Since we set up camp in the dark the night before, I was
surprised by my surroundings when the sun came up on day two. We were in the Ouachita’s and only a short walk from the Kansas River. One bank was very white,
sandy, and very fine (point bar). The other was rocky and covered in vegetation
(cut bank). The very width of the point
bar tells that the river floods, probably regularly.
This day added to my tasks. Everyone in the van was assigned
a different weather instrument and at every stop I had to check the barometric
pressure and record that, as well as measurements for temperature, wind,
humidity, and gusts. We took four readings before we got to Oklahoma. Then the
weather changed. We watched as the clouds grew heavy, formed a wall cloud, and
the sky opened. We survived our first Great Plains thunderstorm. The following pictures show the progression of the storm as it builds.
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| The sky started to grow darker. |
 |
| Mammatus clouds formed. I'd never seen these outside of a book. |
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| Rain in the distance--we got a few sprinkles on the windshield, but nothing to get worried over. |
The day ended in Cedar Bluff State Park in Kansas, where we
set up camp in the dark again.
Since we set up camp in the dark the night before, I was
surprised by my surroundings when the sun came up on day two. We were in the Ouachita’s and only a short walk from the Kansas River. One bank was very white,
sandy, and very fine (point bar). The other was rocky and covered in vegetation
(cut bank). The very width of the point
bar tells that the river floods, probably regularly. 
I think it's spelled Ouachita, in Arkansas...
ReplyDeleteoh, and you forgot to mention the mammatus clouds....
ReplyDelete