Devastating January Storm

This is very near where a tornado touched down in western North Carolina. Though there have been tornados here in the past, they are not a common occurrence. It has never happened in January. As I was taking these pictures, I got a phone call from my husband from work stating there was a tornado on the ground and I needed to get the kids in the basement. The tornado never got close to us, thankfully. However, not vey far away from here there are neighborhoods destroyed. This is what it looked like from here…

These were taken approximately between 5-5:30pm. I know now that when I was shooting the first image, the worst was happening 10 miles away. As I was taking this picture, my husband called to tell me there was a tornado on the ground. In the next photo was that was taken, I was shooting back toward the area where the tornado was destroying homes and businesses.

I try!

I'll eventually get that lightening shot. Tonight we had a big storm with tons of lightening! Most of the shots I was able to get came from inside our house through an open window due to the fact there was a monsoon out there, and the lightening was INTENSE. The lightening was flashing almost directly overhead so it was nearly impossible to get anything. However, I was able to capture several indirect flashes which is better than I was able to get before - my camera settings are getting better.

Okay, babbling aside, here's what I captured:

Stormy afternoon

I LOVE clouds. I have all my life. So, I counted myself lucky when I was able to capture these dramatic moments before the storm hit yesterday afternoon.