June 16th Dickens, Nebraska Once a Decade Tornado!!!!!!
June 16th, a day that is now etched our my mind forever. Two targets were evident in the morning, the warm front in Minnesota and the front/theta e axis in Nebraska. Minnesota produced a few tornadoes, but nothing compared to the long lived photogenic beauty in Nebraska. After chasing in Montana the day before, we had a long drive to make Nebraska in time for storm initiation. Over 4000 CAPE, moderate shear and near 70 dewpoints present, we knew we had no time to waste! We blasted towards the target south of I-80 between Ogallala and North Platte, as we approached Lake McConaughy, strong updrafts started forming south of North Platte. We jumped on I-80 headed east as one updraft took over the show! It looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off! Within 20 minutes a tornado warning was issued and almost immediately a tornado was reported on the ground. This was a landspout that last 8 minutes. Soon after that a supercellular tornado formed, and firmly planted itself just east of Dickens. We were finally in a position to blast south on the back side of the supercell and could see this tornado 25 miles away! About 20 minutes later we arrived near Dickens as the tornado became a huge cone/stovepipe shaped tornado, barely moving! We sat up our cameras and camcorders and captured this 45 minute long EF2 tornado as is barely moved, only traveling 3 miles in it’s lifetime. Sitting up on a hill gave us a great view of the tornado and the sun lighting it almost white with a rainbow was a sight to behold! One of the prettiest tornadoes this decade! It eventually roped out, moving slowly southwest and tried a couple more times to produce. It was amazingly electrified during this phase as well, with a classic liberty bell shaped structure! A day we’ll never forget! Enjoy the pics!
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