June 1, 2008:    Sun - Day 20 - TT4 Orientation Day - OKC to Colby, KS :

Today was partly a positioning day north for Monday, with some hope of catching an interesting storm moving southeast into NW KS by sunset.  A couple of very nice looking supercells were evident well to our north on radar, one initiating near BFF and the other near VTN.  Both prompted tornado warnings and the BFF storm was moving southeastward into extreme NW KS.  We had a good visual of the storm from a few miles north of Colby, but the storm was weakening visually and on radar so we decided not to expend any additional energy to get any closer to this storm.  424miles. 

June 2, 2008:    Mon - Day 21 - TT4  Day 1 - NW KS - NE CO Supercells :

After visiting the NWS office in Goodland, KS we drifted west to Burlington, CO and then north on highway 385.  We weren't in any rush as we had two areas of focus, one for storms coming off the Palmer Divide to our west and another to our north near the CO/WY/NE border.  While we were trying to decide what to do a line of towers developed just to our south along I-70.  They struggled for awhile but finally began to look serious and the decision was made to have a closer look.  I knew this would cost us if this became a "sucker" storm as I wouldn't be able to get back north to the second target in time.  The storm had a history of dropping baseball to "grapefruit" size hail and we observed up to baseball size hail on the ground in Burlington and broken windshields on cars parked along I-70. We had a good view of the storm from the west while traveling east on I-70, but the storm soon fizzled out almost as rapidly as it developed.

Things appeared capped in our area so we headed back north to the original target along the CO/NE border.  We were able to slide between two storms around sunset and had a decent view of the storm to our south, which was diving SE towards Last Chance.  The storms to our north had weakened considerably.  OGA 540m

June 3, 2008:    Tue - Day 22 - TT4  Day 2 - Dusty Supercell - W KS :

I was hesitant to dive south today to the nose of the "dry-punch" in SC KS in fear of getting burned by the CAP.  Instead, we drifted south to the I-70 corridor to play the middle ground for something off the Palmer Divide.  Blake, Scott, and I gave up on NE CO by early afternoon when dewpoints began to mix out combined with weak flow at the surface and aloft.  By mid-afternoon an MD was issued for all of eastern CO followed by a SEV box. The 500mb flow was better to our south, but storms were already initiating to our west near LIC.  Given the time of the day it was pretty much a "no-brainer" to head directly west on I-70 and intercept the first good looking storm coming up from our SW.  We were able to get in front of a "tail-end" storm south of Arriba on a gravel road that led to Boyero.  Along the way we found Matt Crowther and crew enjoying a pretty view of the storm to our west. 

We decided to stick with this storm since it remained on the southern end of convection and we had decent roads to follow it eastward into KS.  We also figured the storm had a good chance of getting better organized when it hit the better moisture located in KS.  We had a great view of the storm to our north between Wallace and Winona along highway 40.  The storm began to turn more ESE and  would eventually cross highway 40 near Winona.  We originally had good inflow at our film stop west of Winona, but we had to blast east when the storm began to push out a wall of outflow and dust from the north.  One dust plume sent a large piece of sheet metal roof flying across the road and just missing the rear of our van! Another solid dust plume cut our visibility to zero soon after our film stop, but we were once again able to get in front of the storm along highway 83 south of Oakley.  This is when the storm looked it's nastiest both on radar and visually.  There were several MTN shear markers on the forward flank of the storm and we could see a large dark mass lowering to near ground level just to our west.  We had no time to stop for photos so I only have video of this event.  We then cut east on highway 4 and took a couple more brief photo ops near Healy before again being chased by the cold outflow and rain from the north.  540miles.  Wakeeney for the night. 

June 4, 2008:    Wed - Day 23 - TT4  Day 3 - HP Supercell - Northeast CO :

Another day with multiple target possibilities to chose from.  Once again fearing the CAP wouldn't break near the triple point we headed farther west along the moist upslope axis in northeast CO.  We were a little late for the first storm that initiated and it had put on its best show by the time we arrived.  We watched the storm recycle near Wray and followed it north until bad road options and visibility ended our attempt to get east of the storm.  We then turned our attention to a beastly HP supercell that was bearing down on Yuma.  We cut south in town and observed impressive hail drifts left by an earlier storm.

