The wavy band of severe storms that caused the Great Western Derecho of 2020 receded toward the northeastern horizon, leaving behind a rain-quenched, windblown Badlands scene that sparkled with occasional lightning in the distance. Twilight’s “blue hour” imparted a somber, thoughtful mood, combining with the moisture for natural tonal saturation of the already rich clay colors. Flash floods carved these soft sediments into their present form, but on this day the rain was just enough to soak, not flood. The cool, moist calm of the evening, with chirping crickets and the final calls of one or two western meadowlarks, belied the fierce, hurricane-force gusts that swept across this scene about an hour before.
10 SSE Wall SD (6 Jun 20) Looking ENE
43.8481, -102.2117