Co. Antrim Storm Chase Report - July 21st

[martinastro]

Two page image account of the fun day chasing in Co. Antrim on the NE shore of Lough Neagh where I intercepted several thunderstorms and got treated to fantastic convection and explosive cells on a convergence line. Torrential rain, hail, thunder, flooding, and great storm clouds. I no longer feel storm staved.

http://www.nightskyhunter.com/Antrim%20Thunderstorms%20-%20July%2021st%202010%20-%20Page%201.html

[paulster78]

Another great read and images as usual Martin, some real sweet looking convection evident from your images. It was a good day for storms and we definitely got our fix. 

[martinastro]

Thanks for checking it out Paul, we sure did get our fix, the storm starved feeling is gone now lol, I really enjoyed myself with those storms, both of us had a great day and wonderful photogenic storm clouds. My only regret is missing those huge funnels over Newtonards from that other convergence line of storms further SE.

[Big Dipper]

Another thoroughly enjoyable read Martin, illustrated with some very dramatic images contrasting the dark clouds to the brighter green fields. Loved the way that you narrated the build up & excitement ahead of your storm chase & the excellent & detailed account of the actual day (pity about the biddy watching you from the window - hopefully the bull keeps her in order)! 

I totally agree with your comment on the type of location (field, open road, scenes including water etc.) making all the difference for viewing & imaging storms - as you feel at one with nature. Anyway glad to hear that your dedication to storm chasing paid dividends on this occasion & here's to many more.

Regarding the amount of petrol that you must get through, I reckon we should have a whip round on the forum to reimburse you!
American Express? 

[martinastro]

That fuel money would be most welcome Andy lol, I honestly don't know how the US chasers cover the expenses for those trips 100s of miles long, it must be very costly indeed!. Thanks for the great feedback on the report, glad you enjoyed it, that day produced the best photogenic storms I've seen this year, it really was worth the effort and a nice reward for only 8 hours of watching that day. The only thing missing were those funnel clouds (they appeared to the E and SE of me), I'm shocked that big cell didn't drop a funnel at the very least, I was amazed by the height of that cb line, the base was near the ground and the anvil tops far above 30,000ft where passenger planes operated, the mammatus on the anvil was even higher. Looking forward to the next day whenever that may be. 

[martinastro]

Just spotted something strange about the video I took on July 21st, under the precip core of a thunderstorm in Antrim, 37 sec's into the vid a large black heavy looking object falls from the core and hits the road hard, bouncing up and landing on the LHS on the grass, what the heck is that?



On the higher res footage I have it's very obvious, substantial, black, heavy looking and visible on a number of frames. It enters the frame from the sky to the upper R, hits the road hard, bounces, and moves in a curved trajectory to the L of the frame where it lands on the grass close to the car. Any thoughts on what it is?

[martinastro]

Here's a few vid grabs as it bounces from R to L....









Something knocked down from overhanging tree branches by the rain and hail?

[paulster78]

Well spotted! It looks like a small ball of some sort, is there a house to the right hand side of the road??  But who the hell would be out in that rain playing with a ball-i dunno

[martinastro]

I don't think there was a house but I'm not sure, I just recall a line of trees on the right, I guess it could have been a ball, I never thought of that, thanks for the suggestion Paul.

[rjgjr]

Sorry I had missed this one earlier Martin, tremenous images, such dark and ominous looking clouds, looks like they really produced a soaker. Great job on a very productive day.

[markt]

Brilliant stuff Martin! 

[martinastro]

Thanks for the comments Richard and Mark, it was a great day, can't wait for the next one, will be a while though because the dreaded high pressure is back, which means more clouds. Next up is the Perseid meteor shower, hope it stays clear for that