2008.05.25
Day 14: The little storm that wouldn't
NEWTON, Iowa -- Not much to write about today. We traveled to central Nebraska, where storms were expected to fire along the dryline. A few weak storms shot up to our north, racing away fast, and they weren't worth going after. We found one lone little cell all to itself south of Grand Rapids, a pretty little towering cumulus cloud trying its best to morph into a low-precipitation supercell. But some things were missing today -- moisture, swept away by a big mass of storms that moved across the Plains overnight Friday and early Saturday, and instability. The "cap," a warm layer of air aloft that inhibits convection, never did blast open like it easily did in Kansas the last two days. It didn't feel stormy to Dave Carroll and me as we stepped out of the vans in Grand Island, Neb. -- it was too cool and dry, not warm and sticky. Our little cell tried hard, but eventually poofed out near Grand Island.
Meanwhile, things went ballistic in Oklahoma.
We got in after midnight in central Iowa. There may be one last shot at storms on Sunday in or near eastern Iowa, but it's looking like there's a good chance that the meat of this chase trip is past. With all the long days and late nights, we really haven't had much of a chance to cycle through all the images and video we've taken, not to mention our individual thoughts and feelings about what we've seen and experienced. It will be a while to sort through this very intense chase trip.
Follow Kevin's progress on this map.
The most recent video from Storm Chase 2008 was posted May 23. It shows a tornado near WaKeeney, Kansas.
For more on Storm Chase 2008, click here.
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We were north of you guys and it was hot and humid, but our storms didn't do much better. Tried to spend the night in our old Comfort Inn (or Days Inn) in Vermillion, SD. We got to our room and it was already occupied... ended up at a stupid 8.
Comment by Seth Price — May 25, 2008 @ 9:59 am
Assuming you all are still in IA and haven't gone too far east, there's a system popping up in East Kansas/NW Missouri. We have tornado watch until 4am. Depending on temps tomorrow and humidity, you may see another line coming through along the I35 corridor.
Friday night/Saturday am's system was pretty wild -- no tornado watch/warning here in KC, but it was loud and bright!
Be safe and hope you see a few more before your trip is over!
Comment by lauragayle — May 25, 2008 @ 10:45 pm
PS-hope you stopped and ate at the Culver's in Newton, IA. Love Culver's -- the butter burgers, the fried cheese curds and the frozen custard. Yum!
Comment by lauragayle — May 25, 2008 @ 10:46 pm