SEVERE STORM- LIGHTNING JULY 16, 2003

SEVERE STORM- LOTS OF LIGHTNING, PORTSMOUTH TO VA. BEACH.

July 16, 2003

I had somehow forgotten this video taken in 2003 on a very hot afternoon in Portsmouth, Va. It started out with me going to the parking garage in downtown Portsmouth and waited for the storms to move in. A line had developed west of me and was really starting to take shape. Several warnings were being issued for the line and I knew it would be a matter of time before I would start seeing some action. Cristal was at work west of me and called to tell me the power had flickered a few times and at one point it went out all together but came back on just a few minutes later. I could see the flashes from the lightning and could hear the thunder. The storm passed by me just to the north and I remained on the top of the parking garage shooting until it moved by. I then jumped in my truck and headed east trying to stay right behind it as it threw out some incredible bolts. I made it to the oceanfront in Virginia Beach about the same time as the storm. Several close bolts hit something close by and behind me, you can hear it in the video below. It quickly moved out over the Atlantic where I continued to shoot until the bolts were no longer visible. The warnings were issued for areas west of me, Suffolk all the way through Virginia Beach with these cells. It was an impressive storm with tons of lightning some of which were huge bolts.

Below are video frame grabs for the storm that day as I traveled from Portsmouth to Virginia Beach as well as the video link.

SEVERE STORM VIDEO CLIP: See lots of lightning from some impressive thunderstorms.