This page depicts some severe weather related events that I have been able to photograph and/or video. There's not a whole lot, and the photography isn't THAT great (I had really cheap cameras when I began), but it's something. I'm trying to remember now to keep a camera with me in the car at all times, to always try to be ready. I seem to have caught a LOT for someone mostly peeking out the windows of his own HOME. Which is something else to think about... You don't necessarilly have to HUNT storms to see them. Wait long enough, and they'll come to YOU. :) And ALL of the stuff below was taken either from my home or from here in my own county while driving around doing the other job that I love...working for the Census Bureau. You not only get to meet new and interesting people, but you get to see places inside your own stomping grounds that you NEVER knew existed...even if you've lived there all your life. And often while driving around, there will be a storm, or something pretty to photograph, and I'll stop, and get out, and take a shot...

1. LIGHTNING (Paynes Prairie)- Jul. 10, 1997
2. MICROBURST EVENT (NW Gainesville) - Jul. 17, 1997
3. LARGE MULTICELLULAR Cb (Ocala, FL)- Jul. 23, 1997
4. FUNNEL CLOUD LOOK-A-LIKE (NW Gainesville) - Aug. 2, 1997
5. HURRICANE FEEDER BAND Over EPCOT At Sunset - Sep. 24, 1998
6. Post-strike LIGHTNING DAMAGE TO TREE (NW Gainesville) - Jan. 24, 1999
7. FUNNEL CLOUD LOOK-A-LIKE (NW Gainesville) - Sep. 27, 1999
8. HAIL EVENT (NW Gainesville) - May 14, 2000
9. WALL CLOUD (Waldo, FL) - July 16, 2000
10. GUST FRONT (NW Gainesville) - Jul. 16, 2000
11. SEVERE WINDS (NW Gainesville) - Jul. 20, 2000
12. LIGHTNING STRIKE BEHIND MOBILE HOME? (NW Gainesville) - Aug. 31, 2001
13. News Story: 'STORM SPOTTERS' (WUFT/TV-5) - May 31, 2002
14. HAIL EVENT (Monteocha, FL) - Mar. 1, 2003
15. 'SQUALL LINE GREENAGE' (NW Gainesville) - Mid-2004
16. MULTICELL Cb & GUST FRONT (SW Gainesville) - Jul. 6, 2008
17. News Story: NASA SAVING LIVES - EARTH SCIENTISTS AND METEOROLOGISTS CREATE HISTORICALLY BASED, REALISTIC WEATHER ANIMATIONS - Sep. 1, 2008
18. 'WAR ZONE THUNDERSTORM' - Jan. 21, 2010

PAYNES PRAIRIE LIGHTNING
-- 10 JULY 1997.

Three photos of lightning taken from Paynes Prairie just south of Gainesville. Description/More about it.

WHITNEY MOBILE HOME PARK MICROBURST EVENT
-- 17 JULY 1997.

On July 17th, 1997, an apparent microburst wind event hit Whitney Mobile Home Park in NW Gainesville. Description/More about it.
[ See Related Video ]

LARGE MULTICELLULAR CB OVER OCALA, FLORIDA
-- 23 JULY 1997.

On the way to the store in NW Gainesville, on July 23rd, 1997, I spotted this large Cb 50 miles to the south over the city of Ocala, Florida. Description/More about it.
[ See Related Video ]

FUNNEL CLOUD LOOK-A-LIKE OVER NW GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA
-- 02 AUGUST 1997.

These are frames from video that I took on 02 August 1997 of a funnel cloud look-a-like that I almost didn't notice which had appeared between a notch in some trees (the first notch on the left in the wide shot showing the trailers and trees in the background of the 7th photo). The funnel had emanated ahead of, and was then overtaken and concealed by, a passing gust front -- detailed in the scenes preceding and following those of the actual funnel. Tornadoes don't originate ahead of gust fronts like this. This was actually just an accesory cloud, though at the time that it happened, I didn't have enough experience to know anything. These views were taken from an open field bordered by a forest behind our home. Description/More about it.

