May 6, 2012 Central/Northern IL chase

Today was one of those days where I was sitting at home doing work and couldn't resist a chase close to home.  I saw some storms firing along a warm-front south of town and decided to head down to have a look.  The mid-level support wasn't anything to write home about but there was some nice low-level backing of the winds along the front.  Overall, the storm mode was fairly messy and we kept having to avoid mergers all afternoon.  Either way,  it was a decent chase and I was home by 6PM.  Below are two shots I snagged.  Enjoy.

May 3, 2012 DeKalb, IL convection

It was a bit muggy here today in DeKalb.  We were under a slight risk for severe weather though it seemed marginal to me at best.  We certainly had enough instability to kick off storms with temperatures in the 80s and dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s.  We just lacked the vertical wind shear to help keep these storms organized.  Either way, once these cells overcame the convective inhibition they really started to 'popcorn'.  So, I decided to head west of town after the NIU AMS banquet and grab a few shots of the cumulus towers.  When I arrived to my usual spot,  I was greeted by a brightly shining moon that I could capture in the same frame as the cumulus towers!  It was amazing.  These kinds of evenings really allow me to recharge my batteries, let alone help me make the final thesis push.  There is just something about being out in a field where I can't hear anything but the wind and smell anything but the spring air.  Nature is pretty damn cool.  Well, below are some of the photos I grabbed before the sun went down for the night.  Enjoy.

fluorescent white balance

fluorescent white balance

fluorescent white balance

Starved Rock (Utica, IL) 04/07/12

My buddy Trevor Edmonson asked me late last night if I wanted to go hiking/walking at Starved Rock in Illinois.  Since I have been itching to get out and test the new lens I agreed to tag along.  It was a nice day to get out and enjoy the landscape too!  The only thing that could have been better was the sky.  It was a bit of a hazy day with a cloud deck slowly moving in.  Oh well.... It was still a great time!  Enjoy.

DeKalb, IL Summer-like Bubbling Cu. 3/17/2012

March has been a bit strange this year here in DeKalb.  We have been setting daytime high temperature records day after day.  To be honest, it feels like mid-June.  The temps and instability have been insane for March, but you won't catch me complaining.  Since it has been nice lately, I decided to head out and take some time lapse photography of the daytime bubbling cumulus.  It was nice to just sit in a field, relax, and enjoy the weather.  Enjoy.

Lake Shabbona 10/29/11

Last night my good friend Grant sent me a text asking if I wanted to head out to Lake Shabbona the next day. Of course I said yes and was hoping that the fall color was still showing.  The wind was a bit strong but it calmed down eventually.  All and all, it turned out to be a decent day.  My resulting amateur (at best) photos are below.  Enjoy.

Shabbona, IL ~ Shabbona Lake 9/24/11

I have been itching to get out and take some photos but lately, I just haven't had the time due to thesis work and T.A./classwork duties. But, today I decided to take a few hours off and head down to Shabbona Lake and see what I get. There has been a threat of waterspouts over Lake Michigan all day due to high instability, warm lake temps, and low cloud bases (among other factors), but I didn't expect anything amazing like that to occur near my location. Yet, I thought if I headed out it would be worth my while. Well, here is what came out. Enjoy.

Time lapse I grabbed....would be longer but I got impatient. 

MCS DeKalb, IL 8/23/2011

I woke up early this morning in order to get to the office and get some work done but..... I decided to take a little detour and grab some photos of the approaching MCS. The photos below were taken around 8:30am from my usual spot. Sorry I didn't save any radar images. Enjoy.

Spot the precip. on the lens... ugh.

Water drop on the lens again....

And Again.... 

Okay.... now its comical.