The close of the 2019 monsoon season for me was an eventful one. Two of my best lightning days happened towards the end of the year which I think can be attributed to growing comfort and experience with the monsoon chasing experience.
It is funny that, after nearly 20 years of chasing, the monsoon season is so vexxing some days. In many ways its relatively straightforward, but it requires a complete mental shift away from the plains chasing mindset. You don’t target where storms form but rather, where you think they’ll be at sunset. Even then, those targets are relative and subject to change with conditions. Models are a bit less useful, and generally knowledge of the pattern in combination with knowledge of the local terrain features and observed conditions pre-storm are much better tools.
Still, this first season was a success in many ways, especially considering that next year, there will be more successes with experience. I can’t wait. Now let’s move to Spring of 2020!
Great lessons learned! I'm frequently asked how I chase monsoon storms, and the best answer is: chase everything possible. And don't be disappointed when you get to your destination only for the storm to have died and another to pop up 40 miles away. Oh, and the best advice: chase the outflows! I frequently chase the first big storms of the day, then I'll chase the outflows east as usually the next sky island mountain range will be enough to kick off another round of storms. I'll even end up in New Mexico by nightfall! Rinse and repeat (for southern Arizona storms) and you'll eventually get some good ones!
Good series Thank you ! Never knew there was so much difference in the way you chase storms. But then I was uneducated in Monsoon storm chasing. Good luck with next year. Now let's Bring On Tornado Season 2020 !
corona, nm?
Absolutely beautiful ?
Moody skies and moody music. Great series, thanks.
Another thing worth chasing out in the desert area are dust devils
Awesome video man! :)