Diane Frank’s brother was out doing yard work at his home in Parker, Colorado Sunday
when this twister appeared. Thanks for bringing these photos to our attention,
Diana—and thank your brother for taking them. They’re fascinating!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Diane Frank
It’s always wonderful to open Mark Vogan’s e-mails from the UK because they so often
include spectacular shots of that beautiful part of the world and the weather which is
going on there. Mark and his wife Karen have traveled in recent days from Scotland to
London and then on to Dover, site of the Channel Tunnel beneath the English Channel
which links the UK with the European continent. Check out his photos! Mark tells us
the weather has been clear and warm with daytime readings near 70-degrees. He
comments that the waters of the English Channel the day he Karen visited the area had
taken on the appearance of Caribbean or Mediterannean waters because of their light
blue hue. Many thanks Mark for taking the time to share these photos with us!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mark Vogan in the UK
David Gotfryd, a sophomore at Batavia High School, is good enough to share HIS photo
of the eye-catching post-sunset shadows as viewed from the Fox Valley. It’s clear from
the number of responses we’ve received from many of you that THIS was a phenomenon
which captured the attention of many all across our region. MANY THANKS David. He
tells us he and his dad attended and enjoyed last spring’s Fermilab Tornado and Severe
Storms Seminar. That’s wonderful news, David and we hope you can join us again next
April at our 29th annual Fermilab Tornado seminar. No date yet—but we’ll work on
getting that out to all interested in the next few months.
Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy: David Gotfryd, Batavia, Illinois
Aaron Henkleman snapped this photo Saturday evening, which captures the same
optical phenomenon brought to our attention by Jeff Chochola, who observed a virtually
similar display just a night earlier. Aaron’s photo was taken as he fished on Spin Lake
west of Danvers in downstate Illinois just west of Bloomington! Aaron correctly
speculated in his e-mail to us that the distant tops of cumulonimbus clouds might be
playing a role here. That’s exactly what was going on.
THANKS Aaron for the great photo!
Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Aaron Henkleman, Danvers, Illinois
“What caused this blue band at sunset this past Friday, August 22?”
asks Jeff Chochola, who sent us this photo.
Jeff, it’s likely the tops of towering cumulonimbus clouds (distant thunderstorms) are
behind what you see here. The dark bands here likely resulted when sunlight was
blocked by the tops of these clouds. With the disc of the sun below the horizon, the
only sunlight arriving was above ground level. Shadows were being on the high cloud
deck visible here by the distant cumulonimbi. Neat effect, isn’t it?? THANKS Jeff for
taking the time to share this with us!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Jeff Chochola
Mike Toohill, who does such a great job of keeping us posted on the condition of Illinois
crops downstate, relays this shot of the dry weather’s effect on corn in the light soils of
central Illinois. Mike also caught hot air balloons just above the horizon near Lincoln,
Illinois Saturday morning. Thanks for the great shots, Mike!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mike Toohill
Our friend and frequent photo contributor Mike Frankowski has sent us these spectacular
shots of Wednesday evening’s sunset in the South Elgin area! Thanks Frank!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mike Frankowski, South Elgin
Thanks to Anson Mount for giving us this glimpse of Thursday morning's sunrise over Waukegan!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Anson Mount
Amy Kostro tells us she was driving in Northwest Indiana on Route 31 in the Cedar
Lake/Lowell area this past Tuesday (Aug. 12) when she spotted this funnel. Amy's
vantage is such a good one we had to share her photos with you. Check them out--and
MANY THANKS Amy for sending them to us!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Photos courtesy of Amy Kostro
Our thanks to Gary Wojton for sharing these shots of ominous skies above Fountain
Hills, Arizona. Moonsoon-fueled thunderstorms are shown sweeping the area.
Thanks Gary!!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Gary Wojton, Fountain Hills, Arizona
Thomas Nava of Chicago’s northwest side photographed this rainbow Wednesday evening
around 7 p.m. Thanks for sending this to us, Thomas!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Thomas Nava, Chicago’s northwest side
Few who witnessed the eye-catching "shelf cloud" which swept across
the Chicago area from the northwest back on Thursday evening, July 10
will ever forget it. The Chicago Tribune's John Smierciak was there and
produced these photos. Here, crew members are shown hurrying to get cars
and equipment under cover in the garage as a fast moving storm roared
in from the northwest. John recounts how the storm was greeted:
"The practice for the weekends races was winding down when someone
walked in to the media room the the Chicagoland Speed in Joliet, Il.,
and said calmly, "Looks like it might rain....". Always on the hunt for
weather photos for Tom's blog I went out to take a look. It was
unbelievable!! I turned to the crew member next to me who was also
frozen with his mouth open and asked, "Does this place have a
basement????" The front was rolling in so fast that you could watch the
clouds moving towards you. The track ordered all of the spectators to
bail out of the stands and all of the crews were hurrying to push their
cars into the garages. I climbed up on top of one of the team haulers to
make some shots looking down on the garages and the storm rolled in
closer to the track. The rain could be seen falling in the distance like
a waterfall I thought it was time to get off the hauler (lightning?) and
ran inside a garage. I fully expected high winds to wreck the track and
everything in it. Luckily, that didn't happen and the next day
everything went on as usual. I have to say that it was one interesting
afternoon......"
