WEATHER WORDS, ETC.: July 2007 Archives

Our thanks go out to Chad Cowan for sharing these remarkable photographs of Wednesday evening's thunderstorms. Chad sent me the following:

"I have attached a few of my lightning photos.... (some are from) video captures of a strike I recorded from my apartment window that struck around 600 feet from my building. The first photo (at top) appears to be a stepped leader with the two positive streamers emanating from the top of the building, and the second photo (above) is 0.06 seconds after the first and is of the main channel return stroke striking a tree on the shore of the lake. The blast from this set off car alarms. The remaining pictures (below) were shot from the shore of the lake after the line drifted south over the city. The Navy Pier fireworks and the skyline made for an amazing foreground."

Thanks again, Chad!

--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist

Photos courtesy Chad L. Cowan, Chicago