Community post
The Mothership Beast
The date was May 21st, 2016; a day situated within the peak of severe weather season in the Central Plains of the United States. Storm chasers from across the world flock to these vast prairies during the months of May and June to chase Mother Nature's most violent and turbulent skies.
I raced out of my hotel room that morning in a frenzy to load up photography equipment in the car and race to the target area for today's chase: western Kansas. Surface winds were absolutely screaming out of the southeast; a good indicator that ingredients for severe weather were coming together.
But I was not expecting to witness the most jaw-dropping supercell I had yet witnessed in my storm chasing career. And this is such a huge component of what makes storm chasing so incredibly addicting: you never know what the skies are going to deliver.
This storm sat nearly stationary for hours. Truly, hours. I could not process what I was witnessing; storm chasers refer to a structured supercell like this as a mothership. And, I'm sure it's understandable why! Every layer of this storm is being sculpted by the winds changing speed and direction with increasing height in the atmosphere: this is called wind shear. And when it works just right, it creates unbelievable magic.
I have previously shared the above image in my Introduction post here, but I did not get a chance to tell the story behind this chase, so I am only re-sharing for the purpose of doing so now.
The above shot is especially classic because of the leading lines, and the truck driving into the storm. It was truly an iconic storm; these photos are widely recognized in the weather world of storm chasers and meteorologists. These are the images that truly put me on the map in the storm chasing community.
But more importantly, this was the moment that I realized my storm chasing dreams were becoming a reality. As I braced myself against my car to combat the screaming inflow winds (forget using a tripod in these conditions), and fired rapid bursts of my shutter while getting pelted with mud, rain and hail, I realized how crazy this passion of mine really is.
And that there is nothing in the world I would rather be doing.
~ Jess
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Replies (25)
I don't know if my jaw is dropping from the magnificence of the pictures or the craziness of your passion!
One thing is for sure, it is going to drop a lot of times following your blog :)
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Very impressive shots.
Absolutely amazizing photos 💪 I guess you're not afraid of storms 😎 Thanks for sharing !
We need more data about these phenomena and even photographs can contribute well. Please keep it going but stay extremely safe!
Incredible power of mother nature. Superb images Jess! I can only imagine what it was like standing in front of that mothership.
So incredible Jess!
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This really put me next to you dude! Just epic images really.
Jess, I love this so much! I can't wait to see where your photographic journey takes you over the next few years.
Incredible shot Jess! That's an unreal supercell - I'm curious: How far away from the cell do you set up for shots like this, like is it coming towards you/away?
Truly epic, Jess! Makes me want to go storm chasing!
That is such kind feedback, I appreciate that very much and am so glad you enjoy my writing and photos!
Thank you so much!
Thank you so so much, I'm usually not, but I do have moments of being afraid! It's part of the experience!
That's absolutely true, you're right! Storm images are a way of preserving a historical moment in weather and help tell us a lot about how that storm evolved. I'll stay safe! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Alfredo, that truly means a lot! There is truly no other experience in the world like it!
Thank you Steph!!
Thank you so much, I am glad that you enjoyed my work and writing!
Thank you so much Tristan, and I look forward to watching your journey evolve as well!
Thank you so much Dale!! It truly was otherworldly. I couldn't believe it was real. For these shots I was a good distance away, 5 miles or so. But I do often get much closer if not within the storms to get into better position. Risky business, but it's all part of the experience and I love it!
Thanks Kieran, come on down any time!
This is mind-blowingly insane Jess. I'm certain I would pee my pants seeing this in real life.
Haha Casey! You're too funny. There wasn't an ounce of fear in my body shooting this storm! Just pure awe and amazement. Absolutely unbelievable what our atmosphere can do!
https://www.reddit.com/r/CLOUDS/comments/1rjqkb5/the_mothership_supercell_formation_over_the_new/
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