Near Bust in Iowa, Busting Out in Illinois

A severe weather Enhanced Risk was posted by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) on Friday, June 26, 2020 for Eastern Iowa east into parts of the states of Indiana, Michigan and even Ohio. A 5% hatched chance for tornadoes was included for Eastern Iowa, with The Weather Channel giving the area a Tor Con (Tornado Condition) of 3.

Mesoscale Discussion 1006 was posted at 12:38 pm CDT for areas of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin--with the probability for a severe thunderstorm watch calculated at 80%.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for an area of NE Iowa near Decorah in Winneshiek County at 1:25 pm, and Severe Thunderstorm Watch 305 went up ten minutes later.

And so I set out for a possible intercept. This was shortly after departure at 2:09 pm, and I am northbound on Highway 13, just south of County Home Road north of Marion, Iowa. Distant storm clouds can be seen through a gap just above the horizon.

Radarscope frame capture corresponding to 2:27 pm, showing my mobile position near Strawberry Point, Iowa. The storm was to my north and northwest, with a severe warning polygon ahead of the storm.

2:59 pm. Looking northwest while northbound on Highway 38, about 2 miles northwest of the town of Greeley in Delaware County. The storm, which had now lost its severe warning and located about 15 miles away, was beginning to appear on the horizon.

3:08 pm. Northbound (NW) on Highway 13 between Strawberry Point and Edgewood Iowa. The ominous looking but still sub-severe storm is now very apparent and only 10 miles distant.

3:10 pm. Probable wall cloud looking north while westbound on Highway 13 between Strawberry Point and Edgewood in SW Clayton County. Storm is about 10 miles distant.

3:11 pm. Similar capture.

3:16 pm. Stationary and looking northeast from East Mission Road, about .8-mile east of Strawberry Point, Iowa. Departing storm--a wall cloud with feeding inflow--was about 11 miles distant.

3:21. Spotting vehicle with view of departing storm.

3:44 pm. Had to get back on the highway and head east to catch up with this storm. I had hoped it would re-intensify to a severe-warned state (it didn't). In this image I am eastbound on Highway 3, about 1.3 miles east of Colesburg in northeast Delaware County. The storm is about 7 miles distant and still visually appealing.

Radar frame capture corresponding to 3:50 pm. My mobile position is shown by the target icon. The black arrow points to the most intense area of the storm, the two white arrows indicated storm movement.

3:52 pm. Non-severe, but very photogenic low-base storm. Eastbound on Highway 3, about 2.3 miles west of Luxemburg in northwest Dubuque County, looking northeast. Storm is about 10 miles away.

Similar capture one minute later. This storm continued east but my pursuit of it was interrupted and ended by a detour that took me out of the chase, as it had nearly reached the Mississippi River. With no other storms in the reachable vicinity, it was time to give up the intercept and head for home. Pretty much a bust in Iowa.

4:12 pm. A brief stop on Little Road just west of Highway 136 in Delaware County, and 1.5 miles south of Dyersville, Iowa. The sky had cleared, but an interesting updraft was seen in the west sky.

4:53 pm. Looking south at post-stormy sky while southbound (SW) on US Highway 151 southwest of Cascade, Iowa in Jones County. All told, 160 miles of driving with a very limited yield.

While storms were impotent in Iowa, they intensified and grew as they moved into the state of Illinois, as this radar capture from 7:00 pm shows. Severe weather stretched from western Illinois into Chicago.

8:59 pm. All was not completely done in Iowa, however. After the sun went down (8:46 pm), mild mammatus formations were illuminated in pinks and oranges by the sun. This view looks southeast from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids.

9:01 pm. Similar capture looking southwest, including a waxing crescent moon. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.