June 25th Whitman, Nebraska Incredible Supercell and Strong Tornado

June 25th had a lot going for it. Dewpoints in the 70s, an old outflow boundary, high CAPE and convergence would get storms exploding in the afternoon hours. We targeted a pair of severe storms west of O’Neill, NE and watched them intensify and move south. However the western most storm quickly died when it moved over the boundary and the second one also met the same fate. Meanwhile towards Norfolk a supercell became tornado warned and produced a brief tornado. I always watch trends in surface observations and satellite and noticed the boundary sharpening up and angling towards the northwest to the west of us. Moisture was rapidly increasing with dewpoints in Thedford, NE rising from the low 60s into the low 70s with strong easterly winds. Soon, a storm formed along the boundary northwest of Mullin and anchored for awhile. It steadily intensified as we blasted west. By the time we got to Thedford, the storm was strongly severe and we could see an impressive mammatus field under the anvil. As we continued westward to get a better view, the storm formed a strong couplet and a hook. Structure was starting to become visible as we approached Mullin. We continued west and soon were greeted with a magnificent sculpted supercell and a rapidly growing tornado! The tornado grew to an impressive cone, then wedge as it moved south towards the small town of Whitman. We stopped about 3 miles from it as it was getting ready to cross the road and continue southward where we had no south roads! Frustrating! The sight of both the supercell with large tornado under was the best I’d seen in 2024!! Just an amazing scene! We had to back track to Mullen and drop south so we could catch up to the supercell again. We would not see the updraft again in the daylight. As it approached North Platte, it weakened and eventually died. An absolute phenomenal day! Unfortunately the tornado hit a couple of houses near Whitman and caused significant damage and 1 injury. I shudder to think what could have happened if it hit the town directly!

Check out our Youtube video from the even here:

https://youtu.be/Zx9_R1aMxQ0

June 23rd Neptune, Saskatchewan Tornado Warned Supercell

June 23rd was the first day of Photo Tour #2. Models showed a triple point low over southern Saskatchewan, with a cold front/dry line extending south into northern Montana. We had a LONG was to go starting from Denver, with close to a 10-12 hour drive! So, we departed at sunrise and blasted north. We arrived in Wolf Point, Montana late afternoon as cumulus towers formed west toward Glasgow. Storms were already severe and tornado warned in Canada, with Environment Canada issuing a PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado watch for parts of Saskatchewan. Knowing we still would have another 2-3 hour drive to make it up there, we decided to see what the Montana developing storms would do. SPC issued an MD for Montana talking about a couple supercells forming. We hedged our bets for Montana. Soon it became clear that was the wrong choice as storms formed as left moving supercells, so we crossed the border into Saskatchewan north of Plentywood, MT and blasted north towards the tornado warned supercell. We got within about 10 miles of it as the sun was setting so we stopped for photography. Structure was gorgeous and so were the pale blue and orange colors of the storms! We stayed with it the best we could and at one point a very dark, large “v” shaped lowering occurred although we could not tell whether it was a wall cloud or broad cone shaped funnel due to the distance we were from the storm. Having to get back to our border crossing, which closed at midnight, we waved goodbye and back tracked to get back into the US. A 1060 mile day that resulted in a stunning supercell near Neptune, Saskatchewan was well worth the drive! Enjoy the pics!

June 20th Hawk Springs, Wyoming Tornado

June 20th took us to the high plains to play the Chugwater Convergence Zone. Moisture was less than optimal, but shear and lift along the boundary would be sufficient to generate severe thunderstorms, including a couple of supercells. We arrived west of Scottsbluff, NE to find a storm already mature and severe. As it moved east towards Hawk Spring, a slender tornado formed and was on the ground for several minutes. We turned east of town on a dirt road only to get blasted by 80mph plus winds from the rear flank of the supercell. By the time we could work southeast and then north to get back in front of it, the storm was now a line of severe thunderstorms. Soon, as they became outflow dominant, we left them and called it a night. Fun day and a surprise tornado is always welcomed! Enjoy the pics!

