Notes On Stormspotting

Stormspotting is the thrilling art of spotting storms. What makes it particularly challenging is recording bolts of lightning on video (or in my case, the pathetic Nokia7360).

Disclaimer: stormspotters are in no way related to trainspotters!

It takes few things to stormspot:

• Storm season
• Shelter from the rain
• A wide field of vision
• Something to record with
• Patience & luck

Many thanks to our dorm balcony for the shelter and altitude and 180 degree view for top-notch stormspotting.

The idea is simple:

You point your recording device at a fixed spot in general direction of the storm, wait until the right moment, then start recording! (If you have a good camera handy of course it is best to take long exposure photos instead of fussing around with video.) Get it right, and a streak of lightning will be captured on your screen within 15 seconds. Sounds really easy, but it is a major feat if all you have is a lousy cell phone recorder that takes seconds to respond...in such cases, to stormspot, you had better...

Know your target:

• Which direction is the storm coming from? According to my experience, the best time to record is when the action centre is within 10km~3km radius. Too far and the clouds get in the way, too near and lightning bolts go off on all sides: you'll be tempted to turn away from your "spot". Over here, storms usually close in from the south or northwest. I've yet to see a storm coming from the east.
• How far apart are the lightning bolts? During peak times it's usually 10~30 seconds. It takes all my resolution to wait those 10 seconds before recording again! (Which is necessary because my Nokia7360 has only 4mb of space so every second is precious.)
• How long will it take for the storm to pass/rage itself out? I make an educated guess based on wind speed and cloud cover. This gives an idea of how long the stormspotting session is going to last, since there is no point in stormspotting after the chances have dropped too low...

And trust your senses:

• Pick a spot and stick to it. Once I've decided on "the spot", I try very hard not to wander. Being distracted by will waste valuable time and opportunities. Keep in mind that you are very very unlikely to outrun lightning!
• Crying over spilt milk is...well, pointless. There are countless times that I missed the most magnificent bolt by seconds. The stormspotter's bane...grrrr. You'll just have to trust that you will capture "The One" sometime, somehow. Probably with lots of practice. Stormspotting sure is character building stuff!

How To See A Mirage

What, you've never seen a mirage before? Fear not, they are actually not as incredibly rare as some may think. In fact, you might see one today if you know where to look!

Things You Will Need

• A hot, sunny day
• Protection from the sun
• A loooong stretch of road, preferably over a hill*
• A camera, if you're up to it

*Safety note - If you are on foot or on a bike, please please do not attempt to observe a mirage in traffic. You can get seriously hurt. It's best to choose an unused road, or better still, observe from inside a moving car while someone else is driving.

Steps

• 1. Go to the very end of your chosen area and stand facing it.
• 2. Make sure your observation spot is safe, i.e. devoid of traffic and other hazards.
• 3. Crouch down slowly, keeping your eyes on the stretch of road in front of you. At some point you will start to see wisps of grey stretching out horizontally. If there's a hill, just climb the hill from the other side, watching out for said phenomenon.
• 4. Adjust your height until the wispy lines develop into clear "reflections". They will resemble patches of water on the road.
• 5. Admire your mirage! (And take some snapshots if you have a camera handy.)

What you see is an inferior mirage, because the mirror image is under the original one. It is caused by light being bent by a layer of hotter air near the ground, and is actually due to refraction, not reflection. See the links for more on mirages.

How did I think of this? Well I see them every single day in summer. There's a hilly stretch of road on the way to school, so they dance into view whether I ask nicely or not. Guess it's a comfort of living in the subtropics.

Further Reading:

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage
• An Introduction to Mirages: http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/mirages/mirintro.html