Popcorn Thunderstorms...Needed More Butter

There were numerous "popcorn thunderstorms"--defined as "single cell types that are small, brief, that grow and die within an hour or so"--in eastern Iowa on the afternoon of Sunday, June 21, 2020. I found myself caught up in believing every severe-warned cell I saw on this day would maintain its intensity. On the contrary, each one weakened and died as I approached it--a sort of storm "swoon." I set out toward the first of these "phantoms" in the image shown above. Here, I am northbound on Highway 13 just north of County Home Road (E34), north of Marion, Iowa at 1:40 pm CDT.  The severe-warned storm was about 23 miles to my WNW, near the town of Vinton in Benton County.

Ten minutes later the storm weakened and the severe warning was lifted. I was still able to capture a photogenic part of it however. This image looks northwest at 1:53 pm from Sutton Road at Central City Road (E16), west of Central City in Linn County.

A turnaround and back home. It's now 2:39 pm and more storm cells are popping up and advancing. This one exhibited a nice updraft looking west over Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids.

In a little while a cell just east of Cedar Rapids intensified and became severe warned. This image looks east at funnel-like scud at 3:39 pm from Quiver Court, part of Bowman Villas just south of Boyson Road. While driving, I had been unable to capture a very striking wide and ragged low-hanging scud from the backside of that storm just minutes before.

4:01 pm. Still spotting from Quiver Court. The distant updraft to the southwest in this image was from a large storm cell that had also been previously severe-warned. The storm was located about 57 miles away, just northwest of the town of Barnes City, in Poweshiek County.

4:17 pm. Now deciding to give chase to the storm to the east. This panorama looks east from North 10th Street, about a quarter mile south of County Home Road, north of Marion. The storm was still severe-warned, but departing fast and within 15 minutes would have its warning lifted as well.

Radar frame capture corresponding to 4:15 pm. Target icon shows my location, with the black arrow looking in the direction of the storm. White arrows indicate storm movement.

5:11 pm. Back home again and another popup storm. This cell was very rumbly from thunder, but remained under severe limits. Image looks west from Bowman Woods Park. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.