6/12-14/2007 More Multicells and Time To Throw in the Towel

We started the day in Rapid City and headed up to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse for a bit of site seeing. We grabbed some data in Custer, SD and quickly decided to head east out of the Black Hills in order to view the developing convection near Murdo, SD. Despite the issuance of a tornado watch for much of NE and SD, the conditions didn’t look favorable for anything other than multicellular convection with perhaps a “hint” of midlevel rotation. After a bit of traveling, which included traversing quite a bit of the Black Hills … slowly, we eventually arrived in Murdo. We got ahead of the line of multicells just in time for a picturesque photo or two.


After this convection appeared to “gust out,” I made the decision to head south toward Nebraska as convection looked a bit better in that area. This long drive put us ahead of what I can only characterize as deep, tropic convection in Custer County. The thunderstorms produced extremely heavy rains and made driving faster than 5 mph or so difficult. At the minimum, it was good to see extremely low cloud bases again. We eventually found ourselves in North Platte where we ended the day at the Comfort Inn.

On Wednesday, I decided not to chase the marginal setup in Oklahoma. Instead, my brother and I visited Rocky Mountain National Park and ended the day at the Holiday Inn on Lake Dillon in Frisco, Summit County, CO. I was quite amazed at just how bad the pine beetle infestation had become since my visit to this same area last year. Entire pine forests will be wiped out because of the beetle. Eventually new growth will takeover, but it will be a bit unsightly for perhaps 15-20 years?

On Thursday, I dropped my brother at the Denver airport and then proceeded to drive to Des Moines, IA. Made it home to DeKalb on Friday. This concludes my formal storm chasing this year, although I’m sure I will do plenty of spot chases to IA or within IL if the pattern cooperates.

6/11/2007 Another Bust

Today’s target was the area near the border of SD, ND, and MT. We headed up toward Buffalo, SD only to be disappointed with a lack of convective initiation, despite a surface low and cold front in the area. We did meet up with Steve and stared at data for a good hour or two hoping our fortunes would turn. While waiting, we did have the unfortunate opportunity to meet a weird, old man from South Dakota. He was very intent on making fun of anybody from Nebraska (Steve’s plates are Nebraskan) and he eventually proceeded to go on a tirade about how Ukrainians, Irish, and Indians clashed in the area. This tirade was complete with German, Russian, and what had to be a couple other languages spoken. He made several comments about how all "us young people" think we know everything because we have laptops, etc. All I could do was stare at his shoes and say “yep .. uhh huhh … okay … yep … really … wow, that is interesting … yep … no I didn’t understand what you just said in Russian … yep … really … okay” To put it simply … it was a very uncomfortable situation. Ugh!

Anyway, I did get to visit an area of SD I’ve never traversed. The area had wide open landscapes with several volcanic buttes, which made for some beautiful scenery. We eventually headed back to Rapid City where we grabbed a room at the Days Inn (third time I’ve stayed here this year) and took in a blues band, some dinner, and a couple beers at the Firehouse Brewery. Tourist season has hit the Black Hills and most hotels are sold out, so I’m glad we were able to find something.

Storm tries to fire over extreme southest MT. This persistent area of convection kept leaving behind orphaned anvils.

Bear Butte just north of Sturgis, SD.

6/10/2007 Severe Convection along the South Dakota-Nebraska Border

I picked my brother up at the Denver airport around 11 AM with a target for later that day near Valentine, NE. I was not expecting too much on this day because shear was rather minimal. As we neared our target of Valentine, convection was developing off to the west. We got into a bit of small hail long US-83 just into South Dakota as these high-based storms moved into the instability axis and got their act together. We rerouted around the storm and headed to north to Mission, east to Winner, and then southward on 183 near Springview, NE. This ended up being a great decision as we were treated with a beautiful (nonsupercellular) structure show east on sr-12 near Burton, NE. We stayed ahead of the “severe-warned” storm for nearly two hours and simply marveled at the cloud structures it was producing. It was a real treat for the eyes. This proves that you do not have to have a big, mean supercell producing a tornado to have a satisfying chase. We ended the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Winner, SD. Overall, considering the weak shear aloft, I was very happy with today’s results.

