Author: Doug

Wow, the month of April has been one busy one with a ton of weather that I have been working for StormChasingVideo.com along with my own footage.

The snow did not seem to want to end all April and we went from temps in the 20s to temps in the 70s within a few days and now the forecast shows we might be getting more snow later this week.

Here are the videos that I have shot over the last few weeks.  I am using the new Midland XTC HD camera with some of the footage in the winter storms with tracking the snow plows for some great snow plow shots.  Midland asked me to try out their camera and put it through some really nasty weather.  Well I did I have not destroyed the camera yet. 

In the first video, I did not get this part on video but the mag mount on the side of the camera got knocked off the side of the truck and flew off into the snow and then the camera was hit by a snow plow that was moving along at 30mph and it survived being slammed into a MNDot Snow Plow.  The water proof case took a beating but the camera inside survived without a scratch. 

Here is the video package from that day.  At the 5:50 time frame you can tell how the Midland XTC camera really made those tracking shots possible and look great.

It may be Spring but the west central and northwestern Minnesota are getting slammed with another brutal winter storm system..

A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain fell over the area around Barnesville, MN which is in Clay County and just 22 miles southwest of the Fargo & Moorhead metro area.

This area was the focus due to a major wreck along Interstate 94 that shut the interstate down for most of the afternoon and into the evening.  Several tractor trailers hauling livestock crashed, along with several other vehicles just south of the Barnesville, MN area on Interstate 94.

The highest wind gusts that I recorded in the truck was 52.5 mph.

Total Run Time: 8:51

Clip 01 Barnesville City City covered in snow with heavy snow falling and tree’s in the background for depth of field and motion.
Clip 02 Clay County Sheriff vehicle blocks the entrance to Interstate 94 due to the wreck just south of the entrance. High winds blow the camera around while trying to hold the shot.
Clip 03 POV Drive by of a large delivery van in the ditch.
Clip 04 POV Drive by shot of Semi Truck in the ditch
Clip 05 First drive by shot of the major crash scene on Interstate 94
Clip 06 Second drive by shot of the same scene of the major crash scene on Interstate 94.  This scene is a faster pace.
Clip 07 Wide shot from the farm road of the cattle trucks crashed in the east bound ditch of Interstate 94. 
Clip 08 Medium shot of one of the trucks the crashed.
Clip 09 Tight shot of the pigs outside of one of the crashed trucks.
Clip 10 Tight shot on the front end of one of the crashed trucks.
Clip 11 Workers cleaning up the scene and trying to get the pigs out of the first truck.
Clip 12 First truck with a wider shot with police and tow truck crews
Clip 13 Blowing snow over a field with a house in the background near the crash site.
Clip 14 Static shot of a stop sign in the foreground and rail road sign and trees in the back ground with blowing snow. 
Clip 15 Tight shot of the stop sign with snow covering it. 
Clip 16 Blowing snow static shot with trees in the background
Clip 17 Blowing snow static shot with a tree in the background
Clip 18 Semi truck driving towards the camera in the high winds and heavy snow.
Clip 19 Pickup truck driving towards the camera in the high winds and snow
Clip 20 Tight shot of high winds blowing cross the field.
Clip 21 Truck drives towards the camera in near white out conditions.
Clip 22 High winds blowing snow across the shot, trees in background.
Clip 23 High winds blowing snow across the highway to show the limited visibility.
Clip 24 High winds blowing snow across the highway.
Clip 25 Tighter shot of the high winds blowing snow across the highway.
Clip 26 Highway 108 and county road 30 signs in the high winds
Clip 27 Snow plow parked in the background with the Fergus Falls and Moorhead sign in the foreground with blowing snow.
Clip 28 Looking down shot of a snow plow on Interstate 94 driving towards the camera.
Clip 29 POV shot of a snow plow in front of the camera.
Clip 30 Passing shot of a snow plow from the dash camera.
Clip 31 Passing shot of a snow plow from the side camera.
Clip 32 Snow plow passing in oncoming traffic.
Clip 33 POV driving in heavy snow
Clip 34 POV driving in heavy snow
Clip 35 POV driving in heavy snow with a SUV with its hazard lights on.
Clip 36 POV driving in heavy snow and high winds
Clip 37 POV driving in heavy snow and high winds
Clip 38 POV driving in heavy snow and high winds from the grill camera.
Clip 39 POV driving in heavy snow and high winds from the grill camera.
Clip 40 POV driving in heavy snow and high winds following a Dodge Durango SUV
Clip 41 POV driving in heavy snow and high winds
Clip 42 Car in the ditch after dark (shot on the way home northwest of Fergus Falls.

The next video package is from the 4/18/2013 Saint Cloud, MN Overnight Snow  storm.  I did not get a chance to use the XTC camera in this video since it was late at night and I needed to use the Pro Panasonic setup due to the low light.

The winter weather continues to plague the upper Mississippi River Valley as another inch of heavy wet snow fell overnight on the city of Saint Cloud, MN. Footage shows heavy snow falling around downtown Saint Cloud and on the west side of town near 25th Avenue and 2nd Street.

