If you have never done it before you should.  For those of us that call the central coast home it doesn’t happen very often which makes it even more of a treat.  This past weekend we were treated to one of the greatest light shows you will ever see.  The tricky part is knowing when and where to watch it.  I have a good friend that loves lightning like a fat kid loves cake.  I heard rain drops falling on Saturday and rushed outside to cover my Bronco.  I happen to take the top off earlier this month because there was no way it would rain and of course here comes the remains of a hurricane.  Go figure.  Anyway, the rain drops that were falling where big fat ones and the air was hot and humid.  As I attached the last bungee cord I saw a flash in the clouds to the south.  I smiled and knew George would be texting me soon.  As I walked through my front door I heard my phone go off.  Sure enough, it was George.  He asked If I was down to go storm chasing and I answered, “Of course.”  He was watching weather patterns and radar images to see when we should head out.  It so hard to predict an electrical storm!  The elements have to be just right and they can vanish just as fast as they start.  The weather forecast said the main part of the storm cell should arrive here around 4 am.  He called at midnight and said it was time to roll. With our cell phones,  portable chargers and a GoPro we set out to see what we could find.  The lightning had started but it was to the north and we were trying to decide which was the best direction to follow it.

We decided to head toward Los Osos following the flashes over the hills.  We were able to see the first few actual lightning bolts a little past 1 am on Los Osos Valley Road.  It looked like the most active storm cell was already moving north so we cut across to Morro Bay hoping it would stay close to the coast.  It continued to move quickly and we followed all the way past Cayucos where we were able to get in the middle of a few active groups of clouds.  We got out and watched in amazement as lightning flashed all around us; all the while trying to capture it with our cameras.  The funny thing about trying to film lightning is you never really know when or where it will strike.  We put a few different cameras up and just hoped for the best.  As that storm front began to move we planned to cut across on the 46 to Paso Robles and see what happened from there.  It turns out we struck gold and got to witness one of the greatest displays of lightning we have ever seen on the central coast.  You can follow our adventures on The Workshop’s twitter feed.  We had a blast sharing the sights and sounds and received a few favorites and retweets as well.  We got home about 6 am and were totally useless all day.  I don’t think I fully recovered from the lack of sleep till Tuesday morning but it was well worth it.  So, the next time a lightning storm rolls through and you decide to chase it keep a look out.  You’ll find us right in the middle of it.