HURRICANE FEEDER BAND OVER EPCOT AT SUNSET
-- 24 SEPTEMBER 1998.

I was visiting Epcot Center at the time that Hurricane Mitch was off the Gulf Coast of Florida. This was taken from the south end of the "Showcase Lagoon" -- at the "America Gardens Theater" (in "The American Adventure" sector). I saw the beautiful sunset happening, and the feeder band on the horizon, and rushed to the left side beneath the stage where there was a tree with branches hanging down that I thought would make a nice sort of "framing" for the photo. I exposed for the sky, rather than the objects on the ground, hoping for silouettes, and it looks like I lucked out. On the left of center, you can see the boat dock for "Japan," and behind it, "Morocco." In the center of the sunset rises the silouette of the "Eiffel Tower" in "France."

If the image is too large on your monitor, try "fit(ing) to desktop" to see the whole thing.

Taken with a Mamiya MSX-1000 SLR camera, using Agfa Ultra 50 ASA color print film.

LIGHTNING DAMAGE TO TREE
-- 24 JANUARY 1999.

I was at my desk in my bedroom during a thunderstorm with my window blinds closed when out of the corner of my eye, through cracks between the leaves of the blinds next to me I saw a VERY bright repeated flash, followed almost instantly by an extremely loud thundercrash. I ducked by instinct and then opened the blinds and sat back down and tried to remember where the flash had occured through the blinds to try to gauge where the stike had occured exactly. I was able to narrrow it down to a tree in a resident's yard one street down from me. After the storm was over, I went over to the resident's house and got permission to videotape the strike damage to the tree to document it for educational purposes.
[ See Related Video ]

FUNNEL CLOUD LOOK-A-LIKE
-- 27 SEPTEMBER 1999.

Sometimes a downburst can take on the oddest appearances. To the inexperienced, they can look like a funnel cloud, pillars, columns... Pulling into the parking lot of the Wal-Mart on NW 13th Street, I looked to the SW and saw THIS kinda scary-looking event going on pretty low to the ground relative to the rest of the surrounding cloud base. Was it a funnel? tornado? a downburst? microburst? or odd cloud shadows? The weather service couldn't confirm that anything severe was going on here that day. Everyone now agrees that this must have been a large downburst, producing a funnel-cloud look-a-like. Click the photo for description. All I had in the car was a cheap digital camera and it's resolution wasn't all that great, back then. When I went home I tried to put it together using GIF animation sotware...

Taken with a HP digital camera.

NORTH-CENTRAL FLA. CROSS-COUNTY HAIL EVENT
-- 14 MAY 2000.

On Sunday, May 14th, 2000, a weak cold front and two stronger sea breeze fronts collided across northern Florida to create a severe thunderstorm which produced hail that ranged in size from 1/4-inch to 3/4-inch (in Gilchrist county), and from 3/4-inch to 3-inches (in northwest Alachua county). The hail was accompanied with strong winds and very heavy rains which lasted up to 9-minutes at Whitney Mobile Home Park.

Multiple methods of photo-documentation by various sources across Alachua County.

Description/More about it.
[ See Related Video ]

WALDO WALL CLOUD EVENT
-- July 16, 2000.

Video of an actual wall cloud, the only one we've so far been able to get on tape within Alachua County. This could be the only existing video of an actual wall cloud in Alachua County. If anyone has others, please let us know and we'll try to put it up here. Jim Carr / KC4MHH was mobile near Waldo when a Severe Thunderstorm Watch had been issued in the area. Jim was driving north o n 301 when he noticed what looked like a possible wall cloud over Waldo. He parked in the gas station across the street from the Waldo First Baptist Church and waited and got some pretty interesting video. As the wall cloud passed over and behind the church, Jim caught several lightning shots eminating from the wall cloud.
[ See Related Videos ]

TURBULENT SKIES - UNDERSIDE OF A GUST FRONT
16 JULY 2000.

