Day Six

Weatherwise, not a terribly exciting start.  Severe clear, hot, and humid.  On a personal note, however, a stellar day—we stopped at St. Cloud State University, where I had my first teaching job as a professor.  Got to see Jean Hoff and Tony Hansen, saw their weather lab (dual monitor workstations, very nice), but Bob Weisman wasn’t there, sadly.  They moved out of the basement and up onto the first floor.  Geology is pretty much gone, but their met and hydro sides are flourishing.  Good for them!  I hadn’t set foot on campus in nearly 12 years, so it was a very nice visit.  So glad I had the chance to stop by.  Saw a sign for Munsinger Gardens and my heart sank—me with my camera and all those flowers!  Speaking of which, we just drove past Albany when I remembered my little quest to photograph flowers in all the places I’ve lived—a lost opportunity, sadly.  Hope it doesn’t take another 12 years to get back to STC…

After lunch in St. Cloud (by the way, the old Bakers Square in STC is shuttered), our plan is to head north and west up I94 to stop in Alexandria and Fergus Falls (both MN), and Fargo, ND before landing in Grand Forks, where we hope the ‘death ridge’ is ultimately defeated.

Another sign we’re in rural MN: just drove by a billboard for a large veterinarian pharmacy and outlet with the website WeDoCows.com.  They must absolutely love answering the phone there.

One of the students is keeping track of our progress graphically on her Facebook page.  As of yesterday (Ramsey, MN), we’ve driven 2043 miles.

One of the signs we’re in North Dakota: 75 mph speed limits.  Another: a brand new Lincoln CUV at a gas station with a running laptop on the front seat , with the driver’s door open AND THE CAR RUNNING.  Probably a chaser with more money than brains.

Teachable moment this afternoon: saw cumulus clouds with high bases tilting over with height.  This tells us that we’re looking at good vertical wind shear.  Another teachable moment: while driving on I94 west toward Fargo there was a very distinct change from cumulus to perfectly clear skies: most likely this is the ‘cold’ front.  Hard to call it a cold front when the temps just behind it are in the 90s.

 
Caught sight of a severe thunderstorm in Nevis, MN on our way to Grand Forks on I29.  Pics are taken in Grandin, ND.  THE STORM IS OVER 100 MILES AWAY FROM US IN THESE PICTURES.  Note the beautiful anvil and the overshooting top.  The storm has estimated hail sizes of 1.5 to 2 inches, max reflectivities of 68 dBZ, and we estimated the tops to be over 55K feet.  As much as we might have liked to chase this storm, it was too far away at this point (obviously), and the area is probably too forested to see much of it.  If we were closer, we’d likely not be able to see the anvil and overshooting top.  Nonetheless, SCORE!  FYI, that storm later split into two, with a very distinct left moving and right-moving storm.  Some pics below:

Good night from Grand Forks.  Total so far: 2350 miles driven.