Lightning & Bow

Check out this double lighting strike from this line of storms. This particular storm was located just south of Pierre, thanks to Zach in Pierre for this great picture. You can see a couple of the lightning streamers that didn't make it to the ground but were in search of the fastest way to connect with something of the opposite charge.

Here's that bow that's pushing through central South Dakota right now along a cold front. Expect this line to bring hail and heavy downpours in areas where strong thunderstorms embedded in this line are occurring. We'll also see some strong winds move along and behind this front. Overnight we'll see this line fill in even more, possibly changing into a Mesoscale Convective System or MCS.

Here's a quick definition of an MCS from the NWS:
Mesoscale Convective System. Mesoscale Convective System. A complex of thunderstorms which becomes organized on a scale larger than the individual thunderstorms, and normally persists for several hours or more. MCSs may be round or linear in shape, and include systems such as tropical cyclones, squall lines, and Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCs) (among others). MCS often is used to describe a cluster of thunderstorms that does not satisfy the size, shape, or duration criteria of an Mesoscale Convective Complex.

So we're going to be looking at these storms forming a much larger cluster of thunderstorms and rainshowers.

Enjoy a nice lightning show from indoors & stay safe.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Severe Saturday

This is a close up view of a tornadic cell in Nebraska, heading towards the town of Pierce. The rotation within it seems to have weakened a bit, but the warning lasts for another 10 minutes or so.

If we zoom out a bit - this is a view of the SE sector of the viewing area, some pretty heavy rainshowers are working up towards Sioux Falls right now, expect storms and showers to spark up within the next half hour or so.

There's also a line off West that's moving eastward and will pass through the state mainly during the overnight hours, this is along a cold front that will bring cooler and drier air to our region.

Hope you like the 70s, they'll be back.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Severe Storms & A Wet Weekend

Here's a look from the DOT cams from Safetravelusa.com looking to the West at some severe storms that produced quarter size hail earlier today.

Here's a look at the severe storms when they were quite intense. There was actually a flash flood warning in effect for McPherson and Brown county because of all the rainfall that's been put out from these storms.

Watch this line of thunderstorms fill in as we go throughout the overnight hours and push eastward.

More severe weather chances spreading across the entire state for Saturday, if you see sunshine during the afternoon hours, you are going to be at risk for severe weather during the evening. We'll keep you posted.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Storms Out West Tonight... Moving East Tomorrow?

We're on the look-out for isolated storms in our area. So far we're just watching storms off in western South Dakota, with clear skies and lots of heat and humidity toward the east. Here's what the latest image from the Rapid City radar is showing:

Not the strongest of storms or the most organized, yet, but we'll watch them this evening. Here's what we're seeing as some rainfall possibilities for your Friday night - Saturday morning:
See that blob showing up on that map? That represents some possible showers out there around 1am on Friday night to early Saturday. In general storms will be widespread - but also fairly isolated in nature. A couple of stronger storms are a possibility farther toward the North.

Have a great night! We'll update you should an isolated stronger storm sneak into our area.

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

The Heat Is On... Will It Continue?

Today we saw our first 90 degree day in the Sioux Falls area since June 22nd. That is quite a feat considering our average temperature actually dipped to 84 degrees just a couple of days ago. Looking ahead - it seems like Thursday will possibly be the warmest/hottest day of the week. How hot? Well, look at this computer-model forecast map of temperatures that lines up closely with our KDLT forecast:

Look at those temperatures. Possibly over 100 degrees toward SW South Dakota, with upper 90s possible as far east as eastern South Dakota. The rest of us will look for some form of 90s for the next couple of days - until about Saturday. Then things cool down a bit.

Here's what we're looking for heading into the day on Sunday, again using computer model forecasted high temperatures:

Highs in the 70s? We're not quite buying into that - but it is a possibility. Right now I am thinking we'll see about a 10 degree swing from Saturday's highs to Sunday's. 91 degrees to 81 degrees.

Enjoy the heat - or stay cool... depending on your taste.

Have a good night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Dense Fog

Some really thick fog developed this morning in areas around the Sioux Falls metro and visibilities at times are near zero. Even though many areas are seeing some lower visibilities because of fog this morning, the really dense clouds have set up shop right around Sioux Falls. Take a peak at a current surface map. The number I have circled represents the current visibility in miles.