The winter weather just kept hitting the area and I was able to use the XTC camera in this next video package that I shot,  4/18/2013 Stearns County, MN Winter Storm B-Roll.  The tracking shot is pretty crazy and I love being able to know where the camera is pointing and just focusing on driving now.

Another powerful winter storm system is hitting central Minnesota hard again with more heavy snow and sleet.  A foot of snow is has fallen over the Stearns County, MN area around the city of Saint Cloud, Minnesota. 

B-Roll footage shows the horrible driving conditions due to the heavy snow. The snow fall rates were over an inch and a half an hour at times. 

Any vehicle that crashed on Interstate 94 and was not blocking the roadway was actually left on the side of the road  due to low visibility from the heavy snow making it too dangerous for tow truck crews to remove the vehicles until after the storm.

Total Run Time 4:07

Clip 01 – 03  Plow trucks plowing the on ramp on Interstate 94 at the Tornado Sirens fills audio track. This is winter awareness week and today was the day to test the sirens for tornado warnings. 
Clip 04 Passing shot of a snow plow from the side camera.
Clip 05 – 07 POV shots of snow plows
Clip 08 Drive by shot of two vehicles crashed on the side of Interstate 94
Clip 09 What is left of an SUV that was left on the side of the interstate after it crashed.
Clip 10 Vehicle that slide off the interstate and stuck in the ditch.
Clip 11 POV driving in very heavy snow
Clip 12 Drive by shot of a tow truck trying to pull out a minivan stuck in the ditch on highway 75
Clip 13 Drive by shot of a car in the center ditch
Clip 14 SUV stuck in the center ditch of interstate 94
Clip 15 A Pickup truck is stuck in the deep snow in the center of Interstate 94 fails to get out and just spins all of the tires.
Clip 16 POV Driving in heavy snow
Clip 17 – 18 B-Roll of people making a large snowman in Saint Cloud
Clip 19 Heavy snow falls on the steps outside of church at sunset in downtown Saint Cloud
Clip 20 Stop sign covered with 6 inches of heavy snow
Clip 21 Flags blowing in the high winds and heavy snow
Clip 22 The stop lights on 2nd Street and the sign for 2nd Street are covered with heavy snow.
Clip 23 And, a shot from the back yard, Very heavy wet snow covers a pine tree making it look like it is the middle of December, not the third week of the Major League Baseball season…

Just a couple more days have passed and you would think we would be in the middle of spring, but no, winter kept on hitting the area hard.  I did finally break the XTC camera housing while shooting this video.  The front lens of the housing got cracked while it was on the hood by some ice chunks flying off a semi truck in front of me.  The camera was not rolling at the time since I was waiting to get into heavy snow before turning it on.   The camera still works great, just waiting on a replacement housing.

Everyone in the greater Twin Cities metro area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul metro area of Minnesota, and the rest of Minnesota is hoping that this is the final winter storm and final round of snow for the season. 

A powerful winter storm dumped another half of a foot of heavy wet snow in the south metro area of Dakota County.

Even the crews at the Minneapolis International Airport had to go back to winter mode to de-ice airplanes this evening. 

And in the later part of the video, April Snow Showers Bring Minnesota Snow Plowers… and cars in the ditches. 
Clip 1  Spoon Bridge at the sculpture garden in downtown Minneapolis.  They snow was so heavy that you could not see the skyline in the background.
Clip 2-4 Footage of Robins in the snow looking for food.
Clip 05 A treeline and the heavy snow falling.
Clip 06 Aircraft taxiing in the snow at the Minneapolis & Saint Paul International Airport.
Clip 07 Aircraft landing
Clip 08 – 13 Various shot of aircraft de-icing.
Clip 14 Snow falling with a light highlighting the snow and aircraft in the background.
Clip 15 One of the worlds largest aircraft, an Antonov Cargo plane landing in the heavy snow.
*************************************************
The following clips were shot after dark in Dakota County showing the poor driving conditions in the heavy snow.
Clip 16 Flag blowing in the wind and snow
Clip 17 – 18  SUV sliding in the snow
Clip 19 Car spinning the front tires in the snow trying to go forward.
Clip 20 – 21  Heavy snow covering tree branches
Clip 22 Mini van spinning its tires trying to drive up a hill
Clip 23 – 24 Burnsville, MN city banner signs.  Once side is coated the while the other side you can kind of make out what it says.
Clip 25 POV dash camera showing a sign warning of a crash ahead
Clip 26 Drive by shot of a car in the ditch on Interstate 35E
Clip 27 Drive by shot of a car in the center cables on Interstate 35E with police on the scene.
Clip 28 Minivan in the ditch on Interstate 35E 
Clip 29 State Patrol on the scene of a crash on Interstate 35E with the car in the center cables
Clip 30 SUV crashed on the exit ramp of 35E and county road 50
Clip 31 – 37 Various snow plow footage.

The last video for this update is the flooding around Sabin, MN.  The Buffalo River up near Sabin, MN is always the first to have major flooding before the water moves down or in this case, UP river since the rivers flow north up in that part of the country. 

While Fargo, ND prepares for the Red River of the North crest, the river’s that feed into the Red River are now cresting just to the south of the Fargo / Moorhead, metro area.

