May 21, 2008 I-80 Wind and Wind

The atmosphere was finally recharging after almost a week of down time for chasers.  Surface low pressure was becoming established on the High Plains, and we sat along Interstate 80, hoping for some Cheyenne Ridge magic.  Nothing noteworthy developed stormwise, however.  My notes say that we had “junky cells” in the Sidney, NE area.  The only photo I took was early on, near Cheyenne.  The big story was the strong east-southeasterly winds in the late afternoon and evening from Kimball to Sidney.  Sustained winds from 40 to 50 mph raised a lot of dust.  CAPE-starved updrafts had difficulty sustaining themselves in the strong low-level shear.