6.8.01 Rapid City, SD

6.8.01
Rapid City, South Dakota

I was not expecting the light show that we got this night. Storms had fired over Wyoming in the afternoon and were slowly moving east during the night. They were not strong so I casually watched their progress on radar. I went to bed expecting them to continue to weaken but soon realized I was wrong. About 11:30 pm, bright flashes and loud thunder had me running to set up my photography equipment. The bolts were incredible and pretty much marched right over our neighborhood. After about 1/2 hour, it was over...or so I thought.

At 5 am, I was once again found myself bounding out of bed to the sound of thunder. Another group of weak storms were crossing Rapid City, and the spectacular lightning show lasted into sunrise. After reviewing the radar loops, both episodes involved relatively small storms with brief energetic updrafts. I have found that these types of storms are the best producers of staccato lightning. I would have to say that this was my biggest success at photographing lightning.

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All times are MDT

	These are the pictures from the 11:30 pm episode. View is looking west from my frontyard in west Rapid City.

	This was the 5 am morning light show. View is looking east from my backyard deck in west Rapid City.