Clip 1 Wide shot of large area flooded out.

Clip 2 Road Closed sign with flooding behind the signs.

Clip 3 Stop sign with water half way up the sign pole.

Clip 4 Road signs in the water.

Clip 5 Shot of all the flooding and signs in the water.

Clip 6 What was a farm field is now a lake with Swans swimming in the high water.

Clip 7 Rushing water cutting through a farm field.  Pull back shot.

Clip 8 High water pull back shot from the bridge to where the road should be.

Clip 9 Snow pack still on the ground in areas.

Clip 10 Running water in the ditches that are flowing to the Buffalo river.

Clip 11 Buffalo River with major flooding just south of the town of Sabin, MN. 

Clip 12 Flooding around a farm.  The farm has a dike around it to protect it from the high waters.

Clip 13 Road signs in the flooding.

Clip 14 Wide shot of the flooding and road signs with the farm on the left.

Clip 15 Snow pack filling up the ditches along the road near the Buffalo River.

Clip 16 More snow pack covering areas on the north sides of the farm fields.  Pan shot from Right to Left.

Clip 17 Medium shot of the Buffalo River washing out a roadway for about a quarter mile.

Clip 18 House surrounded by water but not flooded out.

Clip 19 Buffalo River sign at the bridge just south of the town of Sabin, MN with the massive flooding in the background.

Clip 20 Water flowing under the bridge and it is only a couple feet from touching the beams on the bridge deck.  Pan shot to the right to show the large area of flooding. 

Clip 21 A rail road bridge with water almost up to the deck.

Clip 22 Snow pack and flooding.

Clip 23 Pan shot showing the snow pack along the side of the Buffalo River and the camera pans right to show how far the river has gone over its banks for almost a quarter mile to the west side of the river.

Clip 24 In the setting sun light, the flooding covers most of the ground to where the house in about a quarter mile away from the camera.

Well that is pretty much what I have been up to on my own video projects, go check out the videos on the blog for StormChasingVideo.com to see all the video stuff we have been working on.  Time for me to get some sleep and get ready for the next winter storm…  yes, there is a chance later in the week in the first week of May and don’t blame me for it, I just document the weather, I don’t make it happen.

A major winter storm hit the central Minnesota city of Saint Cloud hard before noon on Thursday. The storm dumped 9 inches of very heavy wet snow on the area and made driving extremely dangerous.

Total Run Time 6:17

Clip 1 Flags blowing in the heavy snow

Clip 2 So you think it is spring? Pull back shot of heavy snow covering branches with a creek flowing.

Clip 3 Tight shot of heavy snow on a pine tree that looks more like December then Mid April.

Clip 04 Ruler (in my back yard) showing Nine Inches of snow fell in Saint Cloud, MN.

Clip 05 The first sign of spring is the Robins and other song birds migrating into town. Today they are singing the blues.

Clip 06 Robins finding berries to eat that are on top of the heavy wet snow

Clip 07 POV shot of a snow plow almost taking off the front of my truck.

Clip 08 POV shot of a snow plow in Saint Cloud.

Clip 09 Tight shot of the wing plow

Clip 10 Snow plow gets stuck and spins the back tires.

Clip 11 POV driving in white out conditions.

Clip 12 Drive by of car in the ditch

Clip 13 Driving in heavy snow on Interstate 94.

Clip 14 Driving in heavy snow and a plow drives through the shot on Interstate 94.

Clip 15 POV Driving in heavy snow

Clip 16 POV Following snow plows on highway 23

Clip 17 POV White out conditions again on highway 23

Clip 18 Drive by shot of a car in the ditch

Clip 19 Drive by shot of a car in the ditch

Clip 20 Drive by shot of a sports car in the ditch.

Clip 21 Static shot of a car in the ditch

Clip 22 SUV spinning its wheels on ice

Clip 23 Static shot of a car in the ditch

Clip 24 Blowing snow

Clip 25 Static shot of a car in the ditch

Clip 26 Drive by shot of jackknifed semi and a massive backup on Highway 10

Clip 27 Static shot of the jack knifed semi

Clip 28 5th Wheel trailer got hit in an accident.

Clip 29 Police and Wrecker crews pull a tractor trailer out

Clip 30 Police and Wrecker crews pull another tractor trailer out of being stuck

Clip 31 Tracking shot of a snow plow

Clip 32 Snow plow driving towards the camera

Clip 33 Plowing snow with an old cabin in the background

Clip 34 Snow plows driving towards the camera with a side pov shot.

Clip 35 – 39 Crews clean up a wreck on Highway 23 where a car slid under a semi truck. Various shots of EMS, snow plows and police on scene.

Clip 40 Plowing snow down a country road on the west side of town.

I have been busy working on stuff for StormChasingVideo.com and our new partnership with the LNVN setup for streaming this year.  So I have been off line for my page updates for a couple of weeks but I’m back. 

Last night I was out covering the last part of the winter season here in the upper Midwest. Duluth, MN received a late season snow storm during the overnight hours.

At the office now trying to catch up on paperwork and get everything ready for tomorrow and Monday for the expected big weather events down south. 

