WEATHER SNAP SHOTS: August 2009 Archives

Mike Kellems sent us this beautiful sunset photo taken on the east shore of Stone Lake in La Porte, Indiana Saturday evening.

 Thanks for the great shot Mike!


 

Wally Baluk sent us this picture of storm clouds in Henderson, Nevada.

Thanks for the picture Wally!

The photos below illustrate the extent of tornado damage in Elburn -- the result of an EF1-strength twister that occurred just north of Elburn at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a National Weather Service survey team.

Matthew Cumberland took these photos Thursday, who spoke to a resident who was at home when the twister struck. Cumberland said before the air raid sirens went off, that resident's "glass patio table blew up and shattered his back window. At that time he knew it was at the point he needed to take shelter in the basement. The home owner was gracious enough to let me take photos of the damage around the home, and I wanted to share these with you."











Jason Rourke took these photos about a half-mile north of the intersection of Illinois Routes 47 and 38 on Thursday.





Thanks Matthew and Jason for your timely and informative photos!

Here are some great photos of Thursday's rainbow, starting with Noelle Bender of Aurora, who took this photo at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20.



Mike and Chris, also from Aurora, sent us this wonderful picture. If you look closely to the left, you'll see a faint "double rainbow."



Finally Kim Lucarz, another Aurora resident, seemed to discover the "end of the rainbow" right in front of her!



Thanks to all for the great photos!

Here are a few great cloud-and-sky related photos that we've received from our viewers. The first two are from Angela Fink of Wheeling, who captured these very unusual cloud formations north of Lake Geneva during the storm event of Aug. 9.





Tem Hunter sends us this great photo of Chicago's skyline and the clouds beyond.

Robert Bober sent us this pictures of downed trees in Chesterton. Thanks Robert!

Justin J. Bobin shares these photos of towering cumulonimbus (thunderheads) he took right after damage was reported with the storms which swept Chesterton, Indiana.  Justin tells us the photos look northwest toward Michigan City! Radar scans revealed these storms' cloud tops towered to heights of 53,000 ft.

Great shots, Justin!  You're great for sending them along to us!
 
Tom Skilling
 
Photos courtesy of Justin J. Bobin

Our friend---and talented photographer---Amanda Pickett captured these towering cumulonimbus clouds from her vantage in Winfield, Indiana.  A great shot, Amanda!  THANKS for sharing this with shot with us!
 
Tom Skilling
 
 
Photos courtesy of Amanda Pickett, Winfield, Indiana
 

Storm chaser Matt Piechota shares these 3 p.m. Wednesday shots of tornado-induced damage just east of Elkhart, Illinois southeast of Lincoln. Matt tells us:

"We were chasing the super cell and were traveling east of Rt. 10 and ran into the damage path of the tornado from about 20 mins before we got there..
 We took some pictures and continued to the storm and ended up seeing two 2 tornadoes."
 
Great shots!  Thanks Matt!
 
Tom Skilling






 









Photos courtesy of Matt Piechota
 

Paul Curtis of Hobart, Indiana sent us this picture of the  storms retreating to the east towards Porter County

Matthew Cumberland, in describing this storm, tells us:

"I had just entered Huntley IL as Tornado Sirens started to blare. This was a false warning I believe, but always safe than sorry. It was a fast moving system, and low lying scud clouds that could have resembled funnel clouds. However, I did manage to snap a few photos until my chasing partner received a flat tire and had to call off the chase. I wanted to share some photos for you, as well as inform you I had revisited the tornado reported area of 47 and Barrington Rd."
 
Your shots are always terrific, Matt!  Thanks for sharing them with us!\
 
 
Tom Skilling
 



Photos courtesy of Matthew Cumberland
 

Jason Cales has sent us these shost of Wednesday's Chesterton, Indiana storm taken from about a mile away.  Great shots, Jason!! THANKS for sharing them!
 