6/7-8/2007 Bust in Oklahoma and Visit to the Greensburg, KS Devastation

I had two choices early on Thursday … chase the high-risk area in eastern Iowa/northern Illinois where storms were forecast to move at 50 kt … or chase the slight/moderate risk in Oklahoma, which featured higher instability, somewhat weaker shear with slower forecasted storm motions, and (unfortunately) a stout cap that would lead to more isolated convection. I gambled south as I simply did not want to double-back to the northern Illinois area since I have to pick my brother up in Denver on Sunday. Well, the high risk in the Midwest was a bust … as was my hope for Oklahoma. The “cu” was close to “going” along the dryline, but the cap held strong. Busts are inevitable for all chasers and I took this one in stride. I ended up staying in OKC at the Holiday Inn, which I pricelined for $38 (the second time I’ve “won” this hotel this year). Oh yeah, I got my first speeding ticket ever in the small town of Hebron, NE. The cop pulled me over in a 65 zone … said I was going 69 in a 55. You can’t argue with a small town cop who drives a pick-up … oh well. And to think that this town provided a great backdrop for all those tornadoes Sharon and I witnessed back in 2004 … could it be payback?

On Friday I decided to meander up toward west-central Kansas in anticipation of Saturday’s meager chasing opportunity in the tristate area of KS/NE/CO [which ended up not materializing]. The highlight of the drive was stopping by Greensburg, KS … the town destroyed a little over a month ago by an EF5. I’ve witnessed the aftermath of devastating tornadoes in my past … an F4 that traversed my Dad’s farm town of White Plains, GA … an F2 that hit my parent’s home in Dunwoody, GA … a number of strong to violent tornadoes in the Dahlonega/Cleveland, GA area. These damage paths (which are unique because they traverse forested areas) are nothing compared to what this rather sizeable Kansas farm town sustained. I’ve driven through Greensburg probably tens of times over the years and I’ve even camped at the local city park during a previous chase vacation … I remember a vibrant and strong farming community that was proud of its distinction of having the largest hand-dug well in the world. Driving through this town … even a month removed from the event … was simply amazing. There was very little left of any structure … I’m in awe that there were not more fatalities. The fact that there were so few deaths I believe validates my recent research which discusses the vulnerability of the South vs. the Plains. If this tornado had traversed a similar-sized town in GA, AL, or MS, the number of fatalities would’ve been unimaginable.

After Greensburg, I headed up toward Cedar Bluff State Park to camp. The weather was perfect for camping and a few beers.

Campsite along Cedar Bluff Reservoir.

6/6/2007 Badlands Supercell with Great Structure, Funnel Clouds, and Rain-wrapped Tornado [updated]

Today was plagued with two primary problems … a stout cap and lack of good moisture in the low levels. We hoped these issues would resolve themselves as we initially targeted the north-central area of Nebraska. Steve and I arrived in Ainsworth in the early afternoon. After an hour or so at the Ainsworth town park, it was clear that the cap was going to hold along the dryline until later that evening. Thus, we started to head toward Valentine with hopes that action near the deepening surface low would provide a better opportunity. As we arrived in Valentine, radar imagery confirmed that a lone cell in southwest South Dakota had developed and was appearing to get its act together. Sure enough, the cell quickly wrapped up and produced a nice tornado. Unfortunately for us, the cell was still a good 1-1.5 hours to the northwest. We decided to haul after the storm and we eventually caught up with it near Wanblee, SD. The storm produced a number of funnels near Wanblee and had some very unique structure, to which I can only describe as a very elongated wall cloud with attendant funnel (see photo evidence below). It eventually surged north along the “wall” of the Badlands. We pursued the storm up sr-73 as it wrapped up nicely and appeared as though it was going to tornado (in fact there was a report of a rain-wrapped tornado at this point). Anyway, as we neared I-90, the cell became outflow dominant. We followed the storm for quite a while eastward on I-90. It was a unique experiencing watching tens, if not hundreds, of chasers try to stay out in front of this surging outflow as they/we all traveled eastward down I-90. I’m certain I-90 has never had this kind of traffic congestion before. We eventually gassed up at Vivian, SD … where we were slammed with the outflow. The winds were easily 60-70 mph and all sorts of stuff went flying around the gas station. I thought for a second that the aluminum shelter over the gas pumps was going to lift up and take flight. As this storm was clearly gusting out, we began the long trip back to Seward, NE. As we neared the SD/NE border at Gregory, SD, the dryline finally lit up across central Nebraska. We followed this convection after dark toward O’Neil, NE where we eventually broke off from it and headed toward Steve’s house. We arrived at 2 AM. Overall, the day did not live up to its advertised hype. But, to be honest, I was quite impressed with the “structure” show we got up in South Dakota. So, I can’t complain too much.