We then took a photo-op just south of town of the approaching cell before heading south and east via gravel roads thru Vernon.  We would have liked to stay east of the notch area via highway 34, but we would have had to deal with the rapidly approaching hail core and a pilot car leading us back thru construction.  We had our final show just east of Wray as the cell moved ENE into NE after sunset. 592m.  Hays, KS

June 5, 2008:    Thu - Day 24 - TT4  Day 4 - Dryline Supercell Mess- South Central Kansas:

When I woke up this morning and saw that SPC had issued a widespread high-risk of severe today I figured we would have the usual "failure-mode" issues to deal with such as early initiation, lots of competing storms, and storms racing along a warp-speed.  And that is pretty much what we had.  Once again I found myself struggling to pick from one of two targets.  One to the north along the WF where the better backed SFC winds/shear would be occurring and the other to my south along the DL where storms might be more isolated.  I was already leaning towards the later when an early storm initiated near DDC and convinced me to head south from I-70 for a relatively easy intercept.  By the time we reached the Great Bend area the storm was tornado warned and we had a perfect SW route to intercept this northeastward moving storm along highway 156.  We watched the storm kick up a dusty gustnado to our south and produce a few lowered areas beneath the base, but not much more.

By now more storms were lining up to our SSW along the DL and it was time to pick-off the next storm down the line.  We intercepted the next storm near Lyons, another east of Nickerson, another east of Hutchinson, and yet another east of ICT.  Every time it ended with the same results, tornado warnings and lots of scary cloud motion, but not much else.  Sure, it was a fun day chasing storms, but at the same time a very frustrating day with no tornadoes.  From the reports I've read thus far, we were not alone.  Wichita, KS 262m. 

June 6, 2008:    Fri - Day 25 - TT4  Day 5 - Weak Convection - Northeast OK:

The only hope for any storms today without heading too far east or north would be in either northeastern OK/southwestern MO.  I was a little reluctant to head too far into the jungles of eastern OK or MO so I finally opted for the OK target along the old weakening boundary.  I figured if we positioned far enough north of the boundary we could easily intercept any northeastward moving storms.  The plan worked, but instead of "real storms" we only witnessed a bunch of diurnally driven weak convection.  I probably should have went with my "gut" feeling to head farther east near SPG where a few storms actually became SEV warned.  Oh well, the day wasn't a total loss as we did see some interesting convection move over Lake Oolagah which included a full arch rainbow!  236m  Pryor, OK

June 7, 2008:    Sat - Day 26 - TT4  Day 6 Final - Wakita, OK:

Today was basically a travel day back to OKC with a side trip visit to the Twister Museum in Wakita.  I contemplated making the last day a chase day somewhere in E-NE/W-IA but decided not to because it would have required a marathon 8-10 hour drive back to OKC with little or no sleep involved.  We probably could have pulled this off as far north as the KS/NE border where an isolated supercell did form at sunset, but the morning models indicated this area would be well to the southwest of the best storms.  Never the less, we had a pretty good week of chasing and everyone seemed to enjoy our last day together.  I was happy to hear many of the folks were planning a return trip next year.  256m OKC

June 8, 2008:    Sun - Day 27 - Western OK Supercells - Brief Tornadoes:

A chase target in the northeast TX Panhandle/NW OK area worked out well for the start of my journey to DEN.  By the time I reached Erick, OK a SEV box was issued just to my north and a couple of storms had initiated near Woodward.  I could see new towers beginning to shoot up to my immediate northwest and found a good view point to observe these developing storms just north of Reydon, OK.  From my position looking NW I had good SE inflow feeding into the storms and a wall cloud soon developed on the southwest flank of this northeastward moving severe-warned storm.  Although rotation was observed with the wall cloud, it never came close to producing a tornado.  I continued to watch the same area as new wall clouds developed under the RFB of the back-building updrafts. 

I then shifted my focus on new storms that were rapidly intensifying along the NE/SW boundary back to my southwest.  Eventually one large supercell formed and briefly became the "tail-end Charlie" as it transitioned quickly to an HP.  I was able to slip into the notch via a gravel road heading west between Reydon and Sweetwater and film the approaching structure and rotating wall cloud. A brief tornado was observed to my south just as a close CG ignited a grass fire and the rapidly approaching rain/hail core was wrapping in from my northwest. 

