May 18th Texas Storm Chase - 4 Tornadoes and a Beautiful Supercell Storm

May 21, 2010 by Brad in 2010

05-18-10 CHASE LOG: TX

This was a Moderate Risk day from eastern CO southward through western TX with good promise of producing tornadoes, fairly well forecast several days in advance.I was driving for Silver Lining Tours and this was Day 1 so we wanted to get a good chase in right away.The tour group flew into Oklahoma City, OK the day before and we left there in the morning to target Dalhart, TX for late afternoon initiation.There was an upper level trough that was starting to move out into the High Plains late on the 18th and a low pressure system had been developing through the day across northeast CO.This system had already produced a few strong supercells that were already tornado warned across eastern CO by mid afternoon.The one concern in our area was the limited moisture as dewpoints were only in the upper 50’s, and that this would lead to high cloud bases and more of a damaging wind threat and limited tornado threat, even with decent low level shear.As the dryline began to mix out of the Rockies and the backed, southeast surface winds began to increase and become sustained at near 20 kts by the afternoon, convergence ahead of the dryline began to significantly increase and led to intense development of a storm shortly after 4pm only around 10-15 miles southwest of Dalhart where we were already in place.This storm quickly had 55,000 foot tops and went severe with very large hail rather quickly as we intercepted.Right away the storm produced a large, rotating wall cloud near Hartley, TX but we became blocked from getting ahead of the storm due to the baseball sized hail that was falling out of the core and blocking our east route.We waited behind the supercell southwest of Hartley at this point until the core had passed and then we progressed east on Hwy 87 towards Dumas.Upon moving through Dumas and then due east on Hwy 152 towards Stinnett, the storm produced 3 very brief and weak tornadoes.I was not able to get pictures or video of the first 3 tornadoes of the day as I was driving the vehicle.This storm did have some of the most amazing structure of any storm so far this year and was truly a sight to see as we followed the very slow moving storm due east.Near Stinnett the storm began to produce a huge mesocyclone and this is where we saw a stovepipe tornado just to the northwest of town.Thereafter, the storm began to lose organization and it was getting dark so this was the end of the chase day.Definitely a good way to start a 10 day storm chasing trip!

Beautiful structure already on this storm around 8 miles southwest of Hartley, TX.

Rapidly rotating wall cloud with possible large funnel underneath this storm to the east of Hartley, TX.

Inflow tail to the wall cloud with scud rising into the base that is nearly on the ground at this point.

Amazing structure on this storm near Dumas, TX! Starting to get a laminar shape and big hail core in there.

Another shot of this storm near Dumas, TX.

Stovepipe tornado touching down near Stinnett, TX!

Closer shot of the stovepipe tornado near Stinnett, TX.

Another shot of the beautiful stovepipe tornado!

More photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157623978621641/

Storm Reports:

April 30th Eastern Iowa, Northern Illinois, and Southern Wisconsin Storm Chase - Lightning and a Lowering

May 03, 2010 by Brad in 2010

04-30-10 CHASE LOG: IA/IL/WS

Not too special of a chase overall with a lot of miles put on, but it was fun regardless. Peggy Willenberg, Melanie Metz, and I left Council Bluffs, IA after bagging a tornado and some amazing supercells near Washington, KS the day before. Our plan was to get ahead of a cold front and chase a line of storms racing east of Des Moines, IA already by midday. We raced east on I-80 into eastern IA and finally managed to get ahead of the storms near Iowa City, IA. Storms were moving to the northeast at 60-65 mph so it was nearly impossible to stay with them, so our only hope was to get ahead of the line and wait for a strong storm to come up at us from the southwest. A few finally did as we approached Davenport, IA and I did manage to get some video and screen captures of the occasional cloud to ground lightning. Storms that managed to stay discrete did have nice bases and even a few visible updraft areas, but everything was rather embedded and tough to see. The Storm Prediction Center issued a tornado watch for much of IL into southern WI as we got into eastern IA as this area was very highly sheared and destabilizing ahead of the front. However, it became fairly clear as we entered into IL that storms were going to be more of a linear mode along this front with the strong forcing and a 100 knot 500 mb jet, albeit in a very highly sheared environment. A decent storm developed to the north of Sterling, IL and was moving northeast towards southern WI. We traveled north on I-39 and I-90 to near Janesville, WI where we intercepted and watched the storm pass, which had a nice base and cloud to ground lightning. After that, it was time to start heading home as everything became very messy. As we passed through Madison, WI, I noticed on radar some rotation coming at us from the southwest with what looked like some sort of mesolow. We ended up intercepting this storm near the Arlington, WI exit where there was a lot of motion and even a wall cloud that I did not get a picture of since I was driving. This storm later produced a tornado to our northeast in Green Lake County, WI.

Screen capture of lightning strike near Davenport, IA.

