Gallery 1: The TornadoFest

 

Video Captures From Our Chases



The following are still frames captured from video which we shot during chases past. Enjoy!

Dimmitt, TX. June 2, 1995.









Friona, TX. June 2, 1995. A really close encounter!!










Webster, SD. July 17, 1996.





Ryan, OK. May 8, 1993.
During one of the most incredible tornado-filled weeks of chasing ever, a classic, cyclical supercell produced mostly weak tornadoes from near Archer City, TX to northeast of Ryan, OK where these brief but striking tornadoes occured. Paul Robinson was along with Bill and David this day.



Truncated cone tornado just misses the town of Ryan, OK. After the Ryan tornado occludes and dies, this tornado rapidly forms northeast of town. It attained multiple-vortex structure at times.

Canadian, TX. March 26, 1995.
On March 26 of this incredible tornado year, Bill and David go out on day on which much of the instability has been destroyed by a large munching squall line marching east out of the Texas Panhandle across Oklahoma. But, behind the storms along the dryline, magic occurs...




Classic tornado partially obscured by bluffs and rain drops on windshield!
Funnel widens a bit and our video quality goes down the crapper!
All good things must come to an end. In the case of a tornado, that means the "roping out" stage.

Sheridan Lake, CO. May 31, 1996.





Hanston, KS. May 16, 1995.
This was a very interesting day. We were chasing with VORTEX this day. No sooner had the field coordinator (FC) called it a day then this beast formed. The Hanston tornado would remain on the ground for about 30 minutes first touching down just southeast of town. On our way out of town, we hit a deep ditch in one of the gravel roads resulting in a cracked front axle! We managed to intercept the tornado anyhow.






Funnel appears just southeast of Hanston. Funnel is thin but reaches for terra firma. We race east to catch up to the tornado passing a sherrif's deputy on the way. This is a classic multiple-vortex tornado. The tornado about 25 minutes later at night. This frame was captured painstakingly - it was the only lightning-illuminated shot of the tornado as it passed just southeast of us!

Easton, IL. April 19, 1996.






More Friona. June 2, 1995. All captures (C) Robert Prentice 1995
While Bill is having fun on the northeast side of Friona, Bobby Prentice and David Gold are having their own version of joy on the southeast side of town. The large, multiple-vortex tornado forms about 1.5 miles to their southwest and moves towards them before they get out of its way.




Nub-shaped funnel forms beneath very large bowl shaped wall cloud.
Large tornado begins to take shape.
An individual vortex develops within the large-scale tornado circulation.
About 15 minutes later, the tornado has become a "wedge" as it destroys the airport north of town.

More Dimmitt. June 2, 1995. All captures (C) Robert Prentice 1995
About two hours later, the spectacular tornadic feast continues as a classic tornado develops southwest of Dimmitt, TX. Bobby and David set up camp on Highway 86 about 6 miles east of Dimmitt. The pictures you see at the top of this page were taken by Bill and his group south of Dimmitt. Toward the end of the sequence of stills to follow, Bobby and David get within 1/4 mile of the Dimmitt tornado as it crosses Hwy 86 to their west.




Classic tapered cone tornado
Tornado widens at the base
Here we are able to see the wall cloud and RFD dry slot as it occludes the tornado.
An even wider angle shot showing the entire tornado cyclone and mesocyclone circulations




Several more shots of the Dimmitt tornado...
...as it undergoes interesting fluctuations..
...in size and shape.
The tornado has picked up lots of dirt from plowed fields


Tornado crosses Hwy 86 just 1/4 mile west of our location
Bobby strikes a pose in front of the big hose

Joplin, MO. October 8, 1993.
Tornadoes can and do occur frequently during the autumn as evidenced by this tornado in southwestern Missouri. The supercell which spawned this tornado was one of several which developed along and just north of a stationary front draped across northern OK and southern MO. We believe that a combination of moderate instability associated with high dewpoints "pooled" along this boundary and enhanced local vertical and baroclinic streamwise vorticity were primary contributing factors to supercell formation.



Sapulpa, OK. May 26, 1997.
The day after barely missing the Wellington, KS tornado (our approach route to the tornado abruptly ended as the tornado was forming - I wish we had been using GPS navigation that day!!) we were treated to this classic tornado in Sapulpa, OK. Several very significant tornadic supercells explosively developed along the Oklahoma dryline this day.



The Sapulpa tornado to our southwest. We sat in this spot watching it form 15 minutes prior to inception!
Same tornado just a moment or two later.
The same parent supercell produces a new, strongly rotating wall cloud to the east-southeast of the dying Sapulpa tornado. This wall cloud came very close to producing a tornado but in the end managed only a few brief funnels (not shown).

Various and Sundry tornadoes


This horrific beast was boogyin' to the north-northeast at 60 mph. At one point, it was over 1 mile in diameter! Near Colton, SD on June 7, 1993.
Brief tornado south of Friona on May 25, 1996. We saw several brief tornadoes in this area this day.

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All images shown here and elsewhere on this site are the exclusive copyrighted property of Silver Lining Tours, L.C. unless otherwise indicated.

Such images are posted only with express permission of that person(s) and are the exclusive copyrighted property of that person. When appropriate such images will be clearly denoted as such and the person duly credited.

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