| Home Page | Absolute Instability Blog | Contact |
| Chase Accounts | Learning Center |
May 1st 2008 Iowa Supercells
Ok strong surface low with trailing warm front and cold front with advancing dryline. Actually there were two strong surface lows, one in NE and one further south. Warm sector extended far north into northern IA. Had originally targeted the southern target which would have been around KS city. The northern target however was on my mind, which would have been northern IA close to the low on the warm front.
It was a hard one to call as both targets looked good. Cap and moisture were a definite issue, until the day of when it was clear that moisture return was going to be sufficient. When I got to IA I picked up a fellow chaser, Derek Weston, as gas prices are just ridiculas right now. Derek and I had mulled over the data and decided that the northern target looks just about as good as the southern target. So we then headed west on I-80. Things looked incredibly good so we went north and waited. Things now firing in extreme north west IA near sioux city, we waited, and waited.
Nothing ever fired around us probably because of the cap. It was funny things were firing all the way down into OK but there was a hole just were we were. KS city would have been a better target! LOL. Its funny, it was definitely a gamble, and sometimes these gambles pay off sometimes they dont. It was a tough one to call anyway. Things did manage to get going after dark like I thought but I was hoping for it to get going before dark. We intercepted a group of cells just east of Des Moines. The group of pictures below of from those cells. One looked promising with many lowerings and a rfd cut. The problem though was it was pitch black and you could only see them during lighning flashs.
Trying to shoot some lightning for the first time. Not to successful a little blurry!
Noisey image. I was trying to snap a picture of the lowering, and possible tornado/landspout. But I was having a hard time trying to get some lightning in the shot to eluminate it! You can see the edge of it though here. The good stuff is behind the obstruction.
Minutes later you can barly see a lowering just to the left of the bolt.
Frustrating chase day for me!
Ok strong surface low with trailing warm front and cold front with advancing dryline. Actually there were two strong surface lows, one in NE and one further south. Warm sector extended far north into northern IA. Had originally targeted the southern target which would have been around KS city. The northern target however was on my mind, which would have been northern IA close to the low on the warm front.
It was a hard one to call as both targets looked good. Cap and moisture were a definite issue, until the day of when it was clear that moisture return was going to be sufficient. When I got to IA I picked up a fellow chaser, Derek Weston, as gas prices are just ridiculas right now. Derek and I had mulled over the data and decided that the northern target looks just about as good as the southern target. So we then headed west on I-80. Things looked incredibly good so we went north and waited. Things now firing in extreme north west IA near sioux city, we waited, and waited.
Nothing ever fired around us probably because of the cap. It was funny things were firing all the way down into OK but there was a hole just were we were. KS city would have been a better target! LOL. Its funny, it was definitely a gamble, and sometimes these gambles pay off sometimes they dont. It was a tough one to call anyway. Things did manage to get going after dark like I thought but I was hoping for it to get going before dark. We intercepted a group of cells just east of Des Moines. The group of pictures below of from those cells. One looked promising with many lowerings and a rfd cut. The problem though was it was pitch black and you could only see them during lighning flashs.
Trying to shoot some lightning for the first time. Not to successful a little blurry!
Noisey image. I was trying to snap a picture of the lowering, and possible tornado/landspout. But I was having a hard time trying to get some lightning in the shot to eluminate it! You can see the edge of it though here. The good stuff is behind the obstruction.
Minutes later you can barly see a lowering just to the left of the bolt.
Frustrating chase day for me!