Golden Gate Photo - San Francisco Storm of September 8, 1999

Golden Gate Photo - Storm of September 8, 1999 Gallery
Fine Art Photography of the Storm of September 8, 1999 in San Francisco, California.

Following the demise of a tropical storm off the coast of Baja California, remnants of the storm drifted northward and made landfall just off the coast of Central California. The result was the biggest lightning show the Bay Area has seen in at least 15 years. More amazing still was the persistence of the storm in which cell after cell with awesome lightning passed over the area throughout the evening. It is not unusual for thunderstorms to occur this time of year in the Sierra Nevada to the east, but this storm was isolated to the coast and coastal ranges. These photos were taken from the Berkeley Hills, looking west to southwest across the bay, and from Treasure Island, looking southwest toward the Bay Bridge.

Lightning Strikes Twice: click here to check out images of the storm of September 24, 2001.

	Lightning in Perspective This photo was taken from Grizzly Peak Blvd. in the Berkeley Hills. I estimated the distance to the lightning at 15 miles, making an assessment that they're striking around Mount Sutro in the center of San Francisco. Based on the angular view from the lens I used, I calculated the visible portion of the bolts in this photo at about 3,550 feet (almost 1,100 meters) tall. Quite a bit bigger than the San Francisco skyline! Print No. A99-50-9
	Spider Lightning and the Bay Bridge Spider lightning refers to the cloud-to-cloud lightning that "crawls" horizontally along the well-defined base of the clouds, in this case, right over the Bay Bridge. It was pretty awesome to watch, especially if you were in one of those airplanes whose trail of lights are barely visible behind the bridge. Taken from Treasure Island. Print No. A99-53-2. More images of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
	Storm Lights Although no bolts are visible, the lightning (either bolts hidden in the clouds, or sheet lightning) makes its presence known as an electric blue glow above the city. Print No. A99-51-5
	Cloud-to-Ground Strikes The Berkeley Hills turned out to be a prime location for viewing the storm at this time, as the cloud-to-ground strikes pounded the San Francisco peninsula from at least 5 distinct centers. You can also see an airplane (probably taking off from Oakland) over the bay. That must have been an exciting flight. Print No. A99-50-7

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