I was just able to make it east and south of the tornadic circulation (or so I thought) to Sweetwater and then headed east on SR6.  About a mile east of Sweetwater as I crested a hill I had a fleeting view of a very large slowly rotating red dust whirl in a valley about a 1/4 mile to my ENE.  I could see rapid rotation nearly overhead so I blasted east in an attempt to get ahead of any circulation.  Although I was successful in this maneuver, the tornado threat soon diminished as the storm was becoming outflow dominant.  However, the turbulent leading edge base structure offered some wonderful views back to my northwest and this was followed by a spectacular CG fest.  I then headed back west to Wheeler, TX and enjoyed another CG barrage north of town while waiting for flooded highway 83 to be reopened.  A great chase day indeed and strangely devoid the chaser hordes!  Liberal, KS.  409m.

June 9, 2008:    Mon - Day 28 - Travel Day Liberal KS - DEN - No Storms 400m:

June 10, 2008:    Tue - Day 29 - TT5  Orientation Day:

Van towing and repairs (alternator replacement) delayed our departure from DEN until after 4pm shutting out any chance for a chase today.  So after we left DEN a TOR box was issued for parts of western KS and an isolated supercell formed just outside the northern edge of this watch.  The storm was tornado warned at times and we could see the distant updraft tower 200 miles to our southeast.  We eventually closed the gap to 100 miles, but by that time it was 11pm and we had just about arrived at our motel. This storm turned out to be a  highly structured and isolated supercell, but out of reach for us.  Lexington, NE 338m

June 11, 2008:    Wed - Day 30 - TT5 Day 1 :

We hung out in York, NE until early afternoon trying to decide whether to go farther east ahead of the approaching CF and developing towers overhead or plunge straight south into KS for the more isolated and potentially photogenic storms later in the day.  My "gut" told me to go to KS but I decided to stick with the developing towers and head east.  The best semi-discrete cell formed near Swedeburg and briefly looked like it might go tornadic as we looked to our west along with Matt C., Ken D., and crew. 

We stuck with this storm for awhile but it soon became HP and embedded with the growing line of NNE/SSW oriented storms.  We then began stair-stepping south and west in an attempt to reach the next "tail-end" storm, without much success.  Each time we reached the target storm it became messy and imbedded in the growing line of storms.  I finally gave up after sunset a few miles south of Beatrice as new storms were moving in from the SW.  We did observe some awesome long-lasting CG's, but light rain and infrequent strikes kept us from attempting any photography.  More or less a frustrating day for me with the storms of the day occurring well too our south in KS.  Beatrice, NE 370m

June 12, 2008:    Thu - Day 31 - TT5 Day 2 SC KS Supercells:

Today was somewhat similar to yesterday in that the first storm we found appeared to have the most promise of producing a tornado followed by subsequent intercepts of storms along a broken line to our west and south.  The first cell may have produced a tornado just prior to our arrival near Cottonwood Falls.  We had a good view of this storm's southern stoudt updraft tower and crisp anvil to our west  as we made our approach west of EMP.  We found a good view point a little north of highway 50 and watched the storm produce a series of wall clouds and occasional funnels as it slid off to our northeast with no tornado. 

We then proceeded south on highway 99 and intercepted other imbedded supercells farther to our south and west via a gravel road network.  Nice HP structure and lightning was observed with these storms, but no tornado.  Finished up the day near Eureka and then headed west to ICT for the night.  390m

June 13, 2008:    Fri - Day 32 - TT5 Day 3 SW OK Storms:

The cap held until near sunset until the first weak storm tried to form just west of Lawton.  Although this one never really became a real storm it gave us a nice show for about 15 minutes before it died.  We then headed farther west and south hoping for new development along the boundary before dark.  Near sunset a pretty updraft went up to our southwest and this and others storms to its west became our feature show for the next couple of hours.  We had a nice, but somewhat distant, lightning show before heading into Altus for the night.  350m appx.

June 14, 2008:    Sat - Day 33 - TT5 Day 4 TX Panhandle - Dusty Storms:

A fun day chasing storms in the Texas Panhandle!  After lunch in Erick, OK we traveled west on I-40 and observed a distinct line of towers directly to our west.  We targeted a storm just north of Groom briefly before deciding a storm to its south might be the better target.  A few miles south of Groom we could look back to our north and observe a nice, but high, dark base moving slowly to the southeast.  At one film stop we measured 1.25" hailstones and reported our find to the AMA NWS office.  We were easily able to keep in front of this slow moving storm all the way to Clarendon. 

Farther south near Brice the storm exhibited a pronounced "haboob-like" rain/hail core to our WNW.  After that the storm began to push out tons of cool dust-filled outflow which made us scurry back into the van. When we were able to outpace the outflow we took advantage of the pretty storm scenes as we trekked south. 

