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Convenient upward lightning location!
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I've lost more than $1 million to copyright infringement in the last 15 years, and it's finally brought an end to my professional storm chasing operation. This page is a detailed account of the biggest threat to my photography and video operation that I had to battle daily to just barely survive, and eventually could not overcome. It's a problem facing all of my colleagues as well. |
The Prairie State power plant is a new coal-fired generator station going in near the town of Marissa, IL, about 15 miles south of where I live in New Baden. I have seen this in the distance since I moved here, but never got around to looking up information on it until now. Here is the view of it from the County Line Road bridge over I-64 in New Baden:
click to enlarge
The smokestack is 700 feet high, which is solidly in the range for upward lightning initiation. I've been missing this thing getting hit all spring and summer and never realizing it. There are no tall towers on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro (there are at least 8 of them on the Missouri side). It will be nice to just drop a few miles south and have an upward lightning option to add to the chase 'tool kit'. Now we just need some storms again - it's been a while.
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