- WxClds17d_34
- WxClds18a_13
- WxClds18a_24
- WxClds18a_34
- WxClds18b_03
- WxClds18b_08
- WxClds19a_11
- WxClds19a_13
- WxClds19a_18
Online Shop
Interested in purchasing an image? See the list of specials or click any thumbnail for more information.
In the Clouds Photography
09 Jun 2000 near Buffalo, SD
An ulterior motive for being in South Dakota was photographing the
Aurora Borealis (Northern
Lights) on the night of June 8 among the Badlands. There
was an X-class solar flare on 6 June that was predicted to create
magnificent aurora the night of the
8th. Unfortunately, the main impulse hit Earth
during the day and by sunset the potential was very low. A friend and I
stayed up until 2:30 AM viewing the skies among Badlands National Park but
were not treated to a light display. Disappointing for sure as no lightning
was visible either, but it was a beautiful night with warm breezes and
enjoyable conversation with a friend.
We visited the National Weather Service forecast office in Rapid City around 3 PM the next day. We walked in the door expecting the potential for severe storms to be to our north. The biggest question was how far north. There was a very strong cell headed for the last county in far southeast MT and then into west-central SD. Though we did not want to get farther from home, we decided it was worth pursuing; after all, it was 75 minutes away with a good intercept. Unfortunately it was headed into a region with few roads and following it until dark would mean we were a long way from home. We approached from the south between Belle Fourche and Buffalo and saw a well-defined LP supercell. It looked quite impressive with nice structure but, as we got closer, the storm lifted higher and higher and basically evaporated as it moved east.
However, a second storm was found to its west and, via a call back to Boulder for a forecast update, we learned this storm had a perfect shape/look on satellite images. We stayed about 15 miles south of Buffalo awaiting the second storm which turned out to be a typical HP supercell (we were advised of this via the phone call).
We let the precipitation core of the HP storm pass slightly north of our
position and drove into the town of Buffalo looking for hail big enough
to cause damage. We found none, but we did find a decent rainbow and,
while viewing it, we were surprised to see lots more
updrafts to our south.
We proceeded south again and were treated to a series of weaker storms
which were all rotating to some degree but not strong enough to produce
tornadoes. The prolific storm updrafts were impressive and produced
good photographic
material for the ensuing 2 hours.
A rarely seen moonbow
We then grabbed dinner in Belle Fourche before driving as far as we could toward home ending up in Douglas, WY by 2 AM. Along WY Hwy 59 midway between Gillette and Douglas, we were treated to a midnight double rainbow courtesy of the nearly full moon and rainshower on the east side of the road. This would be termed a 'moonbow' but this name is nonsense since we don't call a sunlit rainbow a sunbow. This rainbow was colorless since moonlight is not bright enough to produce colors visible to human eyes, but it was bright enough to see both a primary and secondary bow. In a decade of chasing storms, this was my first observation of a moonbow. Simply because of tiredness, we did not attempt to photograph it though, in retrospect, I wish I had. Upon arriving in Douglas, we spotted a weak display of Northern Lights with a few colorless light pilars reaching only 25 degrees above the northern horizon. We observed the sky for 40 minutes and finally gave up and went to bed, exhausted.
Sponsored links:
Suggested reading & related info:
Book: Tornado Alley. Monster Storms of the Great Plains
Book: The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm
Magazine: Weatherwise
Web: Storm Track
Web: TESSA Weather Bulletin
Web: Storm
Chasing with Safety, Courtesy, and Responsibility
Web: SPC Tornado FAQ