Storm Chaser

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT

And I thought yesterday was humid.

When I walked out of my house to go and do my hike this afternoon I wasn't sure where I was going. When I looked South and saw this cloud formation I knew. I was going to go and chase some rain.

On the way I saw the biggest rainbow I've ever seen; it was so large in fact that I couldn't fit it in one picture. I uploaded a video below with the whole thing.

I got out to some fields in Thermal and headed up toward the mountains near Rabbit Peak. I doubted I'd be able to get very far but the main concern was to be safe and not get lost in the flood.

I got as far as I could drive and got out and started walking. I wasn't going to be able to cross this area here so I'd have to find another crossing.

This was actually not bad. It never got more than just a bit over ankle deep but I wasn't going to able to cross the same area when I came back. It filled up that quickly.

I follow the alluvial fan up a bit and am pounded by the rain. Being in the desert I don't generally have rain gear with me and the only thing I have is a blanket that I use to try to keep the water off my camera. It's not very effective.

The water is really moving down this wash. That bush in the middle of this picture is actually moving. The water is washing it down toward the Salton Sea.

I hike around a while until the rain diminishes. It doesn't help that not one bit of my body is dry. I actually have nothing that will help me dry my camera lens.

I made sure I parked the Jeep in a good place, on high ground. It looks like someone didn't do the same during a previous flash flood.

These floods are nothing to mess with; every year people get killed in flash floods in the desert of the American Desert Southwest. I have to walk around a bit before I find a safe place to cross and get back to where I started. I'm not really sure how far I hiked today but I know this: it was far enough.

Below are a couple of short videos I took. The first one is the rainbow and the second one is of the flood. I didn't bring anything to shoot video on the actual hike and that's a good thing. Everything got soaked including my camera. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll work again.