Lightning screen capture from storm near Davenport, IA.

Cloud to ground lightning strike near Janesville, WI.

Nice base and updraft of storm near Davenport, IA.

What appeared to be a wall cloud starting to form on cell near Janesville, WI.

Storm Reports:

April 29th Northeast Kansas and Southeast Nebraska Storm Chase - Washington Tornado, Several Wall Clouds, and Massive Shelf Cloud

May 01, 2010 by Brad in 2010

04-29-10 CHASE LOG: KS/NE This ended up being a great chase with several wall clouds, 1 tornado near Washington, KS and probably the best shelf cloud I've ever seen near Belleville, KS. Our chase group consisted of me, Peggy Willenberg, and Melanie Metz. The plan was to stay in Council Bluffs, IA the night before and then target extreme north-central to northeast KS for Thursday's event. Concerns for the day were the lack of moisture and how fast the upper 50's to around 60 dewpoints were going to make it into the area as well as the presence of a rather stout cap as indicated by the morning observed soundings on OAX and TOP. These concerns were alleviated as we traveled down to Concordia, KS to position during the early afternoon and dewpoints were already in the upper 50's with a small pool of lower 60's in northeast KS as moisture had been quickly advected north with the 25-40 mph surface winds and nearly 60 knots at 850 mb over the past 12 hours. Morning forecast models were cooling temperatures aloft across the area as well so there was optimism the cap would break before dark. This was a day of very good low and deep layer shear with modest instability.

By mid-afternoon, a line of enhanced cumulus began developing, out of seemingly nowhere, along the dryline/boundary that was draped from southwest to northeast across the state. Feeling was that this was a dryline due to the 8-10 degree dewpoint drop behind the boundary. We positioned around 8 miles north of Minneapolis, KS at this time to watch the development take place. Within an hour, high based convection began to fire and nice cell started to form to our north. Wanting to get on the first cell of the day, we drove north on Hwy 81 and then east on Hwy 24 and then north on a gravel road through Aurora and (appropriately named) Nelson townships. The storm was starting to get its act together at this point and we could definitely see a nice hail shaft. Trying to take a muddy and slick road east, our truck began to slide and nearly put us in the ditch. However Peggy was able to maintain control and back out to the road we came from. Heading north we finally reached a paved road and went east on Hwy 9 to near Clyde. Our storm had a small lowering at this point but had several updrafts and was starting to become rather messy, while another cell was firing to our southwest. We bailed on the northern cell and went west on Hwy 9 to intercept this new cell that was rapidly developing near Concordia, KS. As we got on this cell on the north side of Concordia, the storm produced a very nice and blocky wall cloud, not rotating at this time but it was the first good indication that the storm was surface based and developing quickly. Cloud bases were lowering dramatically at this point as LCL’s started to come down. As we followed north on Hwy 81 and then east on Hwy 148, the meso began to rotate produced a couple of very picturesque wall clouds to the north of Hwy 148 to the southwest of Washington. Following the storm north on Hwy 15 and then east on Hwy 36 the storm produced a rapidly rotating wall cloud that stirred up a short lived tornado, as indicated by a debris cloud, shortly after 7pm to the north of Washington, KS. After producing the tornado, the storm became loosely organized till there was no wall cloud or even a lowering visible. We decided to bail on this storm around Odell, NE and travel west on Hwy 8 towards Fairbury, NE where a tornado warned storm was moving up from the southwest. Upon moving south of Fairbury on Hwy 15, the storm began gusting out and produced the best shelf cloud I've ever seen! The shelf looked like a snowplow with teeth and was nearly vertical at the front edge, seemingly very near the ground. An interesting feature was noted just to the west of Fairbury at this point where there appeared to be a large wall cloud and possible funnel very close to the ground, becoming embedded in the rain and hail core. A tornado was never reported here but it would not surprise me if one touched down at this point. Wanting to stay ahead of the shelf and not get cored, we traveled back east on Hwy 8 and then ended the chase at this point as night fell.

Big rotating wall cloud to the northeast of Concordia, KS.

Scud being rapidly lifted into the base with strong inflow to the northeast of Concordia, KS.

Incredible, well lit wall cloud wrapping up near Agenda, KS.

Backlit, rapidly rotating wall cloud to the southwest of Washington, KS.

Blocky wall cloud transition taking place with strong rising motion near Washington, KS.

Wall cloud reaching towards the ground shortly before tornado touchdown near Washington, KS.

Very close to the time the tornado near Washington, KS was reported. We did see a brief debris cloud at the base, which you can see in the video below.

