A Little News

Storm season usually comes in north Alabama right about, oh, now. March, April and May are premiere months for thunderstorms and all the trouble they cause and the wonder they inspire. I can tell you stories of my dad and I sitting on our front porch when I was a kid watching the storms roll in. Later, as volunteer firemen together, we would go out and deal with the detritus of those wonders of nature. Now, as a photojournalist, I chase storms in hope of catching the amazing photos that they occasionally present.

There is a bit of danger associated with storm chasing. There have been times in my career when I was absolutely terrified like the time I was coming back south on Highway 31 near Athens when I was overtaken with a storm producing heavy lightning, hail and very high winds. Normally, when the lightning strikes, you can see under the clouds. Not this night. The cloud just looked like it was laying on the ground and coming right at me, fast! I had nowhere to hide and I was driving a Plymouth Horizon. Talk about the sum of all fears! Obviously I survived that night and I would like to give you guys some tips for surviving as well.

First, if you are a TV reporter or photographer, let me just say “I’m sorry.” My best advice to those of you who stand out in approaching thunderstorms hanging onto microphones and metal tripods is to pray and pray frequently. Now, for those of us who are sane, the rest of the story. If you watch your weather regularly you will probably notice a trend in the movement of storms. Most storms, especially in my part of the world, move along frontal boundaries that tend to stretch from the northeast to the southwest. The storms move along these fronts, usually from the southwest to the northeast so the general drift of the front will be to the east and the storms moving along the front will progress in a northeasterly direction. Historically, most tornado tracks are from the west side of the compass to the east side with most moving from the southwest toward the northeast. There are exceptions, of course.

Now, all that probably sounds like mumbo jumbo unless you have the task of approaching said storm system and are wondering how to do that safely. Knowing the general movement of storm systems shows you that, on average, the safest place to approach a storm from is the south to southeast because the storm will be moving at an angle away from you. This also allows you to choose routes that can parallel a storm. The fact that most tornadoes form under the southern side of the storms also increases your potential for getting a photograph. The problem in the south is that many of our worst storms happen after dark. We have all seen the spectacular pictures of tornadoes in the Midwest where the winds go sweeping or’ the plains. No so the South. Most of our tornadoes come wrapped in heavy rain which makes visibility limited at best. Combine this with the hilly, wooded terrain and the fact that most of these storms happen after dark and you see the problem of approaching them to make pictures.

You will generally do yourself a favor to stay away from the north and northeast side of storms. Your visibility will be ruined and you will run a greater risk of getting nailed by the storm yourself. By the way, as you drive around your area during the day, scout out good locations to shoot from. There are a couple of things to look for as you scout. First, visibility. You can’t shoot what you can’t see. Find areas where you have an unobstructed view and make a mental note of the place. I have a few of these staked out around the counties we cover. The second thing to do is look for cover. If you get caught by a storm, at least have a good ditch to take cover in. It could save your life. There is a very interesting picture shot by a Decatur Daily photographer in 1974 during the massive tornado outbreak that swept across the eastern half of the country. The photo shows several media folks taking cover in a shallow ditch as a second tornado approaches a trailer park in Limestone County. The park had already suffered one hit and a second twister was approaching.

Finally, watch out for the lightning. Many people die every year because they lack the proper respect for lightning. My dad, who is still in the fire service and is a long-time weather nut, says that if you can hear thunder you are in danger. You will be in a lot more dangerous situations than just hearing thunder my friends. The key is to know when to say when. No photo is worth getting struck by lightning to shoot. When the situation become unsafe, head for cover. Wait out the storm from a safe spot and then shoot from behind. You can still get some awesome lightning shots even on the back side. Just keep in mind, you stand a much greater chance of being hit by lightning than you do of being swept away in a tornado so stay safe.

About the photos: The top photo is from a storm that produced a tornado warning as it swept across Decatur. This photo shows the portion of the storm where the tornado would form or was airborne in the curving sweep near the middle of the picture. I was less than a mile from this storm as it crossed Beltline Rd. in Decatur. I was south of the storm which moved from west to east. The second photo shows a funnel cloud beginning to form beneath a cloud last summer. The National Weather Service declared the funnel an anomaly because it formed during an uncharacteristic time of the year and from a storm system that would not normally have produced the funnel. The funnel never even got close to the ground but it was a thrill to actually see on anyway. The final photo is of a lightning strike in Decatur near Lake Morgan along Beltline Rd. I was actually hand holding my camera and using f22 at about 1/4 or 1/2 second and just shooting repeated frames hoping to get lucky. I got lucky alright and scared too. That was as close as I want to be to lightning. I quickly found some shelter after shooting this photo. Than means I ran like mad to get to my car!

Photo copyright The Decatur Daily. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.