We left Denver yesterday much later than anticipated due to unforeseen circumstances. Our fearless leader for this trip is Bill Reid, and Rob Petit is the other driver After the group orientation, we listened to the weather briefing. Due to a big ridge taking shape in the southwest, we knew our best chances for storm development would be in WY and SD. Our target for the day was Lusk, WY Once we hit the road, we took I-25 north to Cheyenne, WY, where we made a fast food lunch stop. While we were driving to Cheyenne, Bill called ahead to reserve rooms in Chadron, NE. After our lunch break, we continued north towards Torrington, WY and Lusk via US 85. About 20 miles north of Lusk, we were finally able to see the base of a storm we were tracking. At this point, it was moving around 30 mph in an ESE direction. This would prove to be beneficial at first, as we had some good east options. Eventually, the storm picked up speed due to the lack of surface winds to counteract it. This caused problems, because we were forced to drive on dirt/gravel roads. As we approached Edgemont, SD, the storm started looking good. A very suspicious lowering appeared, and the storm was rotating. Unfortunately, low level clouds interfered and obscured our view of the storm. Nothing ever materialized, so we continued to follow it the best we could. As we got closer to Chadron, the storm started to get more organized. We drove about 20 miles east out of Chadron and enjoyed the light show. At one point, there was a very interesting feature underneath the storm where a wall cloud and tornado would form. Was it a tornado? Radar showed very strong evidence of a tornado, but due to the lack of light, we could not confirm it. Overall, it was a good start to this tour. We ended the night in Chadron, NE after we drove about 440 miles.
We left Denver yesterday much later than anticipated due to unforeseen circumstances. Our fearless leader for this trip is Bill Reid, and Rob Petit is the other driver After the group orientation, we listened to the weather briefing. Due to a big ridge taking shape in the southwest, we knew our best chances for storm development would be in WY and SD. Our target for the day was Lusk, WY Once we hit the road, we took I-25 north to Cheyenne, WY, where we made a fast food lunch stop. While we were driving to Cheyenne, Bill called ahead to reserve rooms in Chadron, NE. After our lunch break, we continued north towards Torrington, WY and Lusk via US 85. About 20 miles north of Lusk, we were finally able to see the base of a storm we were tracking. At this point, it was moving around 30 mph in an ESE direction. This would prove to be beneficial at first, as we had some good east options. Eventually, the storm picked up speed due to the lack of surface winds to counteract it. This caused problems, because we were forced to drive on dirt/gravel roads. As we approached Edgemont, SD, the storm started looking good. A very suspicious lowering appeared, and the storm was rotating. Unfortunately, low level clouds interfered and obscured our view of the storm. Nothing ever materialized, so we continued to follow it the best we could. As we got closer to Chadron, the storm started to get more organized. We drove about 20 miles east out of Chadron and enjoyed the light show. At one point, there was a very interesting feature underneath the storm where a wall cloud and tornado would form. Was it a tornado? Radar showed very strong evidence of a tornado, but due to the lack of light, we could not confirm it. Overall, it was a good start to this tour. We ended the night in Chadron, NE after we drove about 440 miles.
Well, looks like a tornado to me, Justin!
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Good luck, stay safe!
Haha I wish we could have said it was
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