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Lightning in the dark and rain on the windscreen. My stormchasing trip on the night of 12–13 June 2020.
At first, I can barely see anything outside that June night. There are a few lights in the distance. I look into the darkness and wait. Then, for a brief moment, the sky lights up. That's something I enjoy about stormchasing at night: sometimes you only see the clouds when lightning illuminates them.
Waiting for the next flash
Between flashes, it stays dark for a long time. The few distant lights help me get my bearings. There's not much else to see.
The next flash brings the trees and clouds back into view. As soon as the light fades, the details disappear again. I keep waiting. Those brief moments are what make the night interesting for me.
Rain on the windscreen
Later, I'm in the car. It's raining and the wipers are running. I can see the road in the headlights and another car's rear lights further ahead. Visibility is now limited to a short stretch of road.
The rain is especially clear beneath the streetlights. Drops on the windscreen blur the lights. In conditions like these, seeing the road matters more than getting the next photo.
Darkness and rain
Outside, I can barely make out the horizon. In the car, the rain and wet windscreen make it harder still. At night, you quickly realise how little you can see in bad weather.
Not every trip brings a dramatic cloud front in daylight. This time, it's brief flashes and plenty of rain. That's part of stormchasing for me too.
What I remember most is those flashes between the long stretches of darkness. For a moment, the clouds are visible. Then everything is black again.