Interesting indeed! MANY THANKS, John, for the flashback to one of
this summer's most extraordinary storms! These images visually
transport us back to Thursday evening, July 10.
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of the Chicago Tribune's John Smierciak
Tuesday evening’s brief funnel cloud occurred without the threatening weather which so
often accompanies funnel cloud reports. Brian Hughes snapped the funnel on a camera
phone and was good enough to share it with us. Thanks Brian!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Brian Hughes, Cedar Lake, Indiana
Elizabeth Raczek e-mailed us these photos of the funnel cloud which appeared for
about 10 minutes over Cedar Lake, Indiana. Elizabeth tells us:
“My daughter Amanda,was outside this evening cutting grass when she came in
the house to tell me she saw a Funnel cloud right outside in front of our home. We live
in Cedar Lake Indiana and she took these two pictures of the funnel and we both wanted
to share these with you. This is my very first time and hers seeing such a
funnel.”
The photos are terrific, Elizabeth. Our thanks to you and your daughter for sending
them along!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Raczek, Cedar Lake, Indiana
Amanda Pickett shares THIS shot of Tuesday evening's northwest Indiana funnel cloud.
This photo was taken by Amanda's husband in Cedar Lake, Indiana.
Photo courtesy of Amanda Pickett, Cedar Lake, Indiana
We want to thank Dale Holsti, a paramedic at the Lowell Indiana
Volunteer Fire Department, for sending us these terrific photos he took
of funnel clouds which were spotted just west of Commercial Avenue and
Burr Street in Lowell around 6:50 P.M. Tuesday evening. Dale reports the
funnel was visible aloft for nearly 10 minutes. It never touched down.
The funnel was the result of marginally cool air aloft and some upward
vertical motion produced beneath the rear quadrant of a jet stream wind
speed maximum which extended from Michigan and Wisconsin off the
Atlantic Coast of North Carolina. Amy Seeley of the National Weather
Service reports the circulation was confirmed by a circulation observed
on terminal Doppler radar scans of the area. MANY THANKS to Dale Holsti
and his colleagues at the Lowell Volunteer Fire Department for the
photos and for the good work they do there! It was great having a chance
to talk with Dale and his colleagues Tuesday evening!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Dale Holsti
Randy Stine, who lives in the Bucktown neighborhood, was standing in his apartment videotaping last week’s lightning just a foot from his metal balcony as last Monday’s powerhouse storm complex roared into the area...
Donna Braden lives two blocks from the Peggy Notebaert Museum and looked out her
fourth floor window last Tuesday morning to see this plastic pink flamingo lodged in a
tree above her parking lot. It had been blown there from the lawn exhibit in front of the
Notebart Museum which had featured a flock of pink plastic flamingos by last Monday’s
storm. Donna closes her e-mail to us asking, "Did you know pink plastic flamingos
can fly?" That’s news to me!! Thanks Donna for offering us a chuckle on a Monday! All
the best!
Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Donna Braden, Chicago
Duane Fimreite e-mails to say his wife Kathryn took this photo of the waterspout which
formed over Lake Michigan to the west South Haven early Thursday afternoon. Thanks
Duane and Kathryn for this great shot!
Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Duan and Kathryn Fimreite
Mariel Knot has forwarded us these truly spectacular photos she and her sister Anneke
and brother David took of a waterspout off South Haven, Michigan early Thursday
afternoon. Mariel tells us that her family is from Flossmoor and that they have been
vacationing in South Haven. I'm sure any kind of encounter with a waterspout was the
last thing on Mariel and her family's mind as the looked out over the lake and were
greeted by this sight! These photos were taken at 11:15 pm Chicago time.
The waterspout picture here was spawned by a cluster of showers and thunderstorms
which traveled south over the east end of Lake Michigan during the night and during
morning hours. The destabilizing effect of cool air aloft led to the thunderstorm
development. The Grand Rapids National Weather Service Office issued a special marine
warning advising mariners of the danger posed by the waterspout and warning of the
potential of others. Many thanks Mariel, her brother David and sister Anneke for
sharing these photos with us! They are terrific!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mariel, Anneke and David Knot
Our friend John Gehr tells us thunderstorms rolled into Michigan’s lower peninsula
Wednesday evening led by an impressive shelf cloud. You can check out more of John’s
shots here. One of a rain-shaft looks deceptively like a tornado (thankfully it’s not!).