Here is a visible satellite image of what the fog looks like just after sunrise. Notice a sharp edge to the blob of clouds hugging the surface.Keep in mind that over 700 people are killed in the U.S. every year in car accidents because of dense fog where visibilities are a quarter mile or less. This is from a 2001 study. The main factor in those crashes is speed. So the best thing you can do if you are traveling this morning is to slow down. Don't become a statistic!!

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight

We're watching for meteors here in the KDLT studio... now that things are getting darker it's possible you'll see some.

In that image above we highlighted some of the features of the meteor shower.

Here are some facts, courtesy of Yahoo:

Perseid meteoroids (which is what they're called while in space) are fast. They enter Earth's atmosphere (and are then called meteors) at roughly 133,200 mph (60 kilometers per second) relative to the planet. Most are the size of sand grains; a few are as big as peas or marbles. Almost none hit the ground, but if one does, it's called a meteorite.

Comet Swift-Tuttle, whose debris creates the Perseids, is the largest object known to make repeated passes near Earth. Its nucleus is about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) across, roughly equal to the object that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Back in the early 1990s, astronomer Brian Marsden calculated that Swift-Tuttle might actually hit Earth on a future pass. More observations quickly eliminated all possibility of a collision. Marsden found, however, that the comet and Earth might experience a cosmic near miss (about a million miles) in 3044.

When a Perseid particle enters the atmosphere, it compresses the air in front of it, which heats up. The meteor, in turn, can be heated to more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 Celsius). The intense heat vaporizes most meteors, creating what we call shooting stars. Most become visible at around 60 miles up (97 kilometers). Some large meteors splatter, causing a brighter flash called a fireball, and sometimes an explosion that can often be heard from the ground.

Comet Swift-Tuttle has many comet kin. Most originate in the distant Oort cloud, which extends nearly halfway to the next star. The vast majority never visit the inner solar system. But a few, like Swift-Tuttle, have been gravitationally booted onto new trajectories, possibly by the gravity of a passing star long ago.

Perseid meteoroids (and if you've been following along, you know these are things in space before they hit Earth's atmosphere) are anywhere from 60 to 100 miles apart, even at the densest part of the river of debris left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. That river, in fact, is more like many streams, each deposited during a different pass of the comet on its 130-year orbit around the Sun. The material drifts through space and, in fact, orbits the Sun on roughly the same path as the comet while also spreading out over time.

As Earth rotates, the side facing the direction of its orbit around the Sun tends to scoop up more space debris. This part of the sky is directly overhead at dawn. For this reason, the Perseids and other meteor showers (and also random shooting stars in general) are usually best viewed in the predawn hours.

Comet Swift-Tuttle was last seen in 1992, an unspectacular pass through the inner solar system that required binoculars to enjoy. Prior to that, it had last been seen in the year it was "discovered" by American astronomers Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, 1862. Abraham Lincoln was President.

Swift-Tuttle's orbit has been traced back nearly 2,000 years and is now thought to be the same comet that was observed in 188 AD and possibly even as early as 69 BC.

Swift-Tuttle is due back in 2126 (as you know now, it won't hit us) and astronomers think it might become a spectacular naked-eye comet like Hale-Bopp. If historical calculations are correct (see Fact #9) then the 2126 appearance will mark the comet's 3rd millennium of human observation, assuming someone is in fact around to see it.

Interesting facts - and things look clear tonight. Hopefully you get a chance to check it out!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Warm Week Ahead

Temperatures are on the rise over the next couple of days and we could be on our way to the warmest week of the summer. Now, I realize that doesn't say a whole lot for this particular summer just because we have been so cool but it will be a nice treat for the kids who have to go back to school next week and the farmers who are looking to help their crops along. Won't be too hot today with temperatures expected to be in the 80's:But just wait till tomorrow when highs will be back in the 90's for at least two thirds of South Dakota:

The good news is that dew points should stay relatively low over the next couple of days. So it will be hot but at least it will be bearably hot

Today:

Tuesday:But it won't last long as the humidity will be creeping back on up on Wednesday so the week may end rather sultry.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz