Tour Director's Field Report

Drove all the way to the U.S/Mexico border to take a chance on storm development near Laredo. Storms fired during the late afternoon hours due to a strong cap. No tornado for us this day, but we did experience very large hail and the chase van received a few war wounds. The lightning show that we received after dark was fantastic due to the limited light pollution in that part of Texas, so for this chase log I'm uploading a few of the lightning photographs that I was able to capture.

DISCLAIMER: Any activity, including storm chasing, near the US/Mexico border is extrmely dangerous due to an on-going drug war along the border areas.  Since 2007 kidnappings along these areas have risen to an all time high and the region is considered by the U.S. State Department to be one of the most dangerous regions in the world.  We recommend that any storm chasers who may be in the position of deciding on a near border intercept to travel with as many people as possible - never go alone.  Such decisions also affect our storm chases as well, we will never chase in these areas with a small group of people as larger groups are more safe.