June 18th Kalvesta, Kansas Tornadoes

June 18th featured a stationary boundary draped across southwest Kansas. Dewpoints in the 60s and temps in the 90s, as well as the wind shift along the boundary would set the stage for not only landspout tornadoes, but also supercells forming and anchoring along the boundary. We intercepted one such storm that produced a landspout in its formation stage, followed by a legitimate supercell with a strong velocity couplet that lead to a 10 minute long tornado. The structure became quite nice and the storm was incredibly electrified! At one point a lightning strike produced a fire on wheat fields that were ready to be harvested. A very unfortunate incident for the local farmers. We then dropped south to just north of Cimarron where we encountered another strongly developing mesocyclone that produced a tapered cone funnel with a brief circulation. Many thanks to our guest, Leann Yamanaka for the pics of that funnel/circulation from beside the van! Finally, south of Liberal, Kansas a very photogenic supercell emerged from a cluster of cells at sunset and produced absolutely gorgeous mammatus clouds. Enjoy the pics!

Check out this cool video from that day!

https://youtu.be/mef65EQuBMs

May 30th West Texas Supercells

May 30th brought an interesting chase. A sharp dryline and an outflow boundary would intersect over west Texas and provide the focal point for severe weather. Storms formed at the triple point but could not sustain themselves for very long as they moved out into more stable air. We ended up dropping south from Morton, Texas to Denver City, Texas as one storm formed, hooked hard and tried to produce. In the end the only storm that produced was near Midland, Texas as it dropped two substantial tornadoes. Our storms looked good, but due to a bit higher cloud bases, they could not get a circulation down to the ground. Overall a fun day but a bit frustrating as we were so close but not close enough with our storms.

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!

May 8th Springfield, Tennessee Tornadic Supercell

May 8th had a lot going for it. Strong instability, good shear, high CAPE and several boundaries played into the end result. We caught several tornado warned supercell, including one near Springfield, TN that produced a cone tornado. Between slow, curving, winding roads, low speed limits and slow traffic, it made it difficult to get in front of storms. The Springfield supercell spun like crazy and produced a cone, causing damage. It took us what seemed like forever to get in front of it. As we broke through the core, we could see the cone tornado behind us in the distance. It had been on the ground over 10 minutes. As we got into a better position to see it (due to hills and trees!), it dissipated. We then blasted south to catch a supercell near Columbia, TN that showed signs of strong rotation and was tornado warned. As we approached Nashville, insane traffic slowed us down by 30 minutes. And of course the supercell produced a violent wedge tornado that became rain wrapped by the time we could get to it due to traffic. Frustrating day, but we DID see a tornado! Tennessee and Kentucky are extremely difficult to chase in!!!! Enjoy what pics we could get!

May 6th High Risk Oklahoma Chase

May 6th looked amazing on paper. All ingredients were well balanced and it appeared that a major tornado outbreak would occur. As the chase set up, models kept hinting at a rapid evolution to a line of severe storms instead of individual supercells. In the end the afternoon models are absolutely correct. The Storm Prediction Center issued a HIGH RISK for Oklahoma and the highest tornado probabilities that I’ve ever seen! As the old saying goes, sometimes too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing. Strong forcing would cause rapid line of storms to form. Most storms were tornado warned, but did not produce. We chased a half dozen tornado warned storms, but only one came close to producing near Canton, OK. We kept dropping to the tail end storm with no luck. Each cell would mature, with a fast developing storm on its flank causing the forward storm to become a cell embedded within a line. Storms need space to rotate and nature didn’t provide that this day. In the end, it was a total bust for almost all chasers, the SPC and local NWS offices. It just goes to show you that no matter what you think you know about the environment, nature knows more!

May 4th Davis Mountains Tornadic Supercell

Even though May 4th was the last day of the tour, we could not pass up the chance to chase the set up this day. Upslope flow, good moisture and instability, along with good shear provided the needed ingredients for supercells and potential tornadoes this day. We knew storms would start out high based, but their bases would lower as they moved east off the mountains into the lower lands where better moisture resided. That is exactly what happened. A cluster of storms formed, of which the tail end cell took over and became dominant. A quick spinup occurred as low level rotation cranked up under the updraft We had to vacate our position due to huge hail falling and drove east of Ft Stockton to a south bound road that would be give a view. The only issue is there just aren’t many roads in this part of Texas. As we drove south, rotation increased as the supercell dropped a rather large cone. It became rain wrapped after a few minutes so we continued southward to where the road put us directly in front of the supercell. Soon cgs started raining down from the updraft and rotation became focused. Several tornadoes formed and rotated around the wall cloud. It was quite the sight!!! After becoming strongly HP, we blew it off since we had a 600 mile drive back to Oklahoma City that night. 3 am arrival, but everyone was stoked due to the excellent day we had! Enjoy the pics!

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