Central PA Mushroom Cloud Storm 6/30
On Tuesday we got some unusual conditions here in Central PA -- clear visibility (no haze) and well-separated storms, thanks to a persistent upper-level low pressure system. The result was photography opportunities that we don't typically see here. In the late afternoon, I noticed a vertical "mushroom cloud" storm on the AccuCam, and a couple people in State College contacted me to see if I was watching it.
It was like something you'd see out in the Plains, and had lenticular wave clouds forming in front of it to boot. The storm moved through southern Clearfield County, never severe and with little lightning, then began to tip vertically and dissipate as it moved towards the city. The panorama above and photo below were taken from the field on Old Gatesburg Road.
Here's a short time-lapse video from the AccuCam:
Here's what the radar looked like as the storm approached (we're at the "X"'s at right):
Earlier in the afternoon another storm flared up briefly south of town and had some interesting structure to it, then dissipated as it moved south of me... panorama below, taken from my porch.
All in all, it was great weather for observing storms, they just weren't very severe. You can see all my pics from Tuesday here:
