Storm Chase Details
Chase Date: May 9, 2011
Miles Logged: 503
States Chased: SD, NE
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks
Chase Recap:
Pre-Chase
After a bust the previous day, we were pretty confident in our target of Murdo, SD and didn’t think we’d have to meander much from where we woke up that morning. This gave us time in the morning to introduce Jari to the TVN guys and get a power cord for my laptop.
We eventually went to “The Diner” in Murdo and had lunch, then screwed off most of the afternoon at the gas stations in Murdo in their parking lots. Almost every chaser out came by at one point in the day or another.
Convective Initation
Eventually storms fired to our west (way west) but we didn’t want to go after the bait. We just kept thinking some phantom storm would fire.
As sundown neared, we decided to go after what we could and headed west down I-90. Of course, just as we did that, a storm started firing to our north. We got baited up after it, only to have it turn into nothing. Back on the road west, we headed towards Rapid City, then south towards Chadron, NE.
Is it cold in here or just me?
Tornado warnings and reports of tornadoes were coming out of the storms, which we reached around the time it became completely dark. Jari tried his darnedest to get lightning shots, but it wasn’t to be. The temperature outside was in the upper 40’s to low 50’s and the wind was blowing like crazy. I was freezing.
We eventually gave up well after sunset and booked rooms in North Platte, NE. We got to North Platte around 3 am and after a late night run to Perkins, were asleep by 430.
No rush, as the next day was seemingly becoming a positioning day for Wednesday, which seemed to be a big day coming up.