Today was the first day of spring and the first day I have been able to get any work done at the office after an insane weekend.

First the shooting on the north side of Saint Cloud, then the winter storm Friday night, followed by Saint Patrick’s Day and one of the most vivid Aurora Borealis displays ever.  I did not get much sleep on Sunday and when I finally got to sleep, I had to wake up and go back out into the blizzard up towards Alexandria, MN. 

Here is the video I shot starting out in Alexandria, MN around 2:00 in the morning.  Then I had to go and shoot the winter storm hitting Minneapolis, MN just after sunrise and then I had to drive back up to Alexandria, MN to cover the road closed again later in the afternoon for the evening shows.  It was a pretty long day but I was able to pull off another great video shoot.

Hey it is amazing, I’m actually updating the blog more then once every few months…  I have been pretty busy but I am trying to get this page updated with the new stuff that I have been shooting on a timely bases.

So Friday I was at the gym working out and just got done working out with my trainer and I was doing some cardio work when I got the call to get out and get footage of a crime scene on the north side of Saint Cloud. 

After the crazy afternoon of crime scene footage the weather turned to snow again for the Interstate 94 and central Minnesota area.

And after being the sober cab for friends last night, Neva and I were able to catch one of the most vivid displays of the Northern Lights that we have seen in years. 

The Auroras were some of the best colors as the lights turned to deep reds for a time and the auroras lasted from about 3am until sunrise.

Ok, time to get some sleep before the blizzard hits tonight.

Hello World, I’m still here.  I thought it would be fitting if I used the computer programing setup of “Hello World” to write this blog since I have been off of my site for so long. 

Well, I have been on Twitter and on my Facebook fan page but just been busy working all the video for StormChasingVideo.com and helping out with ChasersEdge.com .  Odd as it may seem, I’m actually in Kansas City, MO right now writing this blog while crashing at my friend and Kansas City stringer Robins place since I will be busy all day tomorrow with working with Brandon Clark and Chasers Edge at the Douglas County, KS weather conference.  

So let me get a run down of all the video stuff I have been shooting that I have not updated here until now. 

Starting with the latest video first and going backwards.

The winter storm continued this morning in the Twin Cities metro area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota with the area receiving around nine inches of snow before the storm subsided.

Clip 1 Tracking shot with snow plows coming towards the camera and pans to the right with the Minneapolis, MN skyline in the shot.
Clip 2 – 3 POV Drive by footage of a car in the ditch with crews recovering it.
Clip 4 POV footage of a Mini Van in the ditch
Clip 5 POV footage of a Mini Van in the ditch
Clip 6 POV footage of a car in the center cables
Clip 7 Car stalled on the side of the road.
Clip 8 Massive traffic jam in downtown Minneapolis, MN as the morning commute was more like the morning crawl.
Clip 9 Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis (landmark shot) as viewed from the Interstate 394 west bound bridge in downtown.
Clip 10 Car that drove straight off the road into the ditch.
Clip 11 Car stuck in a snow bank after sliding off the road while trying to exit interstate 35w. The driver was able to get the car out of the snow bank on his own.
Clip 12 Minneapolis International Airport control tower in the snow.
Clip 13 Clip of the departures board inside the airport of the canceled flights to Chicago.
Clip 14 – 16 Delta aircraft being deiced.
Clip 17 Car that crashed and snow plows gang plowing and moving towards the camera.
Clip 18 – 24 POV Shots of plows gang plowing highway 77 (Cedar Avenue) from Burnsville, MN through Bloomington and into Minneapolis, MN.
Clip 25 MNDot snow plows driving towards the camera and heading south on Cedar Avenue.

The central part of Minnesota is under a winter storm warning until Noon tomorrow as a powerful weather system is taking am on the area with several waves of heavy snow.

Footage shows the hazardous driving conditions along Interstate 94 late this morning as the first round of snow made the roads very hazardous to drive on.

Clip 01 Skyline Shot Of Minneapolis, MN

Following clips shot near Monticello, MN
Clip 02 POV Shot of road sign warning of slick conditions.
Clip 03 SUV spins out right in front of the camera.
Clip 04 SUV being pulled out of the ditch
Clip 05 – 09 POV shots on Interstate 94 of cars smashed and in the ditch
Clip 10 Driving in heavy snow.
Clip 11 Interstate 94 was shut down for a while as crews worked to clean up the wrecks northwest of Monticello, MN.
Clip 12 Car in the ditch north of Minneapolis, MN
Clip 13 Another Minneapolis clip by mistake
Clip 14 Driving in Heavy Snow
Clip 15 More cars in the ditch to the northwest of Minneapolis, MN on Interstate 94
Clip 16 Snow plow on Interstate 94 NW of the cities.
Clip 17 Car slides off the road right in front of the camera but manages to not go into the ditch.
Clip 18 – 22 Major wreck in Plymouth, MN on Interstate 494.  Driver survived with minor injuries. 
Clip 22 – End.  Footage from Minneapolis, MN International Airport.

Another round of winter weather impacts central Minnesota this evening and over night as several inches of snow fell across the city of Saint Cloud, MN and making for very slick driving conditions for motorists.

Clip 01 Snow falling with the Saint Cloud, MN down town sign in the shot.
Clip 02 Flags blowing in the snow.
Clip 03 Snow plow along Highway 15 drives towards the camera and the camera pans to a car that is stuck in the ditch.
Clip 04 Two men try to dig out their Audi over of the snow along Highway 15.
Clip 05 A truck on interstate 94 that was pulling snow removal equipment almost crashes as it slips side to side in front of the camera at 55 mph.
Clip 06 SUV stuck in the ditch along Highway 15
Clip 07 Car stuck in the ditch along Interstate 94
Clip 08 Snow plow along highway 23
Clip 09 Snow falling over a church in Saint Joseph, MN (right next to Saint Cloud)
Clip 10 Heavy wet snow collecting on tree branches
Clip 11 Wide shot of a car being pulled out of the ditch along Interstate 94 
Clip 12 Roll by shot of another car in the center ditch on Interstate 94
Clip 13 Roll by shot of a Semi Truck that Jack Knifed on Interstate 94
Clip 14 – 18 POV Shots of snow plows on Highway 23.

New footage in from Central MN in Stearns County where over eight inches of snow fell and blizzard conditions are expected to blow the new snow around this morning.

Footage shot along interstate 94 of the Winter Storm from Central MN.  B-roll footage from the winter storm and blizzard that is hitting the upper Midwest shot around the Saint Cloud MN area.

Highlights from the Simply Outdoor Experiences “Masters on Mille Lacs” Fishing Derby, Saturday, Jan 26, 2013.  Footage shot off shore from event is held at Dickies Liberty Beach Resort on the east side of Mille Lacs Lake. 

For more information, visit www.simplyoutdoorexperiences.com

Sub Zero Temps and Extreme Windchill’s was on tap for this morning in Minneapolis, MN along the Nicollet Mall as people were walking outside to go to work.

B-Roll footage of people out in the extreme cold with temps of -10F outside.

Footage shot on 1/26/2013 after an extended period of sub zero temperature made it possible to drive across Mille Lacs Lake, in central Minnesota.

The ice was about 20 to 22 inches thick but there was several pressure ridges in the middle of the lake that made it dangerous to cross the whole length of the lake once you were away from where the resort owners have tested the ice. 

The distance traveled from one side of the lake to the other is 15 miles. 

The time lapse footage is 4000 times the normal speed and makes the half hour trip only take about 90 seconds. The drive was from Liberty Beach on the east side of the lake to Twin Pines Resort on the west side. 

What started out as rain quickly turned to heavy snow around the Twin Cites metro area on Sunday afternoon. With this past week of sub-zero temperatures, the falling rain quickly froze on the ground and making for a very slick road surface before being covered up as the rain turned into snow.

Footage shot around the metro area of the Twin Cities. See shot sheet for locations for each clip.

TRT: 5;56;28

Clip 01 In Minneapolis, MN driving north on Interstate 35W with the skyline in the shot.
Clip 02 On Interstate 94 in Minneapolis, MN a SUV spins out and ends up backwards on.
Clip 03 At Broadway and Interstate 94, A Toyota 4Runner spins out right in front of the camera while trying to turn the corner.
Clip 04 – 09 Clips of a wreck on Interstate 494 in Bloomington, MN
Clip 10 – 17 Clips of Snow Plows trying to clear Interstate 35E in Dakota County.
Clip 18 Car spinning its wheels on Nicollet Avenue in Burnsville, MN.
Clip 19 Traffic and heavy snow POV shot on 494
Clip 20 POV shot of a State Trooper on the side of the road with a wrecked car on 494 on the west side of town.
Clip 21 POV shot of a car spun out and a Trooper in Minneapolis, MN on Interstate 35W
Clip 22 – 24 Vehicles trying to make it up a hill in Burnsville, MN on Nicollet, Ave.

With some of the coldest temperatures in several year’s hitting the Minneapolis, MN region, I shoot footage today with the theme of it is so cold out??? 

Although there is a lack of overall snow cover in the Minneapolis, MN area, that did not stop the temperatures from dropping into the extreme cold for the past few days with the latest blast of arctic air that dropped south out of Canada.  With early morning a low temperature of negative twelve below zero (-12F), the current high temperature of two above (2F) at the Minneapolis International Airport does not feel much warmer due to the fact that the wind chill is currently at negative eleven (-11F) below zero.

In the video package, the footage starts out with a shot of the Spoon and Cherry at the sculpture garden in Minneapolis, MN with the downtown skyline in the background.   The next clip shows that it is so cold out that the exhaust from the car in front of the camera shows ice sickles hanging off the exhaust pipes as the exhaust vapor froze upon leaving the tail pipe.

The next clip shows the outside air temp at -3F on a bank thermometer at the time of shooting this video which was just after noon.  It was so cold out that even the boiling water in this video turns to a mini cloud when tossed into the air.

It was so cold out that ice crystals in the air created a halo around the noon sun.

Near Monticello, MN, it was so cold out that the steam from the electric power plant was creating its own mini weather system that looked like a super cell rising up into the sky.

Why was it so cold out?  I asked the staff at the National Weather Service, Twin Cities office and Meteorologist Jake Beitlich explains what was going on and why it was so cold out.

Just how cold out was it?  I asked people along Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, MN.  Many said it was so cold out that they really did not even want to be out in this weather but had to.   Judging by the way everyone was dressed, the weather was bitter cold.  The lucky ones were those who were able to move around downtown Minneapolis in the extensive sky-way system.

Some behind the scenes footage shot while shooting a time lapse sunset Sunday afternoon.

We drove out to Clearwater Lake in central Minnesota to shoot a time lapse of the setting sun while there were sun dogs on both sides of the setting sun.  The edited time lapse footage was compressed from 53 minutes to only about 15 seconds long.  So Instead of just posting the 15 second time lapse video, we posted all the stupid stuff that we did while setting up for the shoot and after the shoot while driving on the lake.

Enjoy.

Tropical Storm force wind’s caused a ground blizzard in northeast North Dakota this afternoon.

Conditions were perfect for a Ground Blizzard where at times there was blue sky above the camera but blowing snow with winds sustained at about 40 miles per hour.

Footage from north of Fargo around the Hillsboro ND area of extreme winter conditions with blowing snow causing a whiteout.

Total Run Time: 5:24

Clip 01 Sign near Fargo, ND warning of bad road conditions.
Clip 02 Near whiteout conditions north of Fargo, ND along Interstate 29 showing road signs blowing snow.
Clip 03 Footage of the Sun with the clouds racing by and then pan down the the road with the winds and snow racing by the camera.
Clip 04 Traffic along Highway 81 and Interstate 29 in the blowing snow.
Clip 05 Footage of blowing snow over the road.
Clip 06 Speed limit 55 mph sign with winds gusting to near 55 mph.
Clip 07 Road sign showing Grand Forks and Fargo directions.
Clip 08 Headlights of a parked SUV with heavy blowing snow.
Clip 09 Blowing snow with traffic in the white out conditions.
Clip 10 Traffic in the blinding and deep snow drifts.
Clip 11 Car stuck in the ditch of Interstate 29.
Clip 12 Sun came out and you can make out a car in the ditch along Interstate 29 as traffic drives by.
Clip 13 Blowing snow with tree’s in the foreground.
Clip 14 Blowing snow in the air looking like a dust storm and blowing snow on the ground over the roadway.
Clip 15 Flags blowing in the wind.
Clip 16 Wide shot of flags blowing in the wind at the rest stop at mile marker 100 and Interstate 29.
Clip 17 Blowing snow with traffic driving through the shot.
Clip 18 Blowing snow over a field.
Clip 19 Blowing snow with clouds and blue sky as the sun came out in the high winds.
Clip 20 Blowing snow over a field.
Clip 21 Blowing snow while looking down a highway from the center of the road.
Clip 22 Blowing snow while looking down a highway from the center of the road with a grain elevator in the shot on the left.
Clip 23 Blowing snow from the center of the road
Clip 24 Blowing snow with blue sky above.
Clip 25 Hillsboro ND airport sign in the blowing snow.
Clip 26 Blowing snow with the setting sun.
Clip 27 POV shot of Videographer being blasted by the winds while shooting video.
Clip 28 POV driving shot in the high winds and blowing snow.
Clip 29 POV driving shot in the high winds and blowing snow.
Clip 30 POV driving shot in the high winds and blowing snow.
Clip 31 POV driving shot in the high winds and blowing snow.
Clip 32 POV driving shot in the high winds and blowing snow.
Clip 33 Blowing snow just north of Fargo as the sun was setting.
Clip 34 Blowing snow across the road.

Raw footage of the fireworks over Lake George in the heart of Saint Cloud, MN just after Midnight in the sub zero temperatures.  The camera and tripod started to freeze up in the extreme cold at midnight but the fireworks show from the middle of the frozen lake was well worth it. 

Happy New Year Everyone!

B-Roll Footage of the snow storm that impacted the Central Minnesota area Saturday afternoon and evening.

Footage shows snow plows trying to keep the roads clear, snow falling in the country just north of the city and several cars in the ditch.

Fire Fighters from Clearwater and Monticello, MN battled a structure fire in the extreme cold temperatures on Tuesday evening as a late evening fire destroyed the building of Compass Delivery Systems at 2314 200th St E , Clearwater, MN. 

According to the staff on scene, nobody was injured in the fire but the building and almost everything in the building which included several delivery trucks and freight for clients was destroyed.

A powerful winter storm hit central Minnesota on Sunday causing the roads to become extremely dangerous from the icy condition.  Snow total’s were from an average of eight inches around the metro to over twelve inches in the Saint Cloud, MN area. 

The video highlights the travel hazards on Sunday in the air and on the ground.  The footage was shot around the south side of the metro area from around the Minneapolis International Airport to the Burnsville and Eagan, MN area.

