A severe thunderstorm passed though today–so severe, it bordered on a tornado. It was on the late TV news, of course, and photos and video have been appearing on the internet through the evening.
But one of the more interesting videos is a time-lapse video showing the storm coming in, hitting, and receding. See it here.
As an aside, I was out in my car when the storm barrelled through. It was no fun!
That is some pretty awesome footage. I like how everyone came out afterwards. Checking on their neighbors? Talking about the big thunderboomer?
Wow - look at that thing boil up! I love thunderstorms - we didn’t get much of that one yesterday. Just a few booms and that’s about it. On the other hand, my plants didn’t all get pounded flat, for which I am grateful.
Did they put out a tornado watch? There seemed to be a fair amount of rotation going in the clouds.
No, instead they issued a “severe thunderstorm watch.” Either way, when they do that, we know we’re going to get walloped.
Having survived being out in it (I pulled my car over and just waited it out), I will say that the winds were stronger than I’ve ever experienced. There was speculation last night and this morning that there was a tornado, but the meteorologists said no. They did indicate that the winds reached 135 km/h (83 mph), which would explain why the rain and hail at times went sideways.
I was expecting lightning, but I suppose that, in a time-lapse, you’d be likely to miss it.
I think I saw some strikes, but I think you’re right - it’s too quick for time-lapse to catch much of it.
I know here in Calgary, we mostly get some wicked windstorms with plenty of damage. As far as I know, it’s even windier in Lethbridge - you don’t have to have a tornado to have damage from winds.
unexpectedly cool.
I wasn’t expecting to be impressed but running it at that speed enhanced that feeling of energy build up and release.
Which is why our local minor hockey team is called the Hurricanes. I’m rather glad that they’re not called the Tornados, as that might be tempting fate just a little too much.
There was lightning and thunder, and plenty of both; in the lead-up to the storm. However, during the storm itself, visibility was zero (preventing me from seeing any lightning), and the noise of the rain and hail on the car would have drowned out any thunder.
I saw the pictures on the news today - that was indeed a destructive storm!