May 29th was a marginal day at best. Southeast Colorado looked like the place to be. However, with moisture pooling along a boundary in east central New Mexico, I had a hunch that would produce decent supercells late in the day and evening. The Colorado target got interesting and produced a couple tornado warned storms ( See the previous chase account for the Prime Time Minitour!!!), but I chose to wait and see what would happen in New Mexico. I was not disappointed!!!! By early evening as a short wave trough approached, storms developed northwest of Clovis. It didn’t take long to see they were anchored and would start spinning quickly. As we approached the northeast side of Clovis, a tornado warning was issued. Numerous images from various locals and also my defunked video camera showed what appeared to be a cone tornado northwest of town. The NWS in ABQ is currently validating the tornado based on images, video and local chasers in the area. We nearly had the storm to ourselves, which is quite rare in this day and age!!!! We dropped through Clovis and ended up north of Portales, NM and sat and watched the storm spin like crazy. It was constantly tornado warned. The structure was absolutely top notch, even in the dark and hook after hook formed on this anchored supercell! Finally, by late evening, things started winding down, so we drove to Amarillo to our hotel for the night. One of the BEST structured supercells of 2024, even in the dark! Please enjoy the pics and NO they are not photoshopped!!!!
May 21st Southwest Iowa Tornado Outbreak
May 21st was a high potential set up in Iowa. A strong dry line, with fantastic shear, high CAPE and deep moisture would create a very dangerous environment in Iowa. By early afternoon storms exploded along the dry line and intensified as they moved east. Initial storms were not tornadic, but as the afternoon progressed, low level shear increased and tornadoes occurred with many storms! Our first tornado intercept was near Red Oak, Iowa as a supercell started spinning hard. The tornado went from a slender elephant trunk to a stovepipe and persisted for several minutes. The second tornado formed southwest of Carbon. It started as a big bowl, then vortices spun up and wrapping rain curtains were rotating violently around it. With motions of 60 mph we had to get out of its way as it approached us within a mile. The next tornado is now probably the most well-known. A strong multivortex tornado formed to our south near Corning and intensified as it moved northeast. It eventually turned into a raging F3 tornado that caused significant loss of property and life in the town of Greenfield. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those who suffered losses there. Always the downside of significant tornadoes. Another tornado occurred to our southeast as a cell raced north towards Creston but we lost it due to storm motion and another core with huge hail causing us to have to slow down. Crazy, wild day that most will never forget.
May 19th Butler, Oklahoma Tornadic Supercell
May 19th had a lot going for it. Good shear, instability and moisture, as well as a dryline in the eastern Texas panhandle set the stage for intense storms to form. By mid afternoon numerous storms formed and it wasn’t long before one updraft became dominant. Structure became quite good, and quickly a very slim tornado formed and disappeared in less than a minute. This just attested to the shear that was present. As the storm moved into Oklahoma, structure became amazing! A big soda can updraft with striations and a wall cloud were visible. As the storm approached Butler, it became tornadic and produced a cone tornado, near Custer City followed by w wedge north of Hydro. We got in intense RFD and had trees coming down around us, so we had to get out and move them ourselves so we could continue the chase. As we later past ElReno, we stopped at an exit and filmed the storm coming at us, complete with rapid rising and twisting scud, which soon a debris cloud appeared. We were trying to get through OKC and head north for the night and didn’t want to chase in the city as a substantial tornado touch down south of ElReno. Chasing at night is a challenge, but around a larger city, it is dangerous. We drove north to spend the night in Salina and get ready for the next day which would be a chase day. Enjoy the pics!
April 26th Iowa Violent Tornado Outbreak
April 26th had the appearance of a major tornado outbreak. It certainly lived up to the hype! We had spent the night in Salina, Kansas and targeted Nebraska City, NE to Creston, Iowa for tornadic supercells. Strong wind shear, with dew points in the lower 60s and surface based instability of 2500 CAPE would set the stage for the event. We arrived in the Nebraska City area mid afternoon, as a supercell produced a couple of tornadoes between Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Due to storm motion and speed, we could not catch up to it, so we decided to stay put. An hour later storms erupted along a confluence line near the Missouri river and quickly gained rotation. Near Council Bluffs we decided to go east and get in front of a tornado warned storm. When we saw it, it was ready to produce a tornado. As it approached a cone shaped tornado formed, turning into an 800 yard wide EF3 wedge tornado as it crossed the road within a half mile of us. It completely destroyed 2 farmsteads along highway 92 and as we approached them, nobody was there to help the residents. We immediately stopped and went into search and rescue mode. We found a family trapped in their storm shelter as their home collapsed on them. After removing a lot of debris as a few other chasers stopped to help, we were able to get them freed. Shook up, but healthy, attention turned to the other farm. An elderly woman and her dog were buried in debris as her house was demolished except for the walls. They also were able to be rescued. Soon paramedics and the local fire department arrived as we directed them to the residents and told them about propane tank leaks. At that point, it was time for us to leave and let the authorities do their jobs they did so well!
By the time we were able to depart the scene, it was too late to keep chasing as the tornadic supercell was 15 miles north moving away. It went on and produced more strong tornadoes near Minden and Harlen as we turned south to make the journey back to Oklahoma City. I do NOT regret missing the other tornadoes to stop and render help to those in need. Given the opportunity to do it again, there would be no hesitation!!! People are far more important than weather. Thanks to all who stopped that day to help families in desperate need of assistance.
