I thought I'd create a movie (slide show) of the photos I took yesterday before the storm. It was expected to be a crazy destructive thing but it slipped rather discreetly to the south of Abbotford, the thunder and lightning being relatively subdued.
The sky, however, proved to be dramatic and ever-changing - so I tried to capture its evolution until I sprinted back home via the bike path in time to watch the weather on TV (not as much fun). The ominous clouds reminded me of our intimate experience of a cyclonic force storm on the NSW/ Queensland border which I captured for a very early blog post here a few years ago (here is the link)
I use Create Movie in Picasa for a quick product, and also scanned itunes with a word search 'storm' to locate an mp3 file to add an audio track. This took all of about 7 minutes and then I uploaded the movie file to my account at Vimeo (my preferred hosting site till something better is found).
It took 30 minutes to 'wait in line' to convert, then I returned to Vimeo (it'll send you an email to politely advise that it is finished) to grab the code for adding it to the blog post. Voila! A movie created without a video camera... and no mucking around.
Showing posts with label storm chasing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label storm chasing. Show all posts
10 November 2011
20 January 2009
Storm chasin'
When you're driving for three days, it can get a bit boring: the road stretches out ahead and it helps to have some interesting clouds, road signs or tree species to observe and share. After a pleasant camp at Mt Kaputar National Park, we had a brief downpour which necessitated a hasty retreat to the tent for breakfast. The clouds dispersed as quickly as they had formed. Apparently the sub-alpine habitat of the park enjoys its rain mostly in the Summer.
We set off for the NSW-Queensland border, stopping only for the most essential rest breaks and fuel-ups. Early afternoon we spotted the storm clouds and could clearly see the front of the storm. I photographed it as we were driving - largely for self-amusement as I didn't expect the photos to work out. By the time we got to the border we knew we had caught up with the storm, having followed it for at least 40 kms (or had it followed us?). The rain started hammering down as we drove through Goondiwindi and on a rather confusing roundabout (the first of many in Qld) we realised we had taken the wrong turn to Boggabilla (its twin border town).
With windscreen wipers on the maximum speed and still not coping with the downpour, we quickly decided to pull off the road and wait out the storm. We watched as the other traffic slowed, and small bushes and tree branches blew across the road into the paddocks. Albert manoeuvred the car so that its rear faced the brunt of the storm and it rocked with the force of the tempest for about half an hour. What an experience for drought-stricken Victorians!
For the next 50 kms we drove very carefully to avoid the trees that had fallen into the road, blocking one or the other lane. The Gold Coast experienced the worst of the storm with much damage to properties and power blackouts.
We set off for the NSW-Queensland border, stopping only for the most essential rest breaks and fuel-ups. Early afternoon we spotted the storm clouds and could clearly see the front of the storm. I photographed it as we were driving - largely for self-amusement as I didn't expect the photos to work out. By the time we got to the border we knew we had caught up with the storm, having followed it for at least 40 kms (or had it followed us?). The rain started hammering down as we drove through Goondiwindi and on a rather confusing roundabout (the first of many in Qld) we realised we had taken the wrong turn to Boggabilla (its twin border town).
With windscreen wipers on the maximum speed and still not coping with the downpour, we quickly decided to pull off the road and wait out the storm. We watched as the other traffic slowed, and small bushes and tree branches blew across the road into the paddocks. Albert manoeuvred the car so that its rear faced the brunt of the storm and it rocked with the force of the tempest for about half an hour. What an experience for drought-stricken Victorians!
For the next 50 kms we drove very carefully to avoid the trees that had fallen into the road, blocking one or the other lane. The Gold Coast experienced the worst of the storm with much damage to properties and power blackouts.
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