09, 2006 9:48am PST

2005 Chase Season! : One of the quietest severe storm seasons ever recorded, 2005 will forever be remembered by me as the year of the Green Sky and Rainbow. Storm chasing in a quiet season allows me time to work on capturing the rich colors and textures of the weather and stretching vistas over which it forms. I hope the pictures from this year show that storms are exquisite even when tornadoes aren't present.

2005 Chase Season!

One of the quietest severe storm seasons ever recorded, 2005 will fore ...

Updated: Jun 09, 2005 3:18pm PST

Tornadoes : Tornadoes--some powerful, some photogenic--are the ultimate result of potent supercells. Few people realize that the tornado is a column of air which starts rotating miles above the ground in the parent storm. When it touches down to the ground, the column of air may (or may not) have a condensation funnel visible from the cloud to the ground. Often, a funnel is seen with a debris cloud at ground level and "clear air" between the two. This is still a tornado and is just as potentially deadly as tornadoes with condensation funnels that reach the ground. Humidity, height of the cloud base, etc, all have effects on how visible the condensation funnel becomes. But people in their paths should take cover no matter how "benign" the appearance is. Remember that tornadoes are columns of AIR and not cloud. ***NOTE*** All photos purchased will be the highest resolution and highest quality (by necessity the previews you are viewing are only medium quality in order to decrease bandwidth). Your satisfaction with the final print is guaranteed. If you in anyway dissatisfied, simply email me at Jason@Stormdoctor.Com and I will purchase back the print from you (less developing and shipping costs). :) All purchased photos may be used for personal display but may by no means used commercially by any entity without explicit approval by me. Thank you for helping me fund the trips that allow me to bring these photos back to you!

Tornadoes

Tornadoes--some powerful, some photogenic--are the ultimate result of ...

Updated: Jun 04, 2008 2:09pm PST

Lightning Photos : Lightning illuminates the skies over these severe thunderstorms. ***NOTE*** All photos purchased will be the highest resolution and highest quality (by necessity the previews you are viewing are only medium quality in order to decrease bandwidth). Your satisfaction with the final print is guaranteed. If you in anyway dissatisfied, simply email me at Jason@Stormdoctor.Com and I will purchase back the print from you (less developing and shipping costs). :) All purchased photos may be used for personal display but may by no means used commercially by any entity without explicit approval by me. Thank you for helping me fund the trips that allow me to bring these photos back to you!

Lightning Photos

Lightning illuminates the skies over these severe thunderstorms. ** ...

Updated: Jun 04, 2008 1:56pm PST

Cloudscapes and Sunsets : Stunning clouds shapes and colors are captured in this gallery. I have tweaked the contrast where necessary, but the colors are exactly as I saw them on the days they were taken. ***NOTE*** All photos purchased will be the highest resolution and highest quality (by necessity the previews you are viewing are only medium quality in order to decrease bandwidth). Your satisfaction with the final print is guaranteed. If you in anyway dissatisfied, simply email me at Jason@Stormdoctor.Com and I will purchase back the print from you (less developing and shipping costs). :) All purchased photos may be used for personal display but may by no means used commercially by any entity without explicit approval by me. Thank you for helping me fund the trips that allow me to bring these photos back to you!

Cloudscapes and Sunsets

Stunning clouds shapes and colors are captured in this gallery. I hav ...

Updated: Jun 04, 2008 2:09pm PST

Rainbows : A rainbow is the reflected prism of sunlight in rainfall. The rainbow is--believe it or not--actually a full circle, but you can only see the upper half from the ground. If you could connect the rainbow's ends to complete the circle, the dead center of the circle is known as the "antisolar spot": the center of the Earth's shadow! The antisolar spot can be "seen" during lunar eclipses. That's one of my favorite factoids about rainbows. ***NOTE*** All photos purchased will be the highest resolution and highest quality (by necessity the previews you are viewing are only medium quality in order to decrease bandwidth). Your satisfaction with the final print is guaranteed. If you in anyway dissatisfied, simply email me at Jason@Stormdoctor.Com and I will purchase back the print from you (less developing and shipping costs). :) All purchased photos may be used for personal display but may by no means used commercially by any entity without explicit approval by me. Thank you for helping me fund the trips that allow me to bring these photos back to you!

Rainbows

A rainbow is the reflected prism of sunlight in rainfall. The rainbow ...

Updated: Jun 04, 2008 2:09pm PST