June 28th Kimball, Nebraska Large Tornado
June 28th had a lot going for it. Good moisture, strong instability, superb wind shear and the upslope play of the Laramie Range in southeast Wyoming. A supercell formed mid afternoon and became an electrified beast! As the storm spun east/southeast, it produced huge hail baseball sized, but never really was a tornado threat. As it moved into far southwest Nebraska, it encountered better moisture which allowed the cloud base to come down. That helped the storm tap into greater low level wind shear and develop rotation. A couple of funnels occurred before a rather large, dusty tornado formed about 8 miles south of Kimball. The tornado was on the ground for over 10 minutes as it moved slowly southeast. The storm continued to spin strongly off the Cheyenne Ridge into far northern Colorado. It weakened for a time and then reintensified east of Sterling. It continued its slow march to the east, now producing huge hail and flash flooding. We let it go at that point and went to the hotel after shooting lightning for awhile. Crazy fun day and thankfully the large tornado stayed over open lands. Enjoy the pics!!!
June 23rd Chugwater, WY to Scottsbluff, NE Tornadofest
June 23rd had significant potential in southeast Wyoming as well as southeast Colorado. We chose to play the Wyoming target instead of Colorado. And both produced tornadoes!!! When you get upslope flow into the Laramie Range in southeast Wyoming with decent moisture and instability, you chase there, plain and simple. Good shear and lift into the mountains were also present and by midafternoon storms erupted west of Chugwater. It took a bit for storms to become organized, but one such supercell over the town of Chugwater became the primary supercell this day. It spun east all the way past Scottsbluff, NE and produced at least a half dozen tornadoes, a few of which we were close to and became pretty photogenic! A Tornado Emergency was issued for one large tornado near town and fortunately did not cause any serious injuries or fatalities. Storm structure was pretty as well and the supercell also produced softball sized hail at various locations in the lifetime. A great chase day and fortunately the results were good for the local residents. Enjoy the pics!
March 31st Ollie, Iowa Violent Tornado
An extremely volatile day was in store on March 31st. A powerful trough was moving out of the Rockies onto the plains as a surface low intensified north of Omaha. We took our on call tour towards the Des Moines area in anticipation of rapid supercell formation early afternoon. The dryline lit up like a Christmas tree shortly after noon as storms raced northeast at 60-70 mph! Strong shear, good moisture and instability and a strong jet would fuel these storms. By 2pm a large thunderstorm formed in northwest Missouri and rapidly moved northeast, becoming tornado warned as it approached Ottumwa, Iowa. We moved to position ourselves in front of it to see what it could produce. We approached the small town of Packwood as a cone tornado stabbed down to the ground west of us and grew to massive proportions.
As we drove west on highway 78 towards Hedrick, the tornado wedged out becoming a massive twister less than a mile from us! The roar of the tornado and rear flank downdrafts winds filled the senses with the sound of a rushing waterfall. Due to fast storm motions and the unfortunate road closures in the area, we were only able to stay with it for about 15 miles before we lost it. This tornado caused a lot of damage, but fortunately no fatalities. It has been officially rated EF-4 by the National Weather Service.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone affected throughout the central and southern plains this day as 60 tornadoes raked the region causing many casualties and much damage.
May 23rd Morton, Texas Wedge Tornadoes
What a day! We certainly weren’t expecting what happened this day to occur. Limited moisture, but good shear and a dryline would set the stage for severe thunderstorm development. There is a term chasers use in the Texas panhandle called “panhandle magic” and it certainly was the mode this day! Storms developed in eastern New Mexico and clustered as they moved into west central Texas. It was a very messy storm mode. Eventually the tail end cell in the cluster anchored and started spinning. It became a very intense supercell, even with low dewpoints in the 50s! Soon the cell developed a wall cloud, then a multivortex tornado, and finally a 400 foot wide EF2 wedge tornado! It was nearly stationary! A second wedge occurred about 30 minutes later east of Morton and finally a 2 minute elephant trunk west of Levelland. Inflow was so strong ti was knocking down power lines and toppling trees! The storm was sucking so much dirt due to the drought in west Texas at times the updraft was barely visible. Structure was nice when you could see it and the storm as it approached Lubbock eventually died. It put on a nice lightning show at dusk as well. An incredible day and evening! Certainly by far more than we expected. Even the Storm Prediction Center didn’t have much of a tornado threat in its’ outlooks! Enjyo the pics!
April 29th Central and Southern Kansas Tornadoes
A big day was in store for Kansas. Supercells with tornadoes were possible as a combination of wind shear, moisture and instability were present with an approaching trough. By mid afternoon the dryline sharpened and soon cumulus towers formed. A cluster of storms had formed northeast of McPherson and the tail end storm started spinning. One small tornado formed as the cell moved north towards the warm front. As it approached it, other storms started forming on an advancing cold front and also became severe. We decided to leave the first storm as storm mergers made things too messy. As we blasted south towards Wichita, a landspout tornado formed underneath an updraft in the line and stayed on the ground for 12 minutes. When is dissipated, when then turned our attention to a supercell near Wichita. It had just spawned the Andover tornado and continued to cycle and become tornadic again near El Dorado. We blasted down to town, now in the dark and headed east towards the supercell’s updraft base. Quickly a tapered cone tornado formed and became visible through power flashes and lighting. It crossed the road in front of us and dissipated. Another one formed within a couple minutes and stabbed down to the ground and lifted. We continued to drift east with the storm and turned north at Rosalia. As we did a massive bowl formed and dropped to the ground! A wedge type tornado formed with multiple vortices. We got blasted with RFD winds wrapping around the tornado and had to vacate the area. As we continued east the tornado lifted as a line of storms merged with it ending the tornado threat. A crazy day with 5 tornadoes! Enjoy the pics!
