Spring Thunderstorm at White Deer Lake

This was recorded on a spring day in the forest near White Deer Lake, a seasonal lake in Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

The lake is large and shallow when full, but only lasts a couple months in spring before drying up entirely. It’s surrounded by coniferous forest of Ponderosa Pine, Lodgepole Pine, and White Fir. At the time I made this recording there were only a few small pools of water left.
I arrived late in the morning and the sky was blue and sunny above, but clouds were beginning to build all around. I set up the microphone in the forest not far from the lake under a dense bunch of young White Fir trees which provided shelter from rain and wind when the storms eventually passed overhead. The clouds continued to build until the first rumbles of thunder were heard in the distance. The chirping calls of Mountain Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos are heard along with other birds, and frogs can be heard in the distance in the remaining pools of the fast drying lake. As the storms moved closer, gentle rain began to fall and a light breeze blew through the trees above. The thunder became increasingly loud and powerful until it passed directly overhead.