Just curious as I have been travelling up in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming. I rode 1086 miles my first day and stopped in Holyoke, Colorado due to a tornado/thunderstorm. Looked impressive on those plains.
I noticed the last few weeks of watching the weather channel (that's what old folks do right?) that a common name of Rapid City keeps coming up on warnings.
It really seems pretty bad out on the upper/lower plains as well as Texas/Oklahoma.

So just asking if this keeps up does that alter Sturgis plans?
What kind of monster storm stories regarding Sturgis do you have to tell?
Any tips for those hail storms and riding them out if caught in the open?

 

Bring rain gear, you will use it. As far as hail, wear a helmet and stay under cover. I rode out one storm under a overpass, and made it to a gas station for another one.

 

It will keep up. This is the typical weather pattern over the region. Key word being typical. Different long wave patterns occasionally set up which bring extended periods of good/bad weather. The spring/summer of 1987 or 1988, can't remember right off hand we had a huge high pressure system set up over the Midwest that was eventually cut off by the jet stream. Weeks and weeks of hot, dry weather.

Only thing you can do is be prepared for every potential scenario and hope, and pray if you're the type, that you don't get caught in the severe stuff.

Sorry no personal stories to share of getting caught in the open. I'm sure you'll get some.

 

I've been there three times and every time it rains so hard you'd think the dam broke. Also hail, we've been caught in tremendous hail storms there. Tents shredded bikes dinged. Make sure you have something to throw over the bike if you're outside and it's not sheltered.

 

Last year we went the week before. Got rained on several days and hailed on a couple of times as well. Keep that rain gear with you.

 

Google Sturgis hail storm 2009, You'll get a good idea of what can happen and how I ended up with a new paint set on my Softail.

 

I've never been up that way but in most all of the Sturgis specials on TV, it seemed to rain there a lot. There was black sky's in half of the long, outdoor shots they showed.

 

I have seen golf ball size hail, one year it hailed so bad they had to plow it off the streets. When you see the sky getting dark haul *** it seems like the storms come in very fast in the black hills. Seen a guy holding his quick release windshield over his head to protect him from the golf ball hail.

 

I didn't get caught in any bad weather last year. The storms that did pop up came at night and I was already back at the campground. I had no cell connectivity (T-Mobile) so I couldn't get a doppler shot at any time. At night, distant lightning was the only warning we had.

I would highly recommend bringing a bike cover of some kind unless you have a trailer to stow your bike in for late night storms.

 

From the time that I was there and what others that I personally know that have been there have said, I would say, go prepared for anything. It has been very hot, very cold, hail storms to flash flooding. It is difficult to predict what kind of weather that area will have because I think Mother Nature sometimes seems to have a very warped sense of humor when it comes to 500k plus bikers trying to have a good time. I just missed getting caught in a major rain storm, with a little thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure, I'm glad that I was undercover, some weren't that lucky.