Tom Skilling

 


Photos courtesy of Jason Cales, Chesterton, Indiana

This spectacular shot of Wednesday's devastating Chesterton, Indiana storm comes to us from Chuck and Michelle Cota.  This appears to be a wall cloud---the isolated lowering of the thunderstorm cloud base beneath which the rotary winds of a tornado often spin up. Sections of Chesterton suffered serious damage in the storm.  A Weather Bug wind sensor there registered 105 m.p.h. before failing---and National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Merzlock indicates a compact circulation was evident with the storm on Doppler radar---an indication of rotation. Thanks for sharing this remarkable photo with us Chuck and Michelle! We hope you're safe in the wake of Wednesday's storm!
 
Tom Skilling

 
Photo courtesy of Chuck and Michelle Cota, Chesterton, Indiana
 
 

Chuck Hagen sent us these pictures of Chuck tells us:

"Once again a busy day of severe weather as these shots depict. today in Iroquois County near Clifton, Illinois, the storms brought heavy rains as well as some cells with heavy rotation prompting tornado warnings to the area. Although these shots were of a rotating cell, no funnels or tornados touched down in the immediate area luckily."

Thanks for the photos Chuck!

Justin and Brittany Wren and Jordan Olson sent us this picture taken around 5 p.m. Wednesday in Coal City, IL. 


Photo courtesy of: Justin and Brittany Wren and Jordan Olson, Coal City, IL

 

Matt Baranowski sent us this picture of the pouring rains in Chicago Ridge.

Douglas Hanbury of Peoria sent us these great shots.
Thanks Douglas!

Mary Wallace sent us this beautiful shot. Thanks Mary!

Bill Kondellas was at the Cubs game Sunday and sent us this shot. Thanks Bill!

Photo courtesy of Bill Kondellas

Photos courtesy of Chuck Hagen, Oak Lawn, Illinois
 

Here is a shot from River North in Chicago:

Photo courtesy of Tom Negovan, River North-Chicago

----------------------------

Rainbow over the WGN's Chicago studios:

Photo courtesy of Joanne Stern

--
Rainbow over U.S. Cellular Field after Sox game supporting Children's Brain Research (CBRF)
 
 
Photo courtesy of Sean Jucas

Lynn Wier from Chicago Heights sent us these pictures taken last Monday of storms over Green Bay in Wisconsin's Door County.

Thanks for the shots Lynn!

Thanks to Matthew Kulowitch for sharing this great shot of  Saturday's thunderstorms that rumbled much of the day in areas from Iowa across Wisconsin into Lower Michigan, skimming along the Wisconsin- Illinois border. This shot was taken on a flight from Detroit to central Wisconsin at an altitude of about 14,000 feet.

Photo by Matthew Kulowitch

Doug Grewe from Palatine sent us these pictures taken this past Sunday in Walworth, Wisconsin.  Doug tells us: "These shots were taken while we were on our traditional hayride. The clouds were making some interesting shapes. All photos taken by my brother in law Paul from Elk Grove Village."

Wow! The amazing photos from Sunday's storms just keep rolling in! Except where noted, all photos are courtesy of the people listed below -- and we give everyone who sent photos a big thank you! Keep the great pictures coming!

In Gurnee, Steve R. described the photo below as "a dramatic storm sweep overhead, but almost no rain."



Katie M. of Antioch took this photo below at a residence on Fox Lake.



Jennifer B. took this photo of an "incredible front" Sunday afternoon as her and her husband drove along North Shore Drive in Lake Delavan, Wis.

Here's another batch of excellent photos from Sunday's storms. Except where noted, all photos are courtesy of the people listed below -- and we give everyone who sent photos a big thank you! Keep the great pictures coming!

The photo below was taken in Richmond by Wally L. He described the storm as "pretty neat" even though it didn't produce the amount of rain that places in Wisconsin received.



Jim and Emily F. took the photo below just after 5 p.m. just north of Rockford, Ill.



The photos below come courtesy of 13-year-old Garrett S. His mom took the photos below as the storm front approached in McHenry.





Patrick B. of Deerfield relates an interesting story as he took this picture near Deerfield City Hall on Sunday evening. "With all the heat in the afternoon, whatever came down in the rain looked liked it dried up and started gathering energy again.  The interesting thing was that [this cloud] looked humongous but with a definite form."

Here's more great photos we've received that captured the unusual cloud formations from Sunday's storms. Except where noted, all photos are courtesy of the people listed below -- and we give everyone who sent photos a big thank you! Keep the great pictures coming!

