A few hours prior to leaving Rapid City, we were worried about the setup. There was plenty of CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy), but it was capped. If the CAPE is capped, then no storms can form. We were waiting to see if this cap would break, which was not looking good since the whole state of South Dakota was under clouds. The only way for the cap to break was if the clouds broke up and let the sun warm up the Earth. There was only about a 2% chance of a tornado occurring in SD until about 2 p.m. Then when the Storm Prediction Center came out with their new forecast, the predictability of a tornado occurring was 5%. Also, the cloud cover in south central SD was starting to finally break up. This is when we decided to get our stuff together and head out east to Phillip, SD, which was in the bulls-eye of the 5% area.
As we headed out east, the cloud cover remained. However, as we got closer to our target area, the clouds started to break up and the temperatures started to rise from the lower 50s to the mid-70s. Plenty of moisture was in place, the CAPE was high, and the cap was breaking. When we got to Phillip at 3:45 p.m., we were in positive thinking that we were going to see a tornado. To keep us busy, we threw around a Frisbee, ate snacks, threw rocks, and continued to watch the radar. We kept waiting...and waiting...and waiting....but nothing was showing up on our radar. At 6:30 p.m., with blue sky all around us, we decided to call it a day and head back home.
As we were heading back to Rapid City, we ran into a downpour. Little did we know that this "downpour" would become something more later on and make me a little upset. When we got home around 7:45 p.m., we heard that the "downpour" that we drove through was now a severe thunderstorm. This part of the story gets even better. When I got home a little after 8 p.m., I looked at my radar and saw that this storm was now tornado-warned. And guess where it was heading? If you guessed Phillip, you are correct. This storm did produce a tornado and when I found that out, I was not a happy camper. The only good that comes out of this story is that this storm developed after dark. It is extremely dangerous to chase storms at night because you cannot see anything. If a storm would go and produce a tornado, the only way that you will be able to see it is from lightning. Other than that, you would be setting yourself up for trouble.
Overall, this day was a BIG bust. It was a good thing that we decided to stay local.
I was bored so I took this picture.
Saw this lonely cloud in the distance.
Okay, this is NOT what we wanted to see....
Clouds in the distance. These did not produce anything either.
When we did get home, though, we did see something.....
Oh well, better luck next time.
© Heather Caye 2011
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