Today consisted of a good bit of driving across the heart of the
Great Plains. We left Branched Oak sometime around
9:30 AM and headed off north and west across the Sandhills of Nebraska. Our target was southwest
South Dakota. We were hoping that the
Black Hills would induce enough orographic lift for some convection. A bit of high-based convection did develop near Pine Ridge, but even composite reflectivity data had a hard time resolving this “shower.”
Despite a bit of moisture pooling between
Rapid City and Pierre (Tds near 60), the cap proved to be too much to overcome.
We did end up visiting Badlands National Park during the late afternoon while we kept an eye on the towering cu to the south. As always, the Park did not disappoint. After harassing a few prairie dogs, we visited Wall, SD; a collection of horrible souvenir shops, cheap motels, and a few meth heads. As an example for my Southern brethren, think in terms of a smaller, Great Plains version of Gatlinburg, TN.
We ended the night in Rapid City, SD, where we met up with a (removed b/c of crybaby culture that permeates our society) alumnus (removed) who works for one of the local TV stations. We had buffalo burgers and beers at the local brew house and eventually retired to the Days Inn.
Saturday looks like a “tourist activity” day … maybe we can get a bit of evening lightning as t-storms come off of the Big Horns. We hold out hope that Sunday in Montana will “save” this “storm chase” trip.
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