June 15: 2006 season ends; moving on

I had been giving the 2006 storm season the benefit of the doubt, going so far as to extend our 'standby' period to July 1. But as each day passes, it becomes more and more evident that the classic spring severe weather season is at its twilight and well on the way to shutting down. Summer is knocking on the door, a time when the volatile spring patterns vanish into the stagnant dog days of July and August. Strong storms are of course still common in the summertime, great for things like lightning photography - but not offering anything worth pursuing on expensive and grueling long-distance storm photography expeditions.

So, today will officially wrap up our 2006 Tornado Alley storm season, and with it, our storm season blog for this spring.

As for us, our 'storm season' technically doesn't end with the Great Plains tornado season. There's plenty to keep us occupied year-round. Hurricane season is getting started, with Alberto already impacting a stretch from Florida to the Carolinas with wind and flooding. We'll most likely be making a few expeditions to landfalling hurricanes in the coming months, so stay tuned to the Storm Highway main page for tropical updates as well as photos, video and accounts from our hurricane expeditions.

With that, I'll close out our 2006 spring chase web page. Lord willing, we'll be back next April with our 2007 season blog. On behalf of our team members, I want to say thanks for following along with us, and stay tuned for next year!