Last year’s trip to the Southwest has only whet my appetite for the Southwest. I have recently been going through shots to see of there are any I can do a better job processing or shots that I might not have processed at all. I guess I am traveling vicariously through my own photos. I am racking my brain trying to figure out a way to get back this year so if you have any creative ideas for me to raise some of the funds (extra work, cheap ways to travel, etc.) let me know.

Some of the signs of spring are finally upon us.

The February full moon was what is considered to be the “Full Wolf Moon” or “Full Snow Moon.” The moonrise was first obscured by clouds, but the skies finally cleared enough to reveal the moon amidst pink clouds and light.

It looks like the Gulf states might be under the gun next week as the tropics fire up in what is threatening to be a very active hurricane season. The map at te top of the page will track the storms in the Atlantic basin. Note to self: fill your tank before the storm threat gets closer.

I was recently interviewed for an Accuweather story about the use of social media for reporting weather, specifically, enthusiasts. Here is the link: http://www.accuweather.com/video/97822142001/social-medias-influence-on-storm-chasing.asp

Upper St. Clair, PA

For the last three summers, I have been on a quest to photograph lightning. At first, I blindly tried to just snap the shutter fast enough and then I realized I would rarely be fast enough, so I delved into some research. There are a lot of websites that tell you how to adjust your camera settings to grab the right shot but one basic rule of thumb applies: get the exposure is long as you can. In general, long exposure is achieved by either shooting in a dark setting or by using a small aperture and low ISO. For daytime lightning, in addition to to a small aperture and low ISO, I have started using either a neutral density or polarizer filter, or sometimes both lightning shots to achieve a longer exposure. Some advice tells you to set your camera to Bulb, the F-stop to 8, and ISO to 100 and leave it there, but you will quickly find that those settings work pretty much at night, only.

The other key ingredient is location. I am always on the hunt for the perfect location. At first I had high hopes of capturing a lightning bolt right over the Pittsburgh cityscape but I quickly learned there are a couple of problems with that. First, nearly all our storms come from the south-west, which means  that while standing at Mt. Washington or the West End Overlook and facing the city, the storm is coming over your left shoulder. Secondly, by the time lightning is over the city it is either raining too hard or the lightning is too dangerously close to be standing out on an overlook. I would love to find a location in the South Hills that gives me a clear, open vantage point to the west or south-west. That spot still eludes me. If I lived somewhere  where you could actually see storms coming, I would focus more on composition. Quite honestly, it is very difficult in Western PA. In most cases, the storm is very close before you can see the lightning, so you have a very brief time, with limited opportunities for interesting composition. Maybe I will catch something on vacation out west where you can see the storms for a long time before they arrive.

Lastly, you really can’t expect to get a great shot without a solid tripod. The longer I shoot any type of landscape photography, the more valuable I find my tripod.

Not that we are into June, we really only have another 3-6 weeks left where we can expect strong thunderstorms, so I realize these might be the last decent shots I get this year.

South Park, PA

The JennCast forecast range is from Thursday (12:01 AM) until Sunday (12:00 PM.) A complex Noreaster, moving back from NY into Northeast PA will bring snow and strong winds into Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia Thursday throughout the entire weekend. The storm will reach its chief intensity during the day on Friday when sustained winds will approach blizzard warning criteria levels. Sustained winds will range between 25-30mph with gusts likely to exceed 50mph. Models have shown a fair amount of discrepancies between each run over the last two days therefore there is not a high degree of certainty in terms of snow accumulation, particularly in the Pittsburgh metro area. Current thinking is as follows:

• Pittsburgh Metro – 6-12”
• Morgantown, Southwest PA, and Westmoreland County:  8-16”
• Higher elevations in the Laurel Highlands and West Virginia: 1-3’

The caveat I will add is that there is the potential for both Pittsburgh and Morgantown to receive significantly more than is currently forecasted.

Icicles form on my neighbors' house.

We have had snow everyday since Dec. 27 – AWESOME!!! I picked that little piece of info up from the Nightline piece tonight where they featured Accuweather.

Looks like Sunday may be the break in the action for snow, but I’d love to see some stray lake effect snow to keep our run going.

Next week we may/may not have a warm up at the end of the week before the potential big storm. It seemed tonight like Joe Bastardi was backing away from a warm-up, but the way he writes is hard to follow sometimes. That’s not a slam…I am a big fan.

The storm next week is crazytown!!!! Double barreled-low heading North juiced up from the Gulf of Mexico. I can’t help but wonder where those 2 lows will meld into one magnificent low, the likes of which we haven’t seen since….well, you know when.

But that storm isn’t it. Remember how ealrier I said January is one parade of storms,? January seems to stay cold with one storm beating on the door while the previous one makes its exit -unbelievable…I might get a nice storm on or around my birthday for a change. Something I haven’t seen since my 15th birthday!!! We got sent home early from school-who forgets that??

The next two weekends are showing formidable storm possibilities for the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast with blizzard potential. Additionally, Joe Bastardi, from Accuweather, has predicted record cold for the first two weeks of January. I love Winter!!!