A long day comes to a flashy close here in Georgetown, Texas. I'm about 5 hours south of my initial destination tomorrow and about 8 hours from my planned overnight stay heading back to Denver. Today wrapped up week 1 for me and while storm-filled, it was lacking overall. A good reset is definitely needed to get back on track as the wacky 2008 season continues.
Today's chase marked the furthest south I had ever chased and my brief run through northern Austin was also a first. We started out in Abilene this morning and made our way south to San Angelo for lunch. We picked up a big storm and ended up making the main intercept in Brady where 70+ mph straight line winds tore the snot out of the trees in town. Numerous branches and other debris littered the roadways. We got separated from the group and ended up coring the storm for well over an hour through San Saba into Lampasas where we ditched it for the southern storm with the huge hook heading for northern Austin. We ended up in Cedar Park where the meso passed overhead rather uncerimoniously.
We ended up calling it a night in Georgetown after several smaller waves went through. We had dinner and returned to the hotel where a decent eastern view gave me the shot to shoot some lightning. Aside from the off-angled camera, I managed a few decent shots.
While my first lightning photo actually came last night, these were much better compared to that. Definitely not great as I threw my tripod and camera out there in my PJs and stood under the overhang with rain blowing down on me. But, it was worth the extra time!
And Randy, believe me, had I been on my own and much earlier in the day, I would've been out having a drink with ya! But having a dozen people in your group and a 7am wake-up time to drive back to Norman, then to Amarillo, I'll have to take a rain check! Obviously those are the plans. I will divide the 1038 miles over two days doing more than half of them tomorrow to get me into Amarillo. Along the way, I'll drop off Roger Edwards and Rich Thompson back in Norman, then shoot out I-40 to Amarillo. I'll sleep in Friday before wrapping up the trip home.
Beyond that, looks like a week or more of quiet time. I plan to work Saturday as mentioned this morning to catch up on some much needed web updates and get ready for the rest of the trip. At this point, I plan to remain with Samaras and company through the end of June.
Goodnight from Georgetown!
