The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Saturday, October 06, 2007

Chasetunity gone bust... you win some and you lose some...

Well, even though Carolina Mike doesn't agree (he thinks rain is something... we did need rain, but I was after so much more), the Dewvoid is very much alive and well. I sat and watched yesterday as a huge system rolled across from the east and made it's way to my neck off the woods... I shared that radar capture yesterday. Looked nice, right? Well, this first shot is that best shot that I got out of all that mess. Nothing impressive, right? Fortunately, there is a story that goes along with it all that...

So Mike calls me at about 3:30, and he asks, "Whatcha doin'?" Workin'... "How long have you got?" Obviously, he's chomping at the bit to get on the road... so I tell him, I can be there in 10 minutes, so after some annoying Wifi problems at his hotel, more annoyances at the really frustrating coffee shop "NOT-SO-hot-spot", which I refuse to plug here (but thanks, Mike, for the Chai Tea latte). We decided to just get ahead of the convection and give it some time to get "angry", as Mike so eloquently likes to put it. We talked about calling Alabama Mike later on when he would be home and have access to radar (sorry that never happened Alabama Mike, but we sure do appreciate your willingness to cover us on our cha cha chase). We decided that we had enough of an idea of where things were headed to just head northwest, towards Moultrie (Rick's stomping grounds), and the guy had me drive (has he not read my blog and lawn maintenance adventures??? Brave soul!!). He was certain to let me know when cars were breaking, lights were red, road was in front of us, not off in the cloud structure, speed divided by 10 should equal car lengths, fast driving in the rain is not safe... yeah, I think I'll let him drive next time... ;-P. He set up his GPS and started tracking our route. We stopped along the way to catch some structure shots, and like I said, that first shot is the best out of that, but it was fun. We talked to Rick at one point, who informed us that it was nothing but rain... yeah, we know... sigh... We headed all the way up to Moultrie, where we stopped at Wally World, where Mike decided to get me some Rain-X because every storm chaser needs that, and we hit a local BBQ place that doesn't accept credit cards which is a bummer when you are using a government card for your meals... This is when Mike learned that he would have to go in, in the morning... poor guy, robbed of all the fun. Well, we decided to see if we were going to go after anything. Things were overly settled in Moultrie, but we were hoping that something would be firing somewhere, so our quest began... the quest for Wifi in Moultrie, GA (not an easy mission, I assure you). This is the point where we should have called Alabama Mike for radar support... I think Mike just had to justify putting his life in my hands having me drive, so he had to pull it up on his computer. We sat in parking lots, neighborhoods, outside sub shops... everywhere we could think of... nothing, until we got to the Moultrie Inn, our final option... and wouldn't you know it, Wifi... wide open, of course. So we pull up GRL3 and take a look at the radar. Wow... look at all the rain... rain and more rain. Nothing with any CG potential... sigh, not ONE thunderstorm. Clearly, it was time to head back, so we start back down the road, back to South Central GA, and that is when we see a sign that made us laugh... convertible weather... Alrighty then...

Still heading down the road, we decided to stop in the town where Rick goes to church and seek it out since he should have been getting out of there around that time... only problem was that we didn't know the name of his church or where it was, only the town it was in and the denomination... Considering Berlin is so small, I thought, no sweat, right? Wrong! I stopped at the local firestation, where a group of people were gathered to make last minute preparations for the upcoming Cotton festival, which is taking place in Berlin, GA tomorrow, in case you're interested(warning: that is not pronounced the way you would think - somehow, they make it seem to have almost one syllable.) Anyway, I asked them to forgive the interuption, but could they tell me where that denomination church was, and they responded that they had such and such kind, and such and such kind, but no one knew of that other kind... in BERLIN? "Well, who is the pastor?" Like I know. All I knew is that Rick couldn't chase with us because his Wednesday service was moved to Friday, because the pastor had been out... Well, when I told them that, they said, "Well, that has got to be Brother Richard's church, since he was on vacation." So, they tried calling... and when they got no answer, they decided that it must be him and he was in the middle of the service. They gave the directions to the church, and we still could not find it. We tried...

Then, it was time to head on back. We watched a disgusting show about really awful dogs, a little comedy and called it a night. Poor Mike; he was so sad about work this morning. To make it worse... look what's coming... I think I am going to try to shoot me some lightning... sorry Mike.

Happy Saturday!
~Dewdrop

P.S. The water tower in Berlin was shot by Carolina Mike. His handy work, not mine. Didn't mean to accidentally take credit for that one.

15 comments:

  1. Sounds like you guys had a blast. Driving hours to only find rain can sometimes just be as fun. I remember a few years back, Chris Collura, Kersten and I drove from Wichita Falls, TX, all the way down to Sweetwater, TX for a low-topped lightning storm that put down some flash flooding, small hail and two hours of bad drivers. I filmed the whole event and it’s one of the most funny trip we have taken during our expeditions.

    The things you see and encounter along the way, when your on the road to see structured water vapor. I love it! Those small little fun weather “geeked” up trips add up nicely to the larger ones, and make for great memories with Chaser pals.

    Hope to squeeze in a few with the group in the coming months.

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  2. It was wonderful for the memories it created. I can appreciate that. Weather "geeked" trip... perfect description!

    Hope you can hook with us soon!!

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  3. I could feel the "geekness" in the air...Berlin will never be same. ;-P

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  4. I'm just glad the cotton festival folks were gathering there to help us out! lol What a place.

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  5. You know you're chasing in South Georgia when...

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  6. Little do the people of Berlin know what a stir they are making across the country in the wx geek community, all due to a little rain in the area...

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  7. Berlin wasn't ready for the likes of the SOUTHERN WEATHER BRIGADE!!!

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  8. "PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY AT NOON". Rick will be speaking to the Berlin community about the reports of "Outlaw Weather Goobs" in the area at the time of the last storm that came through the area.

    Film at 11....

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  9. Dew, be aware that they do have lawnmower races there every month and it draws a very large crowd. You might want to consider entering in the next event. Would be some good exposure for the team...;-P

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  10. Wait a minute... I don't think we broke any laws... unless you count... oh, that's another story.

    Lawnmower races... hmmm... there isn't a lawn ornament obstacle course, is there?

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  11. LOL @ Rick and Mike! Yeah we have put Berlin on the map! Nice post Dew, always fun to read your blog.
    A bust? Naaaa! I had good time!

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  12. I was surprised that the GPS picked us up, personally...
    Ok, ok, not a bust. It was a GREAT time!!!

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  13. no can't hide from GPS! (Rick's evil laugh in background)

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  14. Are y'all together again? Watch out Perry!

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Dew comment, please...