Broad QLCS circulation passed over/very close to my location. Very intense winds, associated with the QLCS's RIJ being wrapped around the circulation! Pretty wild. Had to intercept it here after being rendered unable to outrun it further east due to traffic issues, storm forward speed, and cell data. It wasn't tornadic at the time, but was showing signs of further intensification.
Incredible QLCS structure from the notch yesterday. Broad QLCS circulation was rapidly approaching, and I decided to intercept from where I'd parked. I recieved 70-80mph winds at peak and very obvious wind shifts as it passed over. Don't recommend doing that unless you're a bit stuck like I was. Could no longer outrun the line lol. But what an experience!
That was intense. Thankfully it was broad at the time and only served to locally enhance the RIJ of the QLCS as is wrapped around. My little Ford Focus was rocking like none other. Fast moving QLCS, was over in about 5 minutes. Winds shifted nearly 180 degrees as it passed over.
And I'll say it, don't do what I did here if you're chasing! I miscalculated my position due to bad cell service and basically placed myself directly in the path of the circulation that I thought was going to pass just to my south!
Around 5:30pm! Very strong winds on the south side of town, and a 90 degree wind shift noted as the circulation passed very close by.
Spent a few hours just wandering over the endless aeolian (wind sculpted) dunes of the Sheyenne Grasslands, through Bur Oak Savanna clinging to dunes interspersed with upland prairie. Some of these Bur Oaks are very old despite their appearance. The well drained sandy soils that characterize the upland sites can shunt the growth of the oaks in dry years, compounded by their open exposure to repeated wind events, blizzards, fires...
The upland Oak Savanna and prairie are ecosystems of resilience and disturbance. Imagine what these oaks have seen through the decades!
The northern tip of the Prairie Coteau in far southern Sargent county at Head of the Mountain nature preserve. The point where the Des Moines lobe and James lobe diverged, carving out the land below... leaving behind the Coteau escarpment that abruptly rises above the surrounding prairie.
Looking north from here, you see the low, rolling drift prairie landscape blending into the distant horizon. Windswept Elm and Ash on the slightly more moist slope standing as tough survivors that refuse to die in the unforgiving wind. This land tells you a story if you know how to listen. A tangible reminder of the glaciers that formed the landscape we know today.