June 26, 2014

Statistics

Initial Target

Start

End

Storm Intercepts

Tornadoes

Hail

Wind

Features

Miles

Buffalo, WY

Spearfish, SD 10:00 AM 6/26/2014

Ogallala, NE 9:00 PM 6/26/2014

Buffalo, WY

0 mph

Updraft Base

582

Summary

Upslope day in eastern WY. Storms failed to materialize beyond towering cumulus. Hopeful for spouts under updraft bases but non spotted. Watched lightning from MCS at hotel in Ogallala, NE

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

June 26 was my seventh day driving for the College of Dupage Trip 5 thunderstorm lab. We hoped to catch some upslope supercells and maybe a tornado or spout of storms coming off the Big Horns in northern Wyoming. I was hoping we'd made make it into Montana as well, as I'd never been to that chase. We headed west down I-90 out of Spearfish, SD where we had spent the night.

The Big Horn mountains:

It was a majestic site. I couldn't help but think that seeing snow on a chase was a bad thing, even if it was stuck on the top of a mountain.

Coming into Buffalo, WY, we had some upslope cells starting to come off the foothills. A bolt of cloud to ground lightning struck near the vans, coming out of a tiny cell. The storms weren't quite chaseable so we headed into Buffalo to grab some lunch at a highlighly recommend BBQ joint, "Up In Smoke". The town was super scenic, with a panoramic view of the mountains. We sampled some local beers and I even scored a veggie burger, before we departed to get back on the chase.

Updraft Base
Buffalo, WY
3:03 PM

Storms were popping off the upslope all the way down Wyoming into Colorado, but they were small and multicellular. We decided to head south down I-25 to see if any of them would mature, while also making for a more robust target for the following day's chase. Montana would have to wait another year. Along the way we had some new convection springing up off the slopes. It looked deep enough, and the updraft bases healthy for us to maybe catch a landspout. We scanned the horizons for tubes of dust underneath but didn't spot any.

Clear Slot Wannabe
16 miles SE of Kaycee, WY
4:11 PM

Storms failed to amount to much. The shear and instability combos were just too modest to support supercells. We had an interesting cut or gap ine one of the updraft bases that looked a lot like a rear flanking downdraft clear slot, however.

We stopped for the night in Ogallala after grabbing some dinner in Scottsbluff, NE along the way. A developing MCS caught up with us just as we were unloading the vans at the hotel, and a few of us got wet getting our stuff in the room. Later on we gathered outside to watch the lightning show, and the electrical fireworks did not disappoint.

Conclusion

A bust, but a gorgeous drive through Wyoming and trip to the Big Horns. Hanging out at the hotel, watching lightning with the group was the highlight of the day.

Lessons Learned

Buffalo, WY is a great place to hang out if you're chasing the Big Horns.
Stay up for the MCS lightning show.

Follow On The Web!

Storm Chasers Giving Back!