Storm near Wanblee, SD as it produces a funnel.

Storm wraps up as we travel up sr-73.

Just south of Kadoka, SD.

A couple views of the storm as it nears the Kadoka exit along I-90.

The TIV ahead of the line on I-90.

One last structure shot.

Update: I've since had a bit more time to take a look at my pictures and I've come across a couple interesting images taken while we were driving north on sr-73 south of Kadoka. Steve and I have discussed the images (see the two below for contrasted examples) and we both agree that the images reveal a rain-wrapped tornado. This also corresponds with the tornado report on the SPC log at 5:50 pm. The images were shot between 5:49 and 5:53 pm central. Perhaps I can examine the images in a bit more detail when I get off the road in a week or so. Anyway, interesting nonetheless.

Ehanced (contrast) images revealing a rain-wrapped tornado. Bottom image is Steve's shot.

6/5/2007 Confessions of a Bird Killer

Today was largely a “ferry” day to Seward, NE in hopes of catching Kansas, Nebraska, and/or South Dakota supercells on Wednesday. The day started out on a low note as I was no more than a few miles outside of DeKalb when I nailed a bird crossing the road. Normally doves tend to fly out of the way when a car is moving toward them at 65 mph. Not this little guy … he thought he would walk … literally walk … across the road instead of using his wings. Oh well … I hope this is not a sign of things to come.

The day was largely uneventful as it was full of Iowa hills and corn. For those that have never made the drive on I-80 through Iowa, it goes something like this … hill with corn, valley with corn, hill with corn, valley with corn, etc. Somewhere between Omaha and Des Moines it did become briefly “interesting” as two young ladies on an old country road overpassing I-80 decided to flash every westbound vehicle on the interstate. Yes, I do mean flash! They appeared to be quite enamored with the idea and were having the time of their lives. I can only imagine what the truck driver chatter was like on the CB.

A “successful” Wednesday chase is clearly contingent upon good moisture return and a manageable (i.e., breakable during the daytime) cap. We clearly need help in both departments. The shear is outrageous and if anything can get going, it should be quite the show. Tomorrow morning's surface obs should tell me whether to head northwest to the NE/SD border, west down I-80, or maybe even southwest into KS ... keep your fingers crossed that somehow the moisture will surge north in time.

Oh yeah, thanks to Steve for allowing me to crash at his place!

6/1/2007 Northwest Illinois Chase

Today's chase was somewhat unexpected ... I assumed some storms would go "severe" in Iowa, but had no inkling that the convection embedded within the line west of the Quad Cities would turn quickly supercellular in the late morning. After hearing of a tornado warning (and subsequent confirmation of a tornado) in eastern Iowa within this convection, I decided to head westbound on I-88 to catch the line as it moved across the Mississippi. As I approached the line near Erie, IL, it did show some interesting rotation and I was able to grab this vid capture ...

Video capture showing interesting lowering and a nice bolt.

The lowering did have some rotation, but I could not tell just how strong that rotation was and whether or not it was a funnel (I forgot my binoculars). Anyway, I dropped a bit further south as new notches appeared within the line every once in a while. Thanks to Gilbert for a bit of nowcasting support as I lost internet access for a while near Walnut, IL.

One of the many lowerings with weak rotation -- or "bowl-type" wall clouds -- that appeared every once in a while. These all seemed to quickly fill in with rain in a matter of 10 minutes or so as storms to the south seeded each weak meso.

Things trended toward outflow dominance and I eventually began the scenic route back to DeKalb ... pausing every once in a while to take a picture or two.

Typical view of the storms as they became outflow dominant.

Overall, not a bad day. I was reminded of just how great the IL road network is ... now, if we can just get a few storms to chase on that road network! Hopefully this chase is a sign of things to come as the pattern appears to be undergoing a change (finally!). At this point, I may have one more local chase tomorrow before heading to the Plains on Tuesday/Wednesday. I'll update if/when I decide to make the trip.