The thread was started twice by accident. I have merged the two copies.
If it’s not too late in your travels, you must visit Monument Valley.
If it is too late, Stop the car and turn around. There’s nothing like it on the planet.
Trust me.
Also, since storms seem to be your “thing,” do this: Drive to Indiana. Buy a trailer home. Wait.
Well, let’s see, in the last 30 minutes there’s been over 2000 lightning strikes in the Tampa, FL area.
My little tip: If you’re looking to photograph storms, don’t hold out for the eastern half of the midwest (i.e. east of the Great Plains). In my experience, at least, the land may be flat, but there usually isn’t really a good view to the horizon like in the plains or desert. So the best view of a big thunderstorm is when it’s on top of you, which I don’t imagine is very good for photography.
As a storm chaser, I strongly feel that this time of year, the absolute best spot for photogenic lightning is the summer monsoon season in the Desert Southwest. The monsoon usually starts up in the middle of July and lasts at least a month.
Visit http://www.lightninglady.com for some examples.
If that is not an option, there might be some possible storms in the northern states (mainly MT, SD, ND, MN, IA, WI). The southeast US is bad IMO because most storms are strongly diurnal, meaning they will fade around sunset, which doesn’t bode well for good photography. That and the high humidities.
The central and southern Plains are out, the ridge of death is firmly entrenched and thunderstorm prospects are virtually nil.
So, if you are able to turn around, I would. If not, you may be hard-pressed to see much. For daily updates, you can check out http://www.spc.noaa.gov The discussions will possibly be too technical, but looking at the overview map, you can get an idea of where thunderstorms are possible that day, and if anything is forecast over your route, check out your favorite radar site for local updates. My favorite is http://weather.cod.edu/analysis