April 27th, 2021. I knew thunderstorms were on the forecast for the day. The minute I awoke at 6:00am, I checked the radar to begin to plan out my day of chasing. The radar indicated that out in Eastern Colorado to North Eastern Colorado there would be possible thunderstorms. I tracked the beginning of the storm on the map starting near Bennett, CO, and so I decided to begin my day trip there and see where I ended up.
I packed up some snacks, filled up the gas tank, and I headed out East. If my calculations were correct, we would have enough time to get out there and locate a spot just before the storms started. I jumped on I-70. anxiously awaiting the moment the traffic turns from city to country traffic. About 30 minutes onto the highway, the cars began to dissipate and traffic became less and less. Ah, freedom.
I got off on an exit, Watkins I believe, so I could reevaluate the storm and possibly snag a bite to eat before heading out onto dirt roads. I landed at the Colorado Air and Space Port, literally an airport out in the middle of nowhere, and as I am driving closer to the facility, I can see a tall flag with words on it that read “Mexican Restaurant.”
If anyone wants to know how to kidnap me, throw some Mexican food in the trunk and I will do the rest of the work.
So naturally, I decided to stop, because per my calculations I was ahead of the storm. I entered the restaurant, was seated by the host, and had a gorgeous view of the developing clouds. While ordering my drink, I began to hear low rumbling noises outside, but I couldn’t tell if it was thunder or sounds from the small planes taking off. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was thunder based on the clouds that were growing right before my eyes. And then lightning began to happen. I had little expectations for a really good, and when I say good, I mean photographable, storm because honestly, the season is still really early, and I hate getting my hopes up.
I quickly ordered my food, because lets be honest, Mexican food is absolutely a priority. I practically inhaled it and was out the door because I could clearly see that this storm was quickly going to grow into something big. On the road again, I could now very clearly hear the thunder and the clouds were becoming darker and darker, indicating that shit was about to BLOW UP.
Heading down the dirt roads, gravel is flying and bouncing off of my car, I keep my eye on the trajectory of the storm and decide to pull over to grab some cell phone shots of the storm.
The clouds continued to form and the storm continues to rumble and roar. A fair amount of rain also developed, and for the majority of the trip, the storm actually chased me as I was directly in it’s path. I was in pursuit of the best possible shot of this storm though. It needed to get uglier, greener, and louder, and I needed to find the best possible foreground that I could. The rain was now coming fast, and it was bringing hail with it. The clouds were spinning right above where I was stopped, almost like, damn, I really need to get the fuck out of here. But I knew I wanted to get some footage of the storm, and was eager to see if I could see a tornado pop out of this.
From this cell that was developing, came a small spout that was rotating and looked like the start of a twister but it only lasted about 45 seconds before disappearing. After I watched these rotating clouds for about 15 minutes, the rain caught up to me again. So… I was again headed out to find a bomb ass foreground for my photo, and I also hoped that the clouds would develop further and get greener. The hail and rain then became really intense. Dirt roads when they are wet, become like clay and are very slippery. I put my FJ in 4wheel drive, to prevent losing control, and basically coasted out of the rain to dry roads. I am telling you, the storm was on my ass pretty much all day long.
But then I found it. My foreground. It was a few stacks of silos that were in the direct path of the storm. The clouds continued spinning above me, which caused me to work faster than normal. I set my camera up on my tripod and took a series of images that I would later stitch together to create a panorama. The sky grew green and blue, and the clouds were chugging along in a circle, much like smoke coming from a train. It was truly a scary yet gorgeous sight to see. I anxiously snapped all of the images I needed to create the overall picture, which easily took about 10 minutes. The sky was now roaring above me, but I had to get this shot. Famous last words, right?
Once my little photographer brain stopped obsessing over getting the ‘perfect’ shot, I quickly realized that I needed to get the fuck out of there. Mostly because this storm brought a ton of rain and hail. So I headed North to get further out of the storm and stay on the perimeter, but shortly after this, the storm weakened. I was in the eye of it basically all day, and as it chased me, I am so happy it gave me some time to grab this shot because I am in love with it. Holy. Shit. What a great day for a storm!