June 24, 2014

Statistics

Initial Target

Start

End

Storm Intercepts

Tornadoes

Hail

Wind

Features

Miles

Fort Collins, CO

6 miles NNE of Westminster, CO 1:00 PM 6/24/2014

Laramie, WY 9:00 PM 6/24/2014

Wellington, CO Laramie, WY

0 mph

Rainbow, Anvil, Mammatus

176

Summary

Upslope play in CO/WY. Targeted north central CO after visit to Colorado State meteorology department. Upslope convection faltered so headed up to Laramie for the night noting large storms to south with rainbows, convection and mammatus studded anvil.

Crew and Equipment

Chase partners: COD Trip 5. Equipment: Canon 60D, Canon t2i, Canon EFS 10-22, Canon EF 50mm, Sony HDR-xr500v..

Video

Map

Details

My fifth day out as a driver for the College of Dupage Trip 5 thunderstorm lab, and it looked like we'd have another shot at some upslope supercells in the Colorado high plains. We started our day in Westminster, CO, heading up to the Fort Collins area.

We were invited to a tour and weather briefing at the Colorado State University meteorology department. We got to see some high resolution weather data and get the latest thinking for the upslope play. We had time to kill so we had a leisurely lunch in Fort Collins where I was even able to score at a fancy vegan plate of "fried chicken" and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Upslope Storm
2 miles NNE of Wellington, CO
4:46 PM

Storms were firing on the front range so we moved in for the intercept. Near Wellington we had a view of a tall tower and rain free base and we stopped to let the storm approach. The shear parameters and flow aloft looked a little too weak to support sustained updrafts moving off the front range, however. Storms soon collapsed with a big cold pool.

Rainbow
5 miles ESE of Laramie, WY
9:38 PM

We called it a chase and headed up to Laramie, WY for a dinner and rooms. Upon our arrival some more upslope storms had fired nearby. After checking into our rooms, we had an amazing view of the sky right outside a room. A brillaint rainbow stretched across the eastern sky.

Patriotic Scene
5 miles ESE of Laramie, WY
7:43 PM

Convection, America, Rainbow.

A thunderstorm exploded to the south, filling the sky with a brilliant sunlit anvil studded with mammatus. We watched it from the room before heading across the street for some local Mexican grub.

Conclusion

This was another great day out with COD, and although we busted in terms of getting underneath a significant supercell, the play was modest and we still made the most of it, with photogenic storms. The visit to Colorado State was informative and fit perfectly with our group.

Lessons Learned

Have your camera ready even when you're in your hotel room after the chase.

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