We had plenty of "dust-fun" as we continued south thru Turkey and eventually finished up the day near Floydada watching a pretty tower to our south glowing after sunset.  There were a few CG's to be had, but were mostly far and few in between for photo ops.   PVW 360miles.

June 15, 2008:    Sun - Day 34 - TT5 Day 5 TX Panhandle - OK/TX PH Supercell:

While traveling north to our Coldwater, KS target region we kept an eye on a line of cumulus towers that persisted to our west.  We cut north out of Canadian on 305 to Lipscomb and Darrousett  and then west towards Booker where we watched the line for a promising tower to target.  SPC's meso-analysis page indicated we were within one of two bulls-eyes of high CAPE and moisture convergence values coupled with strong SSE winds.  We just needed to wait, and it wasn't long until we had a decent updraft to target to our north.  We drove right up to and under the developing storm and could soon hear thunder overhead.  We hung out under this young cell for a while and then repositioned farther south watching the storm getting better organized. 

Since the storm was barely moving we had fun trying to find the hail core, but could only find a few small stones.  We then drove a few miles north to Beaver, OK for a pit-stop only to find our storm was now tornado-warned!  We quickly blasted back south through what now had become a large and heavy rain core, but fortunately avoided any large hail.  Near Booker we were able to view the large leading edge of a ragged and bowl-shaped lowering just to our west with possible dusty spin-ups below.  We were getting blasted with strong easterly dust-filled inflow winds and could see plenty of blowing RFD dust to our west.  We eventually cut west directly beneath the weakening RFD cut and chaotic cloud motion overhead. 

We then let the storm drift off to our east and took advantage of some pretty photo-ops of distant storms until after sunset.  400m Liberal, KS.

June 16, 2008:    Mon - Day 35 - TT5 Day 6 NE New Mexico - Positioning - Weak Storms:

Bill and I were hoping for some high plains magic somewhere on the higher terrain of northeast New Mexico, but a strong CAP prevailed and only a few brief, weak, short-lived storms developed.  In hind sight I guess it might have been better to play our other choice in NW OK, but those storms would have taken us a bit far to the southeast and away from our Day 2 target in NE NM or the western TX PH.  The day wasn't a total loss though as we got to explore the near ghost town of Solano, NM along highway 39 and then later watch a few colorful storms die out in the setting sun.  422 miles.  Las Vegas, NM.

June 17, 2008:    Tue - Day 36 - TT5 Day 7 - Clayton, NM - Supercells:

Not too much to report from this day.  We managed to arrive in are target area near Clayton, NM just as a couple of storms initiated to our north.  We watched the southern storm struggle to develop and briefly contemplated going for the northern storm which looked better at times on radar.  We eventually committed to the southern storm as it began to move SSE and followed it south via highway 402 for several miles.  We gave up the chase as the storm filled with precipitation and decided to head back north to get into position for the next day's activity.  460miles Burlington, CO. 

June 18, 2008:    Wed - Day 37 - TT5 Day 8 - McCook & Kearney, NE Supercells:

Another day without much to show for our effort.  We tried to get in front of our first supercell as we approached McCook from the west via highway 6/34 but could not beat the rapidly approaching wind and heavy rain/hail core blasting in from the north. By the time we reached McCook small tree branches were going horizontal across the road with blinding wind blown rain reducing visibility to near zero.  We took refuge behind a Wal-Mart until the bulk of the core passed by to our south.  There wasn't much to do after that except to look for a new storm to chase.  There was some new convection well to our north and without much else to do we headed in that direction figuring we might at least get a light show near sunset.  By the time we reached North Platte, NE at I-80 there was a good looking cell 75 miles to our WNW diving south towards the Kearney area.  We decided to target this somewhat isolated cell and had a good view of it as we headed east on I-80.  Along the way we had good views of the updraft tower and at one point observed a line of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds in the foreground. The cell looked great at times and we could see a multi-flanged updraft base as we cut north thru Kearney.  Of course, the whole thing collapsed as soon as we got thru town and were in perfect position for the show.  420miles/Kearney, NE.

June 19, 2008:    Thu - Day 38 - TT5 Day 9 Final - Pretty Storms - Southern Nebraska Panhandle:

Photo opportunities abounded today on several storms that were intercepted mainly between Kimball and Sidney, NE.  It seemed the storm mode of the day was for storms to become briefly strong to severe and then quickly die out.  Fortunately as one storm ended its life cycle another nearby storm was beginning to gain strength.  Our late day strategy was to more or less pick out the next strengthening storm we could intercept and get into position for the best photography.  We finished up the day near Potter, NE with a pretty but all too infrequent light show before heading to Kimball for the night.  350miles appx.

