June 10, 2009 Southwest Kansas Supercell

I figured out after lunch that the target today was extreme southwest Kansas.  Shear and instability would be sufficient for supercells, but tornadoes were unlikely.  We began in Pratt and lunched in Medicine Lodge, and then scooted west on 160 to Johnson City.  A somewhat high-based storm was intercepted between Walsh and Saunders, slightly into Colorado.  It exhibited a rather ho-hum look, and later had a decent lowered area along the Morton/Stanton county line in Kansas.  During the last hour before sunset, a supercell quickly developed in western Stevens County and moved east.  The storm was just to our north along 51 near Hugoton, and we got a little in front of it for a nice structure show between Woods and U.S. 83.  A brief tornado was reported with the cell near U.S. 83 in northern Seward County, but we didn’t see it.

The storm moved to our north and northeast as we waited near 83 and 51.  When the hail subsided a little, we came up on the cell’s western edge where 83 jogs to the east, and observed some nice hail fog.  It was a little after sunset and the storm was a little less impressive, so the chase was terminated.  A flooded dirt road along U.S. 83 provided a pretty diversion and photo op on the way to Lamar for the night.