Winter Storm Chase Season
Begins...
Fall is almost here and that means that Winter
Storm Chase Season will soon begin! I am already
looking forward to an active season. Current plans are
to photograph New England Snowstorms in January and
February - see "Upcoming Events Section." I will be
staging in Boston for what will hopefully be an eventful
season. I am hoping to get one good blizzard in the
Central and Northern Plains. I will also be
photographing the
Ice
Hotel in Quebec City
during their
Winter Carnival. That event will be in February.
So let's ALL HOPE FOR AN AMAZING WINTER AHEAD!
Let the games begin!
Some highlights from the last couple of years.
My Journal Entry from December 28,
2006
I parked my car, got out, and looked around. I was
in awe at the size of the wet snowflakes falling from
above. They reminded me of one of Walt Disney's
creations...a tapestry come to life. A world of make
believe. But this wasn't make believe...this was real.
The air was full of silence. The only sounds filtering
through this quiet mountain town was the hushed sound of
snowflakes hitting the ground - a testimony to just how
large the flakes were. I could hear myself
breathing...wisps of "fog" streaming into the air as I
exhaled into the cold. Occasionally the winter silence
would be broken by a branch snapping under the weight of
the heavy snow. Was I actually standing here...all
alone - in the midst of one of the most beautiful winter
landscapes I have ever experienced?
The trees appeared to have been decorated by an
invisible hand. Garlands of white, laced each drooping
branch. It was as if the town had been decorated for
the holiday season. Beautiful mounds of white could be
seen sliding down the windshields of the vehicles parked
alongside the roadway. Attesting to how wet the snow
was. I laughed as I looked around and thought "this is
what the world would look like if a gigantic shaving
cream can exploded."
The crunching of the snow, under my boots,
rekindled memories from my childhood. Those cold winter
nights walking to my grandmothers house on the family
farm. The winter landscape illuminated only by the
moonlit cirrus sky and grandmothers porch
light...casting a golden glow across the snow to light
my path along the way. Crunch...crunch...crunch - I
would hurry along - coyotes howling from the back
pasture. In my mind I always imagined them closer than
they actually were. I would hurry into her
house...removing my coat, scarf, and gloves I headed
straight for her wood stove - full of burning logs that
we had cut earlier in the year. I would warm my hands
from the rising heat. Meanwhile, grandmother would grab
the pop-corn popper - a metal pan with a long handle.
The lid would slide open and we would pour in the
popcorn...in a matter of minutes popping noises filled
the little room in the middle of her house.
It seems like those memories were from just
yesterday...but they were many years ago. Now here I am
in Boulder, Colorado. Standing in the midst of another
winter storm. I remind myself, as I often do, that life
is short. Winters are even shorter. Enjoy the
moment...and so I do.
Brrr a cold wind smacks me in the face. I looked
around once again. The scene before me was one straight
out of Charles Dickens Tale. Heavy wet snow blanketed
me. I stood there for a few more moments, I was lost in
a daydream. Mesmerized by the snow. I almost forgot to
push the shutter button. After all that is why I came to
Boulder. To photograph this snowstorm. This one moment
in time.
Boston, Massachusetts - Nor'easter 2003
Boston, Massachusetts - Nor'easter 2003
Boston, Massachusetts Snowstorm - 2003
Paducah, Kentucky - Ohio Valley Blizzard 2004
Boulder, Colorado 2006
Peoria, Illinois - Winter Storm 2006
Peoria, Illinois Winter Storm 2006
Peoria, Illinois Winter Storm 2006
Boulder, Colorado - Winter Storm 2006
Peoria, Illinois Near Blizzard 2006
Colorado Snowstorms 2006
Boulder, Colorado Wet Snow Event 2006
Denver Post - December 2006
Evergreen, Colorado Winter Storm 2006
More photographs, of my recent chases, can be
viewed
here on my
photography site.
Tropical Storm Felix Forms in
the Caribbean...
Felix is moving away from the Windward Islands this
morning and gaining strength. Felix was moving west at
10 mph and will pass near Aruba over the next 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds were 65 mph and Felix will
likely become a hurricane later tonight or on Sunday.
National Hurricane Center Forecast Track
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