Clip 1 Heavy snow obscures the control tower at the Minneapolis / Saint Paul International Airport.
Clip 2 Heavy snow and the airport radar.
Clip 3 A Delta Airbus landing in the heavy snow on runway 12R
Clip 4 Wide shot of a plane flying over head and the shot pans down to the ILS lights on Runway 12L as the plane fades away into the heavy snow.
Clip 5 Delta plane taxi’s on to the active runway for take off
Clip 6 & 7 Another shot of the lights on the end of the runway 12L with a plane barely visible as it is landing.
Clip 8 Shot of a car stuck in the ditch from the dash camera
Clip 9 A jeep slid off the road as was stuck at the bottom of a deep ditch on Highway 13 and the driver barely was able to climb up the steep hill to make it back onto the roadway.
Clip 10 POV drive by shot of a car in the center ditch with MN State Patrol on scene.
Clip 11 POV drive by of another car in the ditch and the police on the scene.
Clip 12 A car backwards on the side of the road covered in snow and the front end is smashed up.
Clip 13 POV drive by show of a tow truck pulling out a mini van
Clip 14 Overhead shot of traffic in Interstate 35w in Minneapolis, MN at 50th street.
Clip 15 Car spinning its wheels in Burnsville, MN on Nicollet Avenue
Clip 16 Car trying to make its way up the hill on Nicollet Avenue and slipping
Clip 17 Mini Van sliding all over the roadway trying to make it up the hill
Clip 18 Tight shot of the wheels of the Mini Van spinning
Clip 19 Burnsville Police squad car spinning its wheels
Clip 20 Snow Plow trying to clean up Nicollet Avenue so traffic can get through the area.
Clip 21 and 23 POV shot following snow plows
Clip 24 POV driving over Minnesota River Bridge in the heavy wet snow.
Clip 25 Car stuck in the ditch
Clip 26 Traffic slows down in this POV shot as a SUV spins out and gets back on the roadway.

12/5/2012 Raw news footage from Cold Spring, MN of the funeral procession for 31-year old officer Tom Decker who was murdered in the line of duty last week.

Over 2300 law enforcement members from all around Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin along with US federal law enforcement and Canadian law enforcement showed their respect for the fallen officer as they slowly escorted the hearse carrying Officer Decker to the cemetery in Saint Nicholas, MN. The funeral procession lasted almost an hour and stretched for miles as they drove through Cold Spring, MN.

To make donation to the family, several news outlets are reporting the following information:

To donate gift cards/checks:

Checks payable to Wives Behind the Badge, Inc. In memo, state that it is a donation for Tom Decker Family. Mail to: Minneapolis Police Department, Attn: Sgt. Grant Snyder, 350 S. 5th Street, Room 108, Minneapolis, MN 55401

Memorial funds have also been setup at the following banks:

    State Bank of Cold Spring      
    http://statebankcoldspring.com/
    PO Box 415 401 Main Street
    Cold Spring, MN 56320
    320-685-8655

    The First National Bank of Cold Spring
    http://www.fnbcs.com/
    301 Main Street, P.O. Box 416
    Cold Spring, MN  56320
    (320) 685-8611

     Central Minnesota Credit Union
     https://www.mycmcu.org/index.html
     202 Red River Ave S
     Cold Spring, MN 56320
     320-685-4007

    Wells Fargo (All locations)

In just over 24 hour’s, the temperature in Saint Cloud, MN has dropped over twenty five degrees and gone from a nice warm 56F to a current low of 21F.  To make thing’s colder, the current windchill is only 4F. 

Clip 1 – 7 The video starts out with heavy snow falling over the country side in Saint Cloud, MN.
Clip 8 POV shot of a snow plow in Saint Cloud, MN
Clip 9 POV shot driving past a car in the ditch on Interstate 94
Clip 10 – 11 Red car in the ditch.
Clip 12 – 13 Cars spinning their wheels on the ice covered roads. 
Clip 14  Flags blowing in the strong winds
Clip 15 – 25 Footage shot outside of the Best Buy store in Maple Grove, MN of people camping out in the snow and trying to stay warm in tents while in line for Black Friday deals.

A strong geomagnetic storm is underway this morning from a pair of CME’s that left the sun over the weekend and have hit the upper atmosphere of the planet.

Footage is from western Minnesota just north of the town of Wheaton, MN which was on the edge of the cloud that covered the Midwest.

24P Time lapse footage shows the northern lights dancing in the sky.

While the severe storms in the southern plains did not live up to the hype, a A G1-class geomagnetic storm did hit the earth Saturday and triggered the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.

The Auroras were visible in northern Minnesota over Leech Lake.

Raw footage at the scene of a house fire where all the occupants were reported to have escaped unharmed.
The fire was located on the 800 block of 16th Avenue South in Saint Cloud, MN.

B-Roll footage of the Mississippi River in at extremely low levels in Saint Cloud, MN.  Filmed on 10/9/2012

Footage shot from the middle of the Mississippi River on the dry river bed as extremely dry conditions in the upper Mississippi River Valley expose areas that are normally under several feet of water.

Catalog ID: 10092012_DK1
Total Run Time: 02;47;25

A coronal mass ejection (CME) blew off the sun this past weekend and created a geomagnetic storm that is currently in progress as this morning as the Earth passes through the wake of a CME that arrived on yesterday, October 8th.

