Moderate Risk Storm Chase Day to SW Wisconsin

 

Two days before the severe weather outbreak in southwestern Wisconsin on June 15, 2022, The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) posted a Slight Risk from northeast Iowa and northeastward into Wisconsin. By June 14 the convective outlook had been upgraded to an Enhanced Risk in much of the same area. The Enhanced Risk outlook held through the morning of Wednesday, June 15, but at 12:17 pm CDT, it was upgraded to a Moderate Risk. This new outlook covered most of the southern half of Wisconsin (upper left in graphic above). It was time to take action! I left work early at 1:00 pm and headed back home. My cousin from Victorville, California was visiting and was to meet up with me for a storm chase at a moment's notice if conditions warranted. With the Moderate Risk, it did. Also seen in the graphic above are tornado, wind and hail outlooks.

1:47 pm CDT. My storm chasing vehicle in our driveway in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, all set up and ready to go and waiting for cousin David Acosta to arrive. He did in short order, and we were on our way after he moved his gear into my vehicle. Air temperature at this time was in the mid-to-upper 90s, with triple digit heat indices. Knowing where the Moderate Risk area was placed, I chose the area near Platteville, Wisconsin as the our storm initiation target location. iPhone 11 camera.

Tornado Watch 371 is issued while we were en route. The watch covered northeast Iowa and much of the state of Wisconsin, and was effective from 2:25 to 10:00 pm CDT.

2:59 pm. A small cumulus tower rises at center background, almost indistinguishable from its surrounding clouds as seen in the western sky as we traveled (northeast) on US Highway 151, about ten miles southwest of Dubuque, Iowa. Storm initiation was under way, and we hadn't even reached Platteville. 

3:13 pm. The small cumulus tower has exploded into a full-fledged mature cumulonimbus storm cell in just 14 minutes. Image looks west. Continuing northeast on US Highway 151 inside the city of Dubuque.

3:22 pm. Looking west at the cumulonimbus cloud on US Highway 151/61 through the town of Kieler, a short distance inside the state of Wisconsin.

3:25 pm. Looking northwest on US Highway 151/61, entering the town of Dickeyville.

3:30 pm. Impressive cumulonimbus, with echo tops reaching 50,000 feet, looking northwest while on US Highway 61 just northwest of Dickeyville (42°38'3.94"N,  90°36'38.97"W). The most intense area of the storm was about 28 miles distant.

Radar image for 3:30 pm, showing our location (white target icon), direction to the storm (white arrow), and storm track (black arrows).

3:51 pm. Traveling northeast on US Highway 61 near Circle Road in Lancaster, Wisconsin in Grant County. The storm, which was moving left-to-right in this image, was beginning to overrun our path.

4:01 pm. Most definitely not storm chasers. In their marked slow moving vehicle, two Amish men travel along US Highway 18 in the town of Fennimore, Wisconsin as the storm approaches.

4:30 pm. Our first temporary stationary spotting location on Laufenberg Road at Blue River Road (42°58'50.88"N,  90°24'14.13"W), about 1.3 miles northeast of Montfort, Wisconsin in Iowa County. Threatening skies gather in this image looking north.

Radarscope image corresponding to 4:30 pm. The blue target icon indicates our location.

4:33 pm. Looking west from Laufenberg Road. A tornado-warned feature is seen at center background, with a vigorous downdraft at right. David Acosta shields himself (foreground) from 35-40 mph winds (probably RFD) and rain. 

4:34 pm. Acosta photographs the storm from alongside our vehicle. Note the mounted weather station on the vehicle. It is a Davis Weather Instruments Vantage Vue unit that I recently retired from our house roof, replaced by a Tempest Weatherflow station. I mounted the Vantage Vue on my vehicle, rigged for portability and removability for measurements in the field. The weather station slides down a 12 inch mast mount and is further anchored to the vehicle by use of a bungee cord. I did not intend to have it mounted to the vehicle when it was under way, but did so once following departure from this location, at road speeds of 45-50 mph. It passed its first field test with flying colors!

4:36 pm. Tornado-warned feature (left center), looking west from Blue River Road at Laufenberg Road. Note the inflow cloud, seemingly connected to the downdraft structure at right.

4:36 pm. Similar capture, including Acosta photographing the storm.

4:39 pm. Looking north from Blue River Road. Was there a tornado embedded in there at left? Unknown, but possible. 

4:39 pm. Similar capture.

Weather.us Base Velocity (inbound and outbound winds) radar for 4:40 pm, showing a bright (intense) spot just to the northwest of our location (target icon). 

Weather.us Reflectivity Composite radar image for 4:40 pm. Target icon is our location.

4:54 pm. Looking southeast at low hanging clouds on County Line Road (I) (42°59'16.93"N,  90°25'41.21"W), from a brief stationary position about one mile north of the town of Montfort. The clouds were moving right-to-left in the image, and were not rotating.

5:18 pm. Looking southeast at a lowering along state highway 80 (43° 3'37.46"N,  90°22'22.48"W) from the northern edge of Highland, Wisconsin in Iowa County.

5:59 pm. Final stationary spotting location. Located on Bills Road at state highway 80 (43° 1'5.91"N,  90°20'35.92"W), about 2.3 miles southeast of Highland. This view looks northeast at a updraft feature.

 

6:07 pm. Stormy skies looking west from Bills Road at state highway 80. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

6:20 pm. End of the chase and preparing to head for home. But before we did, we couldn't resist taking a "selfie" that included the sign name "Bills Road." It amused us that it was similar to "Bob's Road," as referenced in the movie Twister, and we thought it appropriate. 

Chase map.