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.
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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.