We had a pleasant drive from Pierre, South Dakota, to Minot, North Dakota, today, with a bit of excitement in the last hour.
The weather yesterday and today has been hot (85-90 degrees F) and a bit more humid than one would expect for this time of year. We spent some time walking along the north bank of the Missouri this morning before we left, and stopped to photograph periodically. This amazing thunderhead that we photographed early in the afternoon was interesting visually but it became one of the storms that developed later.
We stopped for gas at Grimley's Fuels, Underwood, ND, about 65 miles south of Minot. As I was filling the tank a local fellow asked me where we were heading. He then told me that there was a severe storm in Minot and, looking south, said that there were two other storms that would likely hit the area we were in. 'It's going to be an interesting night', he said, as he drove away.
I phoned the Marriott in Minot and was told that the storm had already passed through the city. I glanced at the dark clouds south of us and drove north fast enough to outrun most weather systems.
We saw what appeared to be mist as we approached the city. It was water vapour resulting from very cold rain and hail meeting the hot fields and roads. The air is still cold here in Minot and there is the chance of more thunderstorms tonight: but we hope that the tornadoes will stay away.
In the meantime we have a fine hotel room, cable TV and free wireless internet: and we're not leaving here until the weather is clear.
Stay tuned for another exciting episode in Driving the Great Plains. We're enjoying every minute of it.
Comments