This little storm cell popped up along with a few others during the late afternoon and evening. I hadn’t expected anything really photogenic (it is April after all) so I didn’t head out for a proper chase. But on dusk there were quite a few rumbles occurring to the SW, so I went down the street with a few mates to a spot with a better view. This cell was definitely in a weakening phase but still was throwing out the occasional clear-air lightning bolt, one of which I managed to capture!

It’s been a quiet summer. In fact the worst summer I can remember when it comes to storm numbers. I haven’t had any really good storm chases since October. But my camera also started malfunctioning late last year, killing the motivation to get out and do some photography. There are a few photos from the last 3 or 4 months that I thought would be cool to post though. And the good news is that my camera arrived back from the repair centre today. Stay tuned…

Sunday lunchtime and the chance for some severe storms was calling! Western parts of the Northern Rivers looked best so I headed out to Casino. Apart from a cell down near Grafton, the skies stayed relatively clear until mid-afternoon, until a cell popped up W of Kyogle. Sitting just outside Casino and with nothing else happening, I went in pursuit. As I came through Wiangaree it looked to have a nice base feature with strong updrafts pushing up overhead. The cell gave some lovely CGs (cloud-to-ground lightning), heavy rain and some small hail.

I kicked around the same spot for the next couple of hours watching weaker cells pop up locally, but by around 6pm the focus began to shift to a line of rapidly developing cells moving up from the Grafton region. I shot S to Casino, enjoying massive staccato CGs pumping out of the updraft region on the drive. The cell was now taking on a supercell appearance and with crazy bolts of lightning everywhere, I couldn’t arrive at my spot just W of Casino soon enough! I setup my gear to watch the best lightning I’ve seen in years, eventually being forced to shelter in my car as CGs pounded down around me, some within 100m or so.

I copped the full brunt of the storm driving back home between Lismore and Casino. Strong winds, torrential rain and hail made it near impossible to see the road and I ran over a small fallen tree that I hadn’t been able to see on the road due to the wall of water hammering my windscreen. Lightning continued to pound around my car on the drive back home, with one striking no more than about 10m away – my closest bolt ever – releasing an adrenaline pumping ‘crack’ sound. I stopped at Coolamon Scenic Drive to enjoy the CGs striking the Byron hinterland before heading back home. Definitely my best storm chase for the last couple of years!