8/21/07 REPORTS: SD / NE / IA

[kenny_allen]

Here are some photos that Kenny Allen caught with a the tiny 1.3 megapixel camera on his MotoQ this evening in Minnehaha County, SD. (I did not have any other cameras with me tonight!) I relaxed in a corn field and watched these beautiful clouds roll by while Kory Hartman was getting hailed on in South Central SD and NE.Kenny sat this chase out, but Kory did get to see some nice supercells. We hope you enjoy these.

Complete chase report, photos, and videos from both Kenny and Kory in the next few days. Thanks!

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Should have chased the SD storm I guess! Could have easy enough since I watched it initiate from O'Neill. All the towers between it and the stuff firing at O'Neill made me think it'd all hook up quickly and it'd be best to be on whatever could latch and turn south. The storm right at O'Neill and the next one to its sw were both beasty updrafts and much lower based than the day before. They finally looked like storms using all that extreme instability, instead of high based crappers. It's just too bad either of them couldn't have been left alone for another 30 minutes or more.

I need to hurry this to sleep for tomorrow's chase. Best view of the day came again with the mammatus show. I had to detour myself about an hour to see what it looked like, but I knew it had to be sweet given the convective intensity and the fact it all hadn't moved that much.

These were shot about 35 miles north of Neligh NE.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Went out last night when the warnings were issued again for storms in Southern MN. Thinking that I might be able to get into position for somemore mud slides and flooding, I targeted the Rushford MN area to Albert Lea.

The sky was insane with the orange peach like colors as the sun was setting just like in Mikes photos. But when the rain hit, it was insane with the total white out from the wind and the rain. I got out in front of the line west of 52 just north of the Iowa and Minnesota boarder and tried to get some lightning in front of the system and it was impossible. I actually watch a radio tower get over taken by the gust front and become lost in the clouds. I knew then that it was going to be a hold on for the ride event on higher ground.

I made it over to the area east of 52 and west of Peterson and Rushford and thats when I had to pull over. I could not see more then a few feet in front of the truck.

One thing that is interesting to note. Near the Rushford MN Airport, the GPS said I was at 1300+ feet above sea level. But when I drove down to the National Guard check point to ask if the rain was causing anymore flooding in the town, it was less just over 750 feet above sea level. That was within a few miles.

Here is the video I posted to Youtube of the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgyOv2cohn0

 

[Kory Hartman]

Did not leave work early enough to get to southern SD before initiation. Saw the cell near Lake Andes when I was still over an hour away. Then got caught in Farm Fest traffic and a one-lane pilot-car construction zone.

Thought about punching the core, until I heard crazy hail reports on the radio (over softball size).

Took a round-about way to get south of the storm and managed to intercept near Crofton, NE. Had crazy rotation everywhere and a massive lowering just south of Yankton, SD.

The best mammatus I've ever seen filled the sky near sunset.

Video and blog at
www.severestudios.com

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

http://www.extremeinstability.com/07-8-21.htm