Kevin C. of Delavan, Wis., took this picture just northeast of Delavan Lake.



The photo below was taken at the Newport Fire Department in Wadsworth, and sent to us by David C., as the storm rolled in.



Mike C. took this photo of clouds that went through his farm just outside of Woodstock, Ill.



Here's another photo courtesy of Tom and Kathy C. as the storm front rolled into Spring Grove.



Dave H. captured these ominous-looking low clouds in Antioch, Ill.

We've received some great photos from today's storms which we'll be posting tonight and tomorrow. Many of the photos revealed some eye-catching cloud formations. Here's a sample of some great photos we've received so far. Except where noted, all photos are courtesy of the people listed below -- and we give everyone who sent photos a big thank you! Keep the great pictures coming!

Kevin K. took this picture while heading back to Chicago from the Wisconsin Dells. He described it as a "crazy storm" while driving into it...



Anne D. took the photo below from her front yard in Lake Geneva, Wis.



Serena H. took the cloud photo below in Woodstock, Ill.



Brandon B. and his family took this dramatic picture below in Kenosha. Brandon said he "saw this cloud mass coming -- then had some strong winds, thunder and lightning."



As the front moved through McHenry, Jennifer L. took the snapshot below.

Special thanks goes out to Henry, age 6, for sending us this storm photo he took in the southwest suburbs as storms rolled in mid-July earlier this year. Henry's grandmother Terri says that he "watches [WGN weather] every night and took this picture at his home" to share with everyone here in the Weather Center. On behalf of Tom and everyone here, we want to say a special thank you to Henry: Keep sending those great shots in, and keep up the amazing work!



Photo courtesy of Henry, age 6

Cary Kociuba of Mount Prospect shares these thunderstorm cloud photos he took while on vacation last week in north-central Minnesota. Thanks Cary!







Photos courtesy of Cary Kociuba, Mount Prospect

Dave Skrzyniarz sends us these photo. In the e-mail accompanying it, Dave tells us:
"Strange pics on Monday at 4:30----a jet left this trail thru the cloud deck---it actually looked like it emerged from the clouds and left this mark.  Several other jets also had the same effect -- making the clouds appear to be smoke!"
 
Fascinating shot, Dave---THANKS for sharing it with us!
 
Tom Skilling

Powerful thunderstorms sweep into the Peoria area--part of a Tuesday outbreak which produced damaging winds, flooding rains from Missouri to Kentucky
 
Thunderstorms unleashed 60 to 70 m.p.h. wind gusts on sections of downstate Illinois and Indiana as well as Missouri and Kentucky Tuesday morning. Rob Shreiner, a paramedic with photographic skills evident in this set of photos, sends us these eye-catching shots of the ominous skies which accompanied the storms as the roared into the Peoria area.  Rob tells us: 
 
"I was in Peoria, IL this morning as this storm rolled in at approx 8:36 AM today.
 
Amazing formations as they were rolling down at me as I was taking the images.  Gusts present and the heavy rain did not begin until approx 10 minutes after this came in.
 
Only adjustments were auto contrast, slight sharpen and obviously crop, all taken w/ 16-35mm wide angle lens, so that's why all the poles tilt inward."
 
Thanks for sharing these with us, Rob! 
 
Tom Skilling











Photos courtesy of Rob Schreiner, Wadsworth, Illinois

Nick Liveris shares this fascinating sequence of shots with us.  He tells us:
 
"I took these yesterday on Sunday, while flying from Las Vegas to Midway.  We flew around a thunderstorm, somewhere in the plains halfway into the trip.  The pilot mentioned we were flying around some "weather."  The other shot is of the grand canyon, and a shot of Chicago's skyline from the plane just before sunset.  I also included a random shot of Las Vegas shortly after our afternoon take-off, where I was told it was about 105 degrees!  I also included a random shot of Lake Mead, which was created by the Hoover Dam and was a refreshing 83 degrees when boating."
 
What a terrific series of shots!  We took a good chunk of the trip you, Nick!  Thanks for sharing these shots with us!
 
Tom Skilling