Dust Bowl 2014

Greetings from La Ciudad de Jardin, or Garden City, Kansas for those following along in English. Our initial ideas today were to target an outflow boundary emanating from a morning thunderstorm complex across central Nebraska. The outflow boundary had pushed southward to very near the Kansas/Nebraska border by early afternoon, and we positioned ourself along the boundary after lunch in McCook, NE. Any thunderstorms developing later in the day along this boundary would in theory have a reasonable chance of becoming intense, and possibly producing a tornado or two. Unfortunately, the vast majority of storms that ending up developing along this boundary were unable to maintain their intensity and become dominant supercells. A combination of too many storms, and some subsidence (sinking motion in the atmosphere) likely played a role in these storms struggling.

After ditching the storms near the outflow boundary, we preceded further south toward Wakeeney, Kansas where we would attempt to intercept several storms spreading eastward from near Oakley. Kansas. These storms were much better organized, and several were supercells. Unfortunately, the further south we would travel, conditions would become less and less favorable for tornadoes, primarily due to lesser low-level wind shear, and more significantly, due to higher cloud bases (at the same relative humidity, a cloud will have a lower base at a cooler temperature than a hotter one). Temperatures in this part of Kansas had pushed into the lower 90s, and odds for any tornadoes were very slim. What we lacked in tornadoes, however, we more than made up for in dust. Epic amounts of dust approaching haboob-esque levels were being kicked up by the rear-flank downdraft winds of the approaching storms, with visibility dropping to near zero for brief moments along Highway 183. Multiple gustnadoes (dust devil-like circulations near the ground) were observed, with the erratic outflow winds blowing extreme amounts of dust all over the place from a variety of directions.

The final storm we observed on the day was the most organized, and had the best overall supercell structure (most reminiscent visually of a High-Precipitation Supercell, but dust replaced much of the heavy precipitation). Shortly after observing this final storm, we called it a day and headed to Dodge City, Kansas for dinner at "Tacos Jalisco". Great amusement was had at dinner as I watched two native Wisconsinites struggle mightily while attempting to eat truly authentic and spicy Mexican food.

Tomorrow's target will either be eastern Colorado as moisture streams back westward toward the Front Range in the post-frontal regime, or in western Oklahoma along the stalled frontal boundary. Tomorrow's chase potential will be substantially dependent on a strong "cap" in place, which could nullify any storms whatsoever. Prospects for the remainder of the week look very promising however, with Tuesday a potential "big day". Pictures to follow from today. Adios.