A dissipating supercell at sunset providing an amazing reflection outside Imperial, NE
On June 1st, I ventured out to chase yet again. Early on, I headed to Ogallala, NE and spent most of the early afternoon looking at data. The models didn't have a good handle on things most of the day because of ongoing convection along a warm front. This took the best potential for supercells along an outflow boundary that raced into Kansas. Skies cleared around noon and I decided I would have to drop into Kansas or risk seeing nothing of consequence in Nebraska. By early afternoon, the cap had already eroded in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. This area featured 2,000J/kg of CAPE, 0-6km shear at 40kts, and a moist boundary-layer with dew points near 60°F. I ventured south realizing I should have jumped the gun and headed south far sooner since I was already missing out on some supercells. I headed south on NE Rt. 61 where it intersected U.S. 36 in northern Kansas. I could tell I needed to keep going south as some bubbling towers were building near Goodland, KS. I continued south sitting just outside of town along KS Rt. 27 snapping some photos of a "left-split" that provided some picturesque mammatus. After that storm lost its vigor I found a new high-based supercell initiating west of Goodland, KS near Burlington, CO. I sat once again and after photographing this storm for about a hour it to dissolved. Frustrated with the day up to this point I noticed a supercell in far western Nebraska pushing southeast. I could just make out a rock-hard tower to my northwest and decided well I've got nothing to lose at this point and drove back north into Nebraska on NE Rt. 61. I would end up catching this supercell outside Imperial, NE just about a hour and half before sunset. It provided me with a couple hours of spectacular photogenic skies which I was quite pleased with after a frustrating chase day being out of position most of the day. Mother Nature made it up to me though with an excellent showcase at sunset! Once the sun set I checked into a Best Western in Ogallala, NE and roomed there for the night. I've added photos from this chase day below:
A "left-split" near Goodland, KS
Some very nice mammatus hovering over the Kansas landscape!
Another shot!
High-based supercell tracking along I-70...
The base quickly dissolves unfortunately on this storm as well!
Supercell near Imperial, NE near sunset!
A double rainbow as the supercell begins to dissipate with the setting sun casting my "picture-taking" silhouette!
"If you wanna see the rainbow, you got sit through a little rain"
"Between the raindrops"
A breath-taking sky!
A fence and mammatus!
"The road I'm on"
Another amazing view!
Closer view of the mammatus clouds overhead...
A lot going on here...rainbow, mammatus, and a reflection!
"A photographer's paradise"
Some of the coolest mammatus clouds from a storm's anvil I've seen to-date!
Another epic shot!
It was tricky to set up shots with the changing light at sunset, but I sure snapped some pleasing shots!
Another favorite! "Looking back at a departing storm"
"A storm's mirror image"
"A storm's reflection"
My last one at sunset!
It was quite an evening of photography and you really had to take in the dramatic skies while snapping photo after photo since the sky was simply beautiful! June 2nd was a down day with no storms in the forecast so I decided to do some sight-seeing in western Nebraska. I'll post some photos from my down day at a later date.
