Very cool night - we (storm spotters) were activated

[DVC Jen]

Ian and I headed out a bit early hoping I could get some cool lightening shots. Well - that didn't happen. But as I was standing there TRYING to get a lightening shot I saw this heading right for me...


http://jenniferd.smugmug.com/photos/281096968_NDhfK-L.jpg

Luckily we didn't have a tornado come down from it - but that is the closest I have ever been to a wall cloud.

:thumbsup2 It was cool!

[ukcatfan]

That is wild. You are braver than me. I don't know if it is anywhere close to you, but a friend of mine on a different forum lives in Irving and said that they had a pretty rough evening.

[DVC Jen]

Irving is about 30-45 minutes west of us - depending on traffic. I think they may have gotten hit harder than we did. At least by hail - it was only pea size by the time we got it.

[Suburbanmom]

Wow, Jennifer...that's some scary looking cloud. Glad you didn't get hit too hard. And, sorry about no lightning shots. ;)

[NostalgicDad]

I work in Irving and things seem fine here this morning. Absolutely nothing like the rough and tumble stuff that blew through last week (8 tornados across the metroplex).

I was outside of my house in McKinney last night trying the same thing as you Jennifer. I managed a couple of "so-so" lightening shots over the top of my neighbor's house........


http://ddbimages.smugmug.com/photos/281073682_CDVx7-XL.jpg

http://ddbimages.smugmug.com/photos/281074394_iWZ6m-XL.jpg

[Frantasmic]

I got similar lightning shots in S. Fort Worth. My wall cloud wasn't as cool looking so I didn't save it.

It was crazy though, me by a big window on the 2nd floor with my camera while the sirens wailed, and my family in the hallway away from the windows just in case. Oh , we crazy photographers.

[DVC Jen]

I think the most frustrating thing for me last night was standing there realizing if I had that 10-20mm lens that I want so bad but haven't purchased yet - I would have gotten some amazing lightening shots. They were always just out of the line of my lens. :sad2:

also - like your photos - most of the lightening was cloud to cloud - but the few cloud to ground bolts were doozies. One hit a transformer here and knocked power out to a large section of the city.

[Super]

Very cool lightening shots and the OP looks pretty scary :O

[We-Luv-Disney]

Jen, that is a wicked looking cloud :scared1:

[DizzyV6P]

Not as scary looking, but still very cool looking when the sunset hit it.

http://images35.fotki.com/v1167/photos/5/54353/6121681/002-vi.jpg

Last Friday's thunderstorms that rolled through Frederick, MD was very scary. With lightening strikes every minute for about an hour, I regretted not pulling over and trying to take pictures from under the overpass. I would have done it too if my wife and daughter weren't in the car with me at the time...lol.