Storm Chase Details


Chase Date: June 7, 2020
Miles Logged: 677
States Chased: SD, ND
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks

Chase Recap:

Pre Chase

Heidi had hired the help to fill the moving truck on Sunday morning, so we were busy with that until about 1pm. Of course, it was hotter than hell outside with a temperature in the mid to upper 90s and dewpoints in the 70s. I had studied up on the setup from models, but I did not get a chance to study the way the day was evolving.

Heading North

We headed north from Sioux Falls, making good time up I-90. Our first stop was in Fargo where we made multiple stops. We ended up stopping by a liquor and beer barn place in Fargo. Neither of us drink, but we both got brews for our picky beer snob pals. I came out of the liquor store thinking “oops” when I saw how much bigger the storms going up around us were. I was worried we were way behind at this point.

Bust level is high

We headed north to the Cummings/Mayville exit and sat watching some garbage “storms”. The bases were big, but apparently high based. Did moisture mix out? Did it just get hotter than expected? I’m not really sure as I was too distracted all day, but it was becoming obvious this was not going to pan out.

Aimless Driving

We drove aimlessly south to Fargo, and then west a bit. The plan was to drop in front of the South Dakota storms and at least leave us within striking range of the storms, should one of them hit some sort of magic. I got to visit some new counties and see landscapes I had never seen before, but I was hungry and it was getting dark.

The absolute best part of the day was eating some Buffalo Wild Wings to end the day.