First Alert Storm Chase heads to South Dakota on eighth day

Añadido: 2026-06-05

[00:00:00]Weather for you, Isaac, is a little better. Have we been able to to get some storms out there for you today?

[00:00:07]>> Yeah, JD and Patrick, we are actually in the middle of about three or four storms. It's sunny right overhead where we are here in Redfield, South Dakota, which is just south of Aberdeen, South Dakota. And over my right shoulder here, we have a pretty strong storm in progress here. It's It's rotating, uh but we are not seeing anything super strong just yet. But that's certainly something that we are watching there, uh as well. And if we can pan over Macy to the left, you can see above the van, that is the anvil of the storm. So, that is basically the mid and upper-level wind shear uh shearing off the top of the storm. So, that lets us know that there is again that wind shear present for uh severe storms. And then I also want to uh kind of swing around over to uh my left here, which is to the north, and off in the distance there is another thunderstorm that is developing. And we can actually see the edge of the the base of the cloud there and the base of the updraft. So, uh we're in the beginning stages of storm development out here in northeast South Dakota, and we are actually trying to figure out exactly which uh storm we want to go to uh just yet here. But we're in a good position to go east, north, south, or west, and uh we're watching things uh minute by minute out here.

[00:01:12]>> So, Isaac, uh what what are some of the main threats that you're looking out for today? Cuz obviously every severe weather setup is different. So, what are the threats that are the atmosphere, I guess, is conducive for this afternoon?

[00:01:24]>> Well, we've got better moisture, JD, today. The dew point at Aberdeen's airport and the one south of here well into the 60s, close to 70 in uh areas a little bit south of here. And that's the air that's coming toward us. So, we do have that going for us. And again, the wind shear is not excellent just yet.

[00:01:40]We're still at uh you know, 5:30 local time, but there could be an a little bit more of an increase in wind shear a little later on this evening, and maybe another hour or two that could get these storms rotating more. We'll have to wait and see. But certainly hail, wind, and a couple of tornadoes on the on the board here. We're actually in a tornado watch for the rest of the afternoon up here in the Dakotas.

[00:01:59]>> And based off of what we're seeing, this is the best probably set up so far on the storm chase that we've had for at least the potential for severe storms.

[00:02:07]So that's some good news. Looks like you and your team are in the right spot.

[00:02:10]We're definitely going to be here with you tracking the storms and getting the data that you're sending back. Of course, First Alert Chief Meteorologist Jennifer Valdez is not here. She is out of the country, but I have to ask our standing question. How many miles did you drive today, Isaac?

[00:02:26]>> All right. So I've got a better answer for you guys finally and Jennifer when we when she gets back. So so far in total, it's been 4,500 miles for the whole trip. Now for today, it's about 300-ish miles. So not super a lot today, but we're in the 4,000-plus range for the entire storm chase so far.

[00:02:46]>> All right. Well, we appreciate that, Isaac. Y'all have fun, but more importantly, stay safe out there.