We've posted images of the damage inflicted by the thunderstorms that swept into Michigan City and the areas surrounding last Wednesday. What we've not posted are distant views of the storms responsible for that evening's severe weather—at least not until now! National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Roberta Slaby sends us these eyecatching photos of the towering cumulonimbus cloud responsible which spawned the damage in Michigan City. This view of the thunderhead is from 60 miles away in Bourbannais. (For those outside the Chicago area viewing these photos and not familiar with our local geography, Bourbannais is located 48 miles south of Chicago's Loop in Kankakee County). These photos were taken around 6:30 pm--about an hour after the first supercells rolled into Indiana off Lake Michigan. Roberta points to the "alpenglow" effect evident in these remarkable shots---that's the orangish glow often seen on snow covered mountaintops especially in winter as the sun sets. Radar scans at the time this photo was taken indicated cloud tops near 50,000 feet and cloud to ground lightning discharges approaching 690 with this storm complex and other thunderstorms within a 225 mile radius of Chicago.
-Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV
PHOTO COURTESY: Roberta and Ed Slaby, NWS Cooperative Observer, Kankakee, Illinois
