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In September of 2025, my work is generating the most income it ever has in my career. Yet, I'm being forced to shut down my successul operation, against my will, due to one cause alone: 95% of that revenue is being stolen by piracy and copyright infringement. 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. Do not be misled by the lies of infringers, anti-copyright activists and organized piracy cartels. This page is a detailed, evidenced account of my battle I had to undertake to just barely stay in business, and eventually could not overcome. It's a problem faced by all of my colleagues and most other creators in the field. |
LOCATION: Putnam County, WV 20 miles west of Charleston
EXPEDITION VIDEO 1: Hail on Grandview Ridge
EXPEDITION VIDEO 2: Lightning in Putnam and Kanawha counties
After small storms began firing 70 miles to the east of here along the high ridges of the Appalachians, GOES 12 satellite showed a small area of clearing
beginning to come alive with bubbly cumulus clouds directly over Putnam and Cabell counties.
Stepping outside for a look showed the cumulus (Cu) field growing rapidly into towering cumulus (TCu), and I decided to head out. As the TCu developed further, a few dominant updraft bases were visible. I latched onto one just southwest of Winfield and followed it northeast.
It rapidly intensified, developing a strong rain shaft a few minutes later and finally began dropping cloud to ground lightning not long after that.
I pulled over on a ridgeline road near Red House, WV to film it as the fireworks show was just getting started:
The storm was sparking nicely as it moved off to the NE:
Watch a GIF Movie, 1.2MB of the above strikes.
Too bad it wasn't nighttime, these would have made good 35mm shots. As the first cell moved off, a new cell to the south was just beginning to drop a faint rain curtain. Within minutes, it too developed a dense rain shaft with lightning as it drew closer. None of these new strikes would cooperate though. The heavy precipitation core then swept over with copious dime to nickel-size hail:
Hail Video: RealVideo, 8.3MB
Digital Video: Sony DCR-TRV900 3CCD MiniDV, 720x480 NTSC