June 20, 2008:    Fri - Day 39 - TT5 Departure Day - Busy Work:

Today was spent getting the guests back to DEN, cleaning up the van, and getting my own vehicle back in order.  I spent the night visiting Brett and Connor in Longmont and mainly catching up on some much needed rest.  175m.  

June 21, 2008:    Sat - Day 40 - Longmont, CO to Chadron, NE:

Positioning day north.  319m CDR

June 22, 2008:    Sun - Day 41 - Severe-Warned Storms, Northern Nebraska Panhandle:

I positioned myself north and east of the boundary that cut roughly NE/SW thru the Nebraska Panhandle until late afternoon watching featureless storms to my southwest. I was also watching a small area of enhanced TCu that persisted about 25 miles to my northwest.  Around 4pm MDT just as the TCu reached skyward into the clear air,  mid-level anvil debris from the southern storms wrapped around the young updraft towers effectively ending any farther growth.  Meanwhile, the storms to my south began to expand east and  northward and intensify slightly.  The gentle SE winds I had been experiencing in western Box Butte County were being replaced with gusty outflow winds from the south and southwest.  New towers began to form directly to my north and east, presumably as these outflow winds converged with the ESE surface flow just to my east. 

As I continued east on highway 2 I had two strengthening cells in view, one just to my southeast and another LP forming directly to my north.  I got stuck waiting for a long freight train in Hemingford and lost my opportunity to ever get in front of the southern cell.  However, the western flank of this storm exhibited a turbulent light gray updraft area as MTN was showing two shear marker values (69/80) in about the middle of the storm.  I also had a good view of the northern updraft which exhibited LP characteristics at times.  About two miles east of Hemingford I encountered hail to marble size as I tried to continue east between the two storms. 

Eventually, I gave up on the southern storm which was getting too far ahead of me and stopped to take photos of the northern storm which was now off to my NNE.  I then continued north on highway 385 to take advantage of the the low sun angle illuminating the western flank of this storm.  Unfortunately, the storm was weakening fast and the sun was being shaded out by clouds to the west.  I once again spent the night in CDR.  205miles. 

June 23, 2008:    Mon - Day 42 - Severe/LP Storms, SW South Dakota:

Since the slight risk of severe covered a large area from the Dakotas south to KS with no one area appearing much better than the next, I figured I may as well head north from Chadron and be in better position for Day 2.  Also, by noon I could see a classic supercell developing to my north over the Black Hills of SD.  I headed north on highway 385 and then cut NNE on highway 79 near Hot Springs.  At this point I had a great view of the fully developed Cb to my north that had prompted a severe warning for Custer County. This beautiful convection contrasted the bright blue sky and green prairie grass below.  It was nice to not have any interfering cloud debris spoiling the view for a change!

As this storm began to weaken a new cell developed to my WNW and prompted another severe warning based on quarter size hail for Custer & Pennington County.  This cell was more LP in nature and I was able to get a good view of it to my west from a few miles south of Hermosa. 

No sooner had this storm weakened when a new cell formed on its heals and prompted another severe warning with "ping-pong" size hail being reported in Custer County.  As this storm moved SE, I dropped a few miles south to near Fairburn and had a great view of this pretty LP with a "suction cup" updraft base as it slowly approached from the NW. 

I then drifted south to the town of Buffalo Gap and watched this storm weaken while new cells developed, but all new convection was rather soft and weak looking.  Around 6pm I decided to head north and then west on I-90 to get in front of storms that exhibited a good deal of lightning in Wyoming.  I reached Belle-Fourche just after sunset and set up west of town for the approaching light show.  First the lightning was sparse and quite distant, and then suddenly it was way too intense and all around me! I managed to capture a few, but as usual the very best ones got away.  Belle Fourche, SD 243m. 

June 24, 2008:    Tue - Day 43 - Severe Storms - Massive Shelf Cloud, SW ND - North Central SD:

I played around taking photo-ops of old buildings until early afternoon using the building Cb's to my north as a backdrop.  I was somewhat reluctant to leave my target area in Slope County and head north after the on-going convection north of I-94 since I had good SSE flow bumping into the SSW flow along a boundary just to my west. 

However, too many times I've seen the late morning convection turn into the main show while I was sitting elsewhere twiddling my thumbs. So by 3pm MDT I committed myself to heading north to the tail-end severe-warned storms approaching Dickinson.  I had a clear view of the updraft base of this storm as I headed north on Highway 22, but only observed rising scud attaching itself to the base.  I parked just south of town and watched a massive shelf cloud form to my north and gradually move south and fill the entire northern horizon.  The tornado sirens were going off in town, but it was obvious the storm was not tornadic and was pushing out huge amounts of outflow.

For the next couple of hours this shelf cloud became the main show as I drifted south and east in order to stick with the southern edge of what now was becoming a southeastward moving storm complex.  The shelf cloud went thru several cycles of weakening and strengthening and I took the opportunity to stop for photos whenever the structure looked a bit more interesting.

As the shelf and ensuing heavy rain/hail core was about to overtake me near New Leipzig, I took one last photo-op to my north then turned my attention to a new storm that was developing directly to my south.

I cut south on Highway 49 and barely dodged the 1/2" hail south as the updraft base to my west came into view.  MTN was showing a 102mph shear marker with this storm and this was quite evident visually as a small, but tightly rotating wall cloud.  I had an excellent valley view to my west with great backlighting, but the stupid thing just would not tornado!  I took one last photo as the updraft 18 miles SE of Mott around 5:30pm MDT as it was being undercut from the rain-cooled air rushing in from the north.

When I reached highway 12 at Thunder Hawk, SD I wasn't sure if I wanted to head east and look at that shelf cloud any longer...I had seen it for hours already!  But I figured the storm was moving almost perfectly with Highway 12 towards Mobridge, so why not...besides, the storm would likely strengthen and might even produce a pleasant surprise.  Along the way I began to see a couple of other tour groups and a few chasers as the menacing core to my north threatened to overtake my route ESE.  I experienced very strong outflow winds and some blasts of rain near McIntosh, then finally got east of the beast.  The views back to my west were absolutely breathtaking!  The shelf cloud had taken on a fantastic laminar banding appearance and was displaying a multitude of colors ranging from shades of blue to green to gray to tan.  I took one last photo-op of the approaching beast near McLaughlin before blasting east to Mobridge for the night. 387m. 

June 25, 2008:    Wed - Day 44 -  - Light Show - Alzada, MT:

After watching an early evening storm die a horrible death just west of Belle Fourche, SD my only remaining hope for the day was to capture a nice lightning display around sunset. 

There was a line of storms moving eastward from Wyoming and another southeastward moving cell near Broadus, MT.  I opted for the later via Highway 212 and then cut west at Alzada on a dirt road (Alzada Ridge Road).  I drove about 10 miles on this road and could see lightning moving in from the west, southwest, and northwest.  For the next hour of so I attempted to capture lightning until it started to rain and the lightning was getting way too close.  The storm put on a fantastic lightning display and I was fortunate to capture a few keepers, but as usual the very best ones got away!  Belle Fourche, SD 370m.

June 26, 2008:    Thu - Day 45 - Final Chase Day - Cherry County, NE:

My plan for my last chase day on the plains was to hang out east of the Black Hills in South Dakota and nab a sculpted supercell moving southeast into the Badlands region.  By 6pm CDT as I sat near Kadoka, SD waiting with a strong CAP overhead I knew the chances of this happening were slim to none.  A small isolated storm cell had just formed near Buffalo, SD but that was over 3 hours back to my NW...and in the opposite direction of my homeward route.  To my south was an established area of convection expanding north towards VTN.  A call from Bill R. prompted me in that direction as it only made sense with a couple hours of daylight remaining, especially since it was on the way home.  An hour later (near 7pm MDT) as I was approaching the northern edge of the Nebraska convection I noticed a couple of nice looking supercells on radar back to my north along the Missouri River in SD---and they were moving almost due south in my direction!  I briefly thought about blasting back north, but a quick calculation indicated I would not have been able to make an intercept prior to sunset.  I should have waited just one more hour in Kadoka, oh well.  I managed to pick up the northern edge of the Nebraska storm cluster and some 1/2" hail near Kilgore.  The best I could do at this late hour was look for a few stormy photo-ops.  I then spent the next three hours driving east to OFK enjoying the lightning from the storms that had moved well off to my east.  Although it would have been great to end my trip with a fantastically sculpted supercell, or even a tornado, I guess I shouldn't complain too much---especially after experiencing nearly seven consecutive weeks of thunder! Norfolk, NE 480 miles.