"I felt like I was on ... Mars"
Albany-based photographer Tim Basten captured a stunning image of a storm brewing above Lake Parkeyering while travelling home from a work trip in Narrogin on January 5.
The colours in the sky led Basten to pull over on the Great Southern Highway south of Wagin to shoot the storm unfolding above the salt lake.
The intrepid photographer captured each shot with his Canon 7D camera attached to a 1022mm lens and tripod.
He said standing on the salt lake with storm clouds brewing around him felt surreal.
“I’ve never seen so many colours like that before, I felt like I was on another planet, like Mars,” he said.
Basten, who specialises in weather photography, said he enjoyed the subject because of the energy Mother Nature can portray.
“Australia is a very flat and empty place in some areas, but lightning and thunderstorms seem to bring out the beauty in the country,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has pinpointed Wagin as the location for the Great Southern’s hottest day of 2014, where the mercury hit a scorching 44C on January 12, breaking the December 26, 2007, record of 43.7C.
Katanning’s hottest day was also on January 12, recording a top of 43.6C, while the lowest daily temperature was recorded on July 31 at 10.8C.
Katanning’s highest rainfall came on August 30, when the town received 35.2mm.
According to the bureau, in the three months from January to March, the Katanning area has an 85 per cent chance of at least 10mm of rain. Katanning can expect also a median maximum temperature of 28.5C and minimum of 13.4C.
