High Plains Drifter

Target Benkleman, NE.  I am typing this afternoon from my target area in Benkleman, NE.  I failed to post a brief forecast, so I’ll do that now.  I decided to chase today after it appeared that decent severe threat may extend farther south than anticipated yesterday.  I had originally thought I would chase farther north after staying the night somewhere after yesterday’s chase, however since yesterday’s chase was rather close to home, I decided to semi-blow off today and just head back to Dodge after the chase.  I left Dodge City this morning around 10:30 or so and arrived here in Benkleman around 3pm.  There is a dryline extending north-south through this area and all the models suggest fairly vigorous convective development late this afternoon and this evening.  So I await here in Benkleman under mostly cloudy skies with a large band of cirrostratus clouds over this area.  Surface temperatures, however, have now warmed into the upper 80s here, so the clouds are of very little impact on heating.  We’ll see what happens, there’s a very nice, strong system centered over the Great Salt Lake region this afternoon, and strong lift will continue to spread east interacting with the warm/moist sector (where I am at!) anytime now.