May 28, 2006 Storm Chase
Today our target was central South Dakota. SPC had a 5% tornado risk. The models were showing a triple point low in North Dakota, and a dryline running from Nebraska to west Texas. CAPES were at around 5000 J/kg, with a lifted index of -8. The winds were also showing a promising setup, with the cold air coming from the northwest and the warm moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. The NAM was also showing a moisture pocket and low CIHN over our target. Now it is us versus the cap.
We had dinner in Sioux Falls at a Subway. The cap still held pretty strong. And boy was it ever hot and windy. Ron and I checked out the models and decided to go west a bit further and wait for the cap to break because there was still a few daylight hours left.
Or… maybe not. The cap left us high and dry today unfortunately. We continued west and the cold front went through central South Dakota around 7pm. The cold front hardly generated any cumulus. We ended up in a town called Chamberlain. Nice scenic view of the river, but we only had to drive 10 mph. 10 mph for Pete’s sakes. Locals wave at us. Are we in a damn parade now? So we pulled into a motel to find wifi but found nothing. I said to Ron “There is no such thing as high speed in this town.”. Well so much for that. We decided to call it a day and head back to Sioux Falls to stay for the night to prepare for tomorrow’s potential. Noticed some ACCAS along the cold front on the way back. Oh yeah, and only in South Dakota can you find two young guys with a dead dear in the back of their car.
