Storm Chase Details
Miles Logged: 554
States Chased: MT, SD, ND
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks
Severe Reports: Storm Reports
I would witness supercells fire near Buffalo, South Dakota before quickly turning into an epic shelf cloud along the North Dakota/South Dakota border. Lack of hotels would push me all the way to Jamestown ND for the night.
Departing Gillette
I filled up on the way into town the night before and was able to just get out of town. I headed up US14 past the Devils Tower and into Montana. I passed by Capitol, which was scene of the epic tornado 8 years prior. Eventually I arrived in Buffalo where I got gas and then headed north about 15 miles and sat along US85 waiting storms to fire.
Convective Initiation
Storms ultimately fired in Southeast Montana right where I had just passed. I worked my way through the back roads of Harding county to setup for the storms.
Ultimately the middle storm I had been eying kept struggling, so I dropped south to the next storm which would become the dominant one. I found myself back near Buffalo watching this storm slowly organize.
I eventually proceeded through town and to a road off 85. The road was full of sheep talking to me constantly as I watched the storm.
Heading East on Ludlow Road
Like every other chaser on the storm, I headed east on Ludlow Road, stopping multiple times to check out the storm.
The storm started to wrap up significantly with a lowering in the rain.
Striated Shelf Cloud
As the cold pool progressed, I was greeted with a beautiful shelf cloud. I raced ahead to get some photos.
As I continued east and got further ahead, I started to ponder the hotel situation for the evening. I started browsing and found almost everything in Bismarck sold out. They wanted $380 something for a Sleep inn and $250 something for a Motel 6. Not willing to pay those prices, I ended up having to get a room in Jamestown. That was a 4 hour drive away, so I started east with a stop in Bismarck for food.
Storms in Bismarck
As I was downtown Bismarck, the storms rolled in and seemingly caught everyone by surprise there. People were running everywhere in the deluge of rain coming down. Winds were pretty significant, blowing signs and other things down. I ended up settling on pizza. The rain coming down on I-94 was pretty intense. I was eventually able to get ahead of the MCS which gave me enough time to empty my car before the rain hit Jamestown.
