Pete pretty much got it all, we intercepted the storms intiating N of Highmore, SD. It was never in doubt that high bases (LCLS >2400m) were going to be the name of the game. The first cell we witnessed had little in the way of rain (most likely being evaporated as it came down) but it had a near constant rumble of thunder. Over the next hour the whole line geared up and started dropping copious amounts of rain and quite impressive lightning. One such bolt hit in the field next to us and flashed 5-6 times. Few of the cells exhibited the forecasted storm motion with most of them moving NE and some of them moving any direction. Even some cells who were stationairy (Flash Flood warning was issued for one we were one due to the lack of movement and strong downpour).
As we were heading north on a dirt road some guy didn't think we were going fast enough and decided to pass me, as he was doing this (slowly passing) I saw a deer making a mad dash across the road and hit the brakes. The deer appeared to jump as it meet the front bumper of my car sending it about 10 feet into the air, landing on the ground and scurrying away apparently unscathed. It's not to often that a deer and a car have an encounter like this and both come away fine. Well after that we went south to intercept a new line of storms forming. We interepted a high-based but active storm near Gettysburg, SD. The combination of the intense lightning, the sunsetting and the winds/high rain curtains. made it my favorite cell of the day. Glad your first impression of South Dakota wasn't a negative one Pete!
