(No Sign) Of Storms--Yet

A denuded truck stop/convenience store sign stands out starkly against an altocumulus sky in an abandoned parking lot just north of the Minden, Iowa exit (Exit 29) along Interstate 80. The parking lot, scoured of all its former structures, was a perfect waiting spot for our storm chase team on this afternoon of Saturday, April 9, 2011. The time here was about 4:10 PM, about an hour before a supercell began to develop to our northwest which would produce tornadoes and vivid lightning in western Iowa by nightfall.