This time-lapse video was shot in Central Minnesota just northeast of Saint Cloud, MN,  where the high clouds were no match for the bright Northern Lights.

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Yes, can you tell I have been busy?  I’ll try and get the next few weeks up stuff updated a lot sooner than in six months from now. 

I know it has been a few weeks since I have updated my personal website but I have been keeping busy with work and in the planning stages of updating and upgrading this site to make it easier for me to stay on top of the updates.

So today on my way to the office, I had the urge to go explore and look for some new locations and new material.  What I found just made me say what the heck where they thinking?  I was looking for something interesting with the sun being out and it was just before sunset with that nice golden light that all photographers love to work with. 

The open water is an area that flows under Highway 10 on Little Rock Lake where it starts to flow into the Mississippi River just south of the town of Rice. 

I was out playing around in the cold this morning. 

With the start of the next arctic blast to the upper Midwest, the temps have started to drop well below zero.  Shot in Saint Cloud, MN which is the far northwest suburb of the Twin Cities metro area, the temperatures have dropped rapidly after midnight to the double digit below zero range.

B-Roll package includes time lapse of a breakfast of Steak, Bacon and Eggs freezing solid in under 9 minutes along with clips of signs showing the current temp at -12F.

Clip 1 Standup shot in front of the camera explaining the setup of the time-lapse shot to document freezing the food.

Clip 2, Setting up the food to be frozen and time-lapse of 9 minutes to show the food freezing.

Clip 3 Standup shot explaining the freezing of the food and if you have to be out today that you need to dress warm.

Clip 4 Sign showing it is -12F below

Clip 5 Sign showing that the temp is -12F below zero.

Clip 6 Large flag at 25th and Division blowing in the wind.

Clip 7 Traffic on Division

Clip 8 People walking in downtown Saint Cloud looking cold.

Clip 9 Two women walking in the cold and not dressed for the temps and they are freezing.

Hey, did you miss me?  It’s been a while since I updated my webpage but that is because I have been pretty busy working on and finishing up my company website http://www.StormChasingVideo.com  Yes it is finally done and I now have free time to get out and shoot new content and live life again.

The evening rush hour became the slush hour as lite snow fell across the Twin Cities metro area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN. This video was mainly shot in the city of Bloomington, MN about a mile away from the Mall of America on Old Shakopee Road as drivers found that the slushy wet snow that was falling had turned the road into a slick mess of ice that made driving on it very dangerous. Total Run Time: 3:15

Clip 1 A white SUV wagon tries to take the corner but ends up hitting the curb on the other side of the road.

Clip 2 A driver loses control after and slides across the road as another car is driving towards him. The first car tries to speed up and you can hear the engine rev up but all he ends up doing is smashing into a telephone / street light post. The second car he was trying to avoid ends up hitting the first car.  Funny note, the guy that hit the pole, lights up a smoke right after the car crash.  All parties were ok but declined to talk to the camera.

Clip 3 Traffic with snow on slick roads

Clip 4 Police arrive at the crash scene.

Clip 5 Shot of the traffic in the heavy snow coming towards the camera

Clip 6 White SUV almost spins out of control while trying to turn left onto Old Shakopee Road.

Clip 7 Cars trying to make a turn but slide a little before being able to turn.

Clip 8 Mini Van tries to make the turn but starts to slide towards the camera before making the decision to not hit the cameraman or any other cars.

Clip 9 Another Mini Van slides to a stop before hitting the cameraman or other cars and was able to make the right turn.

Clip 10 Point of View tight shot of traffic on the interstate that was backed up.

Clip 11 – 13 Snow plows on the interstate

Hey folks,

Yes I know that I have been missing on line on my personal website for month’s but the webpage update that I have been talking about for what seems like year’s, is finally finished. 

I have finally completed the update and upgrade to the StormChasingVideo.com webpage.  Now we have just under two thousand stock footage catalogs on line and no more worrying about clients dealing with FLV format issues. 

I won’t bore you with the details about what it took to get this update finally finished after a couple of years, but the bottom line is now I’m free to get back out in the field to chase storms next spring.

But that is not the best part about the whole update and upgrade.  The part that I’m so proud of is that I never have to send out a demo video ever again to anyone because everything is on line.   That is right, on top of the major move of the couple thousand video catalogs that I had to review, encode and upload to Youtube, I also placed all the time-coded master uploads on line for clients to download.  This makes it possible that if a client see’s a video on StormChasingVideo.com that they might want for their production, they can download the time coded and water marked high quality screener to put into their editor to work on as soon as they download it. 

With so many video catalogs for clients to pick from and having everything on line so they can get a demo screener, my dream of having a one stop shop of high quality video is now a reality at http://www.StormChasingVideo.com

What is next?  Next for me is to get caught up with paperwork and get back out into the field to shoot some more great footage and also spend time with the newer crews to get out and train them in person with new ideas. 

Also we are upgrading our streaming service for next years storm chasing.  Yes, the rumor’s are true, we have HD Streaming if we need to do HD Streaming just like a virtual satellite truck.

It feel’s good to be caught up with the work.  Now I just need to get back to working on this site with new images and updates.

Below are a few of the new images of the Auroras that I shot a few weeks ago.