We knew that the risk of severe storms was pretty much zero today, so the goal was basically to find a thunderstorm and just enjoy the experience out on the wide open plains.
We decided to head to the NW Oklahoma Panhandle, choosing Boise City to stop for lunch, having left Amarillo earlier in the day.
Whilst having lunch, thunderstorms were developing over the mountains of NE New Mexico, and we expected these to drift slowly eastwards. After lunch we continued west and then north, pausing to view the distant thunderheads en route.
We arrived at Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma, and parked up in the small car park there. By now, the thunderstorms were rather closer, and we started to observe lightning in the distance. Over a period of around an hour or so, we let these storms slowly approach - all around us was quietness, punctuated by the sound of Western Meadowlarks, and crickets. And thunder. The sonorous roll of thunder reverbated around the mesas and hillsides. It was a lovely experience.
As the rain started to arrive, we headed back to Boise City. We decided we would stay in Dodge City, Kansas, and so began the ~160 mile journey. We paused several times en route to view the storms, which slowly followed us. One became severe warned for a time too.
After dinner at Applebee's in Dodge, we saw that lightning was present west of town, so we headed away from the lights to get a few pictures.
All in all it was a very pleasant and relaxing day, taking in the sights and sounds of the High Plains.
Thunderstorm rumbling over a mesa, at Black Mesa, Oklahoma.
Thunderstorm in Kansas.
Same storm over a wheat field in Kansas.
CG lightning to the west of Dodge City.
Cloud-cloud lightning west of Dodge City.
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