Incoming Scud!

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 269 (above) was posted by the SPC for southern Iowa at 3:35 pm, Sunday, June 7, 2015. Thunderstorms were already firing up near the Lamoni, Iowa area at this time. I began monitoring the storm's progress east to determine whether a chase would be merited as it neared the southeast portion of the state. Just after 4:00 I decided to go, packing up my chasing gear and leaving Cedar Rapids via Interstate 380 south. Southern skies quickly darkened and the leading storm cell became severe-warned by the time I entered Henry County a little after 5:00 pm.

Around 5:25 pm I took up a spotter's position at South Iris Street near East Washington Street (US Highway 34) in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, as seen in the photograph above. The photo looks southwest at a severe-warned storm cell, approaching from about 7 miles distance at 5:28 pm. Accompanying the photo above is a radar screen capture of the moment. The white dot is my position.

Shortly after 5:30 pm I decided to reposition east and it was a good decision. Eastbound (actually to the SE) on US Highway 34, with the storm looming over my shoulder, I pulled off the road at 260th Street, about 1.3 miles west of New London, Iowa and shortly found a fantastic vantage point to photograph the forming wall cloud north of me (above). The storm was moving left-to-right in the image. RFD winds were enough to send me scrambling after my hat as it passed by! Also above is a radar capture of the moment with the white dot as my position. All told, the chase trip lasted about 3 1/2 hours and 179.8 miles. Photos captured from Nikon D5000 DSLR camera.