Insane Rainstorm
AT 545 PM MDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED OVER CASPER…MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR…EDNESS K WILKINS STATE PARK BY 555 PM MDT
DAMAGING WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. TAKE COVER NOW IN A STURDY BUILDING AND AVOID WINDOWS.
DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 65 MPH MPH WERE REPORTED AT THE NATRONA COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WITH THIS STORM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM…SEEK SAFE SHELTER AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!
REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN RIVERTON AT 1-800-211-1448.
That’s the severe weather warning that popped up in Firefox just about two hours ago, and just minutes afterwards my neighborhood was hit. It was like somebody flipped a thunderstorm switch on. One moment it was overcast and calm, then you blinked and the rain was coming in sideways and the trees were all at 45° angles.
Well, I decided this was a rare opportunity for some great storm photos…but I just wasn’t prepared. Almost as soon as I stood, a power surge killed my computer. Ignoring it, I grabbed a ziploc freezer bag, cut a hole in it big enough for the lens and sprinted out the door. It was literally like jumping into a pool. My clothes became heavy and restrictive and my glasses had to be immediately removed in order to see ANYTHING.
Voicemail I received shortly after leaving the house
The ziploc protected the camera well enough, but it also obscured the viewfinder. I had to flip on the LCD, and it was blurry through the bag…not to mention I couldn’t wear my glasses. Not sure what to do, I just started snapping, as the LCD only gave me an approximation of what was actually being photographed.
Needless to say, I got about 25 entirely useless photos. Fortunately through the magic of Photoshop I was able to crop and adjust four of them to juuuust barely make decent photos out of them. Well, three. One of them I just included because it kinda captured how chaotic the shoot was; the ziploc obscured a large portion of the lens. Could have been a great shot had that not happened, but I had no way of knowing while shooting. Anyway, here they are. I think they made MUCH better black and white photos, and experimented with a different border, regardless of whether or not these pics deserved borders…