Thanks John for the great photos and all our best to you and your neighbors who check
in with us from Lower Michigan!!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of John Gehr
These shots sent to by National weather Service storm spotter Thomas Nava were taken in the Harwood Heights area.
Photos by Thomas Nava
Bob Korbus took this photo on Chicago's northwest side not far from the Kernnedy Expressway and Nagle Avenue. near the inteersection of Melvina and Balmoral.
Photo by Bob Korbus
Photos courtesy of Shane Bradley, Chicago
Photos courtesy of Steve Bolich, Schaumburg IL 60195
Photos courtesy of Mike Frankowski, South Elgin
Photos courtesy of Tracey Surface, Chicago
Thanks to Caludine Brumfield from Bolingbrook for this pictures of the ominous skies just before the heavy rains and wind hit last night.
Photo by Claudine Brumfield
This picture taken by Keefer near Hermitage and Pearson shows tree damage in the area.
Photo by Keefer
Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center
Thanks to Cynthia, Kat and Al Prawdzik for sharting these shots of tree damage taken on Humboldt Boulevard.
Tiffany from Orland Park was working at a boutique on Milwaukee Avenue around 8:30 when the storms hit. After the storm they nitoced thant an entire brick panel containing windows had been blown out of a building on the second floor. Luckily no one was hurt.
Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center Meteorologist
Mark Sreniawski shares these shots of the ominous cloud formations accompanying
Monday night’s storms as they moved into Plainfield around 7:30 p.m. Thanks Mark!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Mark Sreniawski, Plainfield, Illinois
Stephanie Kosmicki shares this shot of Monday evening's lightning-described my many with whom we talked as one of the most dramatic cloud to ground lightning displays in recent memory. Thanks Stephanie
Photo by Stephanie Kosmicki
Mondays storm as seen from Oswego. Thanks to Tom Janito for this view of Monday's powerful thunderstorms as they swept through Oswego.
Photo byTom Janito
Lightning stroke arc eastward over Plano, Illinois late Monday evening.
Carl Armstrong reported that the "wind was so strong it threw my grill across the backyard!"
Photo by Carl Armstrong
Check out this animation and several stills of Monday morning's
turbulent thunderstorm outflow as photographed by Dr. Walker Ashley of
NIU's Atmospheric Sciences Department:
CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS & ANIMATION (MONDAY AUG. 4)
-Tom Skilling
Photos and animation courtesy of Dr. Walker Ashley, Professor of
Meteorology, Northern Illinois University
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
These skies sent a clear message as they rolled into Bedford Park around 8 am Monday
morning--a storm was on the way! Chuck Hagen provides this photo of the
approaching storms. Thanks Chuck!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Chuck Hagen, Oak Lawn, Illinoisag
Monday morning's storms moving in on Waukegan Airport
These ominous skies preceded Monday morning's storms are they bore down
on Waukegan Airport. Anson Mount has provided us this photo. The storms
produced 40+ mph wind gusts across harder hit northern suburbs according
to our Weather Bug sensors there and produce location 0.75" to 1"
northern Illinois totals and 1.28" of rain farther north in Racine,
Wisconsin. Thanks for another great photo Anson!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Photo courtesy of Anson Mount
Randy Becker captured these great shots of the Indiana thunderstorms from Sublette in north central Illinois.
Photo by Randy Becker
This great shot of this evening's thunderstorms that passed through northwest Indiana was sent to us by Gerry from Valparaiso. The storms passed to the south of Valparaiso leaving them high and dry, while areas farther south got blasted.
Photo by Gerry
Our thanks go out to Amanda Pickett of Winfield, Indiana for sharing this picture of a line of thunderstorms passing to the south of Winfield in northwest Indiana, just east of Crown Point. Amanda notes that her garden got quite a watering this afternoon from these storms.
Photo by Amanda Pickett
Mark and Karen Vogan have been traveling across the Irish countryside and have e-mailed
us these wonderful photos of Northern Ireland, including shots of the rugged cliffs which
line northern Ireland's Atlantic coastline in the north. Our thanks to Mark and Karen for
sharing these views of the fabled, often wind-tossed Irish coastline with us! It appears
the trip was a great success. You've shared it with us through your magnificent photos!
Photos courtesy of Mark and Karen Vogan
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Winds gusted above 30 m.p.h. at some locations in and near Friday morning's cluster of
thunderstorms as indicated by our WeatherBug network. The storms swept across the
Chicago area and organized into a long but very narrow band which during the period
from 4 to 7:30 a.m. extended from DeKalb County to just west of Fort Wayne, Ind.
Anson Mount photographed the underside of one of this morning's thunderstorm anvil
tops from his vantage point in northwest suburban Algonquin. Thanks Anson!
Photo courtesy of Anson Mount, Algonquin, Illinois
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