Later that same day, I myself got a view of the underside of a gust front from an approaching thunderstorm. Lots of neat-looking cloud movement going on which fascinated me.
[ See Related Video ]

SEVERE WIND STORM -- A MICROBURST? OR A LOW-GRADE TORNADO?
-- 20 JULY 2000.

On Thursday, July 20th, 2000, many areas in Gainesville were hit with strong winds from a severe thunderstorm, including here at my own home here in Whitney Mobile Home Park. Was it a microburst situation? or was it actually a tornado passing over my home? There are clues in the actual video which tend to make me wonder if it wasn't actually a low-grade tornado.

Description/More about it, with lots more photos.
[ See Related Video ]

LIGHTNING STRIKE BEHIND MOBILE HOME?
-- 31 AUG 2001.

(Here's an MPEG movie of the strike. [2.9-megs])

On Friday, August 31st, 2001, there was a lot of close lightning happening as a thunderstorm passed over Whitney Mobile Home Park. I decided to just point the video camera out the back door to see what I could get on tape, and this is what I ended up getting.

No, I don't think it actually did hit the mobile home since the sound of the related thunderclap (if you listen to the video) occurs about a half-second or so after the strike, indicating that it actually occured farther away - perhaps up to 1/5-mile or more - somewhere BEHIND the mobile home.

However, it still looked pretty impressive; so I added it here.

WUFT/TV-5 NEWS STORY - 'STORM SPOTTERS'
-- 31 MAY 2002.

WUFT/TV-5 came to interview us during a spotter training class in 2002. Portions of video from the May 14 hail event and the July 16 downburst (both above) event were used in the story.
[ See Related Video ]

MONTEOCHA HAIL EVENT
-- 01 MAR 2003

Hail event that occurred in Monteocha, Alachua County, FL on the property of Al Pinson. Surprising, spectacular and even eerie photography taken by Michael Robinett / W4UAV.

Description/More about it.

SQUALL LINE GREENAGE
-- MID-2004 (UNK DATE/TIME).

Video of a cool, mean-looking approaching squall line that was very windy and showed some very obvious green - sometimes indicative of hail. Unknown date and time. Courtesy Jim Carr / KC4MHH.
[ See Related Video ]

MULTICELL THUNDERSTORM & GUST FRONT
-- 06 JUL 2008.

While in front of the Wal-Mart on Archer Road in Gainesville, FL, I took time out to video a large thunderstorm to the southwest. I used a Raynoc wide-angle lens and I'm definitely NOT happy with it. You can see why in this video. You have the "biocular" shadow, there is pretty bad lens aberration. But I wanted the wide-angle shots. Later in the video I recorded an approaching gust front from the storm.
[ See Related Video ]

NASA SAVING LIVES - EARTH SCIENTISTS AND METEOROLOGISTS CREATE HISTORICALLY BASED, REALISTIC WEATHER ANIMATIONS
-- 01 SEP 2008.

42 seconds of an NPR interview segment with me which includes video shorts from the May 14th, 2000 hail event, the July 17, 2000 microburst event, and the July 6, 2008 gust front event.
[ See Related Video ]

WAR-ZONE THUNDERSTORM
-- 21 JAN 2010.

When storms have nearly non-stop thunder and lightning they often sound something like a 'war-zone'. Thus, I like to call them 'war-zone' thunderstorms. It occurs when lightning strikes occur so often - many times a second - that the sound of the thunder crashes don't have a chance to completely abate before another thunder crash occurs on top of or right on the heels of other thunder crashes. The thunder crashes can often sound like train wrecks, or like a bowling alley, or...like bombs being dropped all around you. This is ten minutes worth of video that I shot mostly for the sounds, and not so much for the show. Start this video going and turn the volume up on your good stereo speakers and just sit back and close your eyes.
[ See Related Video ]

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