Sidney, NE along the WY/NE border...
On June 07, I woke up in Sidney, NE after rooming at a Holiday Inn. Yes, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night in this case! It appeared on this chase day that storms would fire along the Colorado Front Range and just east of the Laramie Mountains in Wyoming. While most headed southwest into Colorado once again I hung out in Sidney, NE most of the day as I was contemplating playing the northern target and not get suckered into Colorado. This time I made the right call, but storms fired even farther north than I originally anticipated along I-25 in Wyoming northwest of Wheatland, WY. I began to head west during the mid-afternoon so I could intercept some developing severe thunderstorms. This area along the NE/WY border was characterized by 2,000J/kg of CAPE, 0-6km shear at 40kts, a supercell composite at (8), and a moistening boundary-layer with dew points near 60°F. A tornado-warned supercell was already ongoing heading into Wheatland, WY with confirmed tornadoes, but I was already a tad too far behind to catch up to this tornadic supercell. So I decided to hope something would develop farther to the southeast and be in a decent position if storms indeed fired. That they did as convection began to build in western Nebraska along I-80 around 5:00pm. These storms had some supercell characteristics and I shot some video along with some photos as well south of Kimball, NE along NE Rt. 71. Overall, though they turned into a rather big "blob" of convection. After being slightly annoyed by the chase day overall and with darkness approaching I decided to start heading east along I-80 to eventually call it a night at a Best Western in Kearney, NE. I got some much needed sleep in hopes of getting out the door early the next day to begin heading back to Illinois to wrap up my two-week vacation. I've added photos and some time-lapse video from this chase day below:
Nice mid-level rotation on this developing supercell!
Spin, baby, spin!
You usually made the right forecast if you see this pass by...
More convection developing...
An interesting updraft trying to mature...
More convection along I-80 in western Nebraska...
This storm would actually later become a split!
One last shot to end on as I continue to head east on I-80...
I've added a YouTube time-lapse (above)
I've added a brief GoPro video (above)
That just about wraps up this post. I ended up making it to Kearney, NE around 10:00pm on this evening and roomed at a Best Western knowing I'd have quite a long drive back to Illinois the next morning as I would close-out my two-week vacation a tad early due to the lack of severe weather in the forecast. Plus, I wasn't planning on chasing in Canada anytime soon during the weekend. Overall, it was a fun two-weeks that left me with several great photos and I was able to visit destinations I have always wanted to see along my storm chasing travels. 2012 has been a tough season for tornadoes. This may be the first year that Mother Nature will leave me empty-handed when it comes to tornadoes after seeing the most in one year I have ever seen last year (4). Oh well, I've seen some great storms though and that's why you storm chase for the thrill, the experience, and to observe Mother Nature's beauty. I'll still chase locally this summer when I can of course. Stay tuned for future posts.
