After the chase yesterday, we awoke in Ottumwa, Iowa after a good night's sleep.  The model data was pointing to the area around Des Moines, Iowa as the target area for potential tornadic supercells.  The Storm Prediction Center placed an Enhanced Risk with a 5% Tornado probability in our area.

The draw back to this day was a very strong cap that could prevent any daytime storms from developing, so we put the usual plan in place to do some wildlife photography in the area of the potential chase and if storms erupted, we'd be in position.

We got on the road mid-morning and drove toward Des Moines, Iowa.  On the way we detoured right off the highway for a drive through the Neal Smith Conservation Area.  Took in the photo opportunity.  We then made plans to meet up with our friend Jeff Piotrowski for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in Des Moines.

The side story of the day occurred during lunch when my son Ryan took his first bite into his cheese infused Burger.  I took  the brunt of an unexpected explosion of cheese shooting out of the side of his burger. 

After lunch, there was still no sign of storms, so we took a short side trip so Brian could visit his parents who live in west Des Moines.  The storm target was setting up further west, so after his short visit, we got back on the road and headed west out of Des Moines.  With still no storms brewing, we decided to head down to Lake Anita State Park for more wildlife photo opportunities.   Spent some time in the park giving the camera a work out.  Meanwhile, still no storms as the cap was holding tight.  

As afternoon turned into evening, we headed further south.  Hopes were fading as sunset approached and it became obvious that storms would not fire in our area before darkness.  We  headed back toward Brian's place for the night, but on the way we drove through Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge (Loess Bluffs) once again just before dark.  The snakes were very active right before dark making Ryan very happy. 

Storms eventually did fire after dark and quickly lined out into a squall line.  No tornadoes were reported and we had distant view of the storm's lightning as we continued on our way back to Brian's place.

It was just one of these storm chase days that did not live up to expectations.  Having the alternate photography plan in place and getting to visit new places keeps the day from being a total failure.  Storm wise though, the day was a bust.