kevin-palmer
EF2
Choosing a target was difficult this day, but I ended up sticking with my original plan of Miles City, Montana. I knew the main storm of the day would be an MCS, but figured something interesting could happen on the outflow boundary left over from morning convection. As I drove I could clearly see the boundary in the sky above me, as well as plenty of vorticity in the cumulus clouds. The best moisture and instability was found here, so I felt good about where I was. But while the MCS formed to the west around Billings, further east the cap took forever to break.
Finally after 5pm an isolated storm cell popped up just east of Miles City. It slowly became organized and hardly moved at all. I was glad I stopped where I did since accumulating 2.5" hail was reported at the next exit on I-94.
Organizing Supercell by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
I made my way to the Yellowstone River where I could keep an eye on the supercell to my east as well as wait for the approaching MCS from the west. The supercell developed a well-defined wall cloud, and still the storm was stationary.
Kinsey Supercell by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
It was interesting to see both a wall cloud and a shelf cloud at the same time. An old, worn out, single-lane bridge provided a backdrop as the gust front rolled through.
Yellowstone River Shelf by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
The shelf cloud and the wall cloud combined as the storms merged together. The strong winds picked up lots of dust as I took a few final shots before the rain started. I can't help wondering what would have happened if the meso had just a little more time.
Overtaken by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
Afterwards I hung around a nearby lake hoping for a bit of color at sunset. But I wasn't expecting this. The full rainbow was visible for 15 minutes. It was a good day for time lapsing.
Reflected Rainbow by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
Finally after 5pm an isolated storm cell popped up just east of Miles City. It slowly became organized and hardly moved at all. I was glad I stopped where I did since accumulating 2.5" hail was reported at the next exit on I-94.
Organizing Supercell by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
I made my way to the Yellowstone River where I could keep an eye on the supercell to my east as well as wait for the approaching MCS from the west. The supercell developed a well-defined wall cloud, and still the storm was stationary.
Kinsey Supercell by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
It was interesting to see both a wall cloud and a shelf cloud at the same time. An old, worn out, single-lane bridge provided a backdrop as the gust front rolled through.
Yellowstone River Shelf by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
The shelf cloud and the wall cloud combined as the storms merged together. The strong winds picked up lots of dust as I took a few final shots before the rain started. I can't help wondering what would have happened if the meso had just a little more time.
Overtaken by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
Afterwards I hung around a nearby lake hoping for a bit of color at sunset. But I wasn't expecting this. The full rainbow was visible for 15 minutes. It was a good day for time lapsing.
Reflected Rainbow by Kevin Palmer, on Flickr