Awesome looking shelf cloud near Fairbury, NE. Even better in the video.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157623847576173/

Base Reflectivity near time of Washington tornado:

Storm Relative Velocity near time of Washington tornado:

Storm Reports:

April 23rd Eastern Nebraska Storm Chase

April 25, 2010 by Brad in 2010

04-23-10 CHASE LOG: NE

This ended up being a somewhat disappointing chase overall, but it was certainly good to just see some storms!Our group consisted of me, MaryLynn Nelson, Peggy Willenberg, and Beau Gjerdingen.The forecast was for severe storms to develop across eastern NE on an occluded front, warm front, and dryline by the late afternoon hours and especially into the early evening.After staying in Omaha the night before, our course of action was to drive to Lincoln, NE and re-evaluate towards midday.Storms were already starting to fire on the occlusion to our west at this point and a tornado watch has been issued for this area.After a few hours, we traveled to York, NE on I-80 thinking that these storms could develop back down on the boundary and we could at least have a look at them.The Interstate also offered a quick escape east in case additional storms would fire across eastern NE where the better moisture and low level shear resided.Storms did not end up building down the boundary and the dryline was quickly approaching our location with the occlusion being lifted well north.A nice cumulus field began to develop across far eastern NE and northeast KS, so we ended up moving east on I-80 all the way back to Omaha in the vicinity of the moisture and convergence axis.Our first storm of the day began to develop around 15 miles south of Omaha near 6pm.This storm was moving due north-northwest towards our position so we stayed put.All the while, new storms and turkey towers were starting to form all around us but were finding themselves very difficult to break the cap and sustain their updrafts.The aforementioned storm did end up moving just to the west of our position while new storms developed along a convergence boundary near Lincoln, NE.These storms near Lincoln quickly went severe with large hail and even a tornado warning but we decided to stay on the more northern cell, following the storm north on Highway 133 out of Omaha towards Blair.As we approached the base between Omaha and Blair, we headed west on a dirt road and found ourselves staring at a beautiful vault/updraft and lowering underneath the storm.At this time, the anvil started to produce some nice mammatus as well.This storm ended up weakening some and new updrafts were starting to our north so we continued to follow these cells to the northwest towards Fremont and then eventually to West Point, NE where we finally gave up the chase and ended up core punching into some pea size hail.South of West Point, we did see a nice non-rotating wall cloud that only stuck around for several minutes or so.

Definitely a disappointing chase considering how good the low level shear along the boundaries was forecast and how it looked per the Mesoanalysis during the event.One thing that I was very worried about before the event was the lack of upper level winds.The main upper level jet had been forecast and ended up being well south of the area and the reason why portions of MO ended up having quite a bit of severe weather.In addition, there was a stronger cap than expected as shown on the special 20Z sounding out of Omaha.This was even more evident on the Topeka sounding.Another factor was the late arrival of the shortwave to the area that finally made it by 00Z ignited all the storms in the area during the evening and primarily after sunset.I also noticed that the inflow into these storms was quite chilly but with dewpoints around 60 degrees so moisture was not much of an issue.

Storm updraft developing very quickly directly over Omaha, NE.

Beautiful vault and base on this storm near Omaha, NE.

A closer view of the storm base and associated strong updraft region of storm near Omaha, NE.

Fuzzy picture of brief lowering on storm near West Point, NE shortly after sunset.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157623800381923

Storm Reports:

2009 Storm Chasing Highlights Video

December 14, 2009 by Brad in 2009

2009 turned out to be a great year after a slow start. MaryLynn and I decided to take a chance and head down to the Southern Plains in early May to see if we could get lucky since the weather pattern for that time period did not look promising. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but we both had vacation and thought at least the road trip would be a fun idea. We ended up having two successful chase days with some very photogenic storms but ultimately did not end up with any tornadoes, which was fine with us as we got to witness some incredible storms. Thereafter, it was quite slow for the Upper Midwest till the middle and end of June when I was fortunate to witness and film the Austin and Alden tornadoes of June 17th and 21st, respectively. These two days were by far the best days of my chase season, although I did have a couple more decent chase days in late June and July, one of which was in southwest WI where a pair of supercells produced several wall clouds and a brief funnel over relatively rough terrain to chase in. It was difficult to find the time to chase this year due to traveling for work weeks on end, but the days I did go out ended up being very good this year, although I have to admit that there were a few busts as is with any year. You always take the bad with the good. Now on to the 2010 Chase Season!

August 11th Central Minnesota Storm Chase - Supercell and Wall Cloud

November 16, 2009 by Brad in 2007

08-11-07 STORM CHASE: MN

Myself and MaryLynn Voth went out from Burnsville during the mid afternoon, targeting central MN. Thunderstorms were expected to develop to our west and then drift towards our position by the late afternoon. The first storms of the day started to develop near Dassel and we were able to intercept the best looking cell near Cokato. The storm was in the first developing stages but was already beginning to produce a lowering and nice inflow tail. The storm continued to intensify as we followed on Highway 12 and then south on County Road 6 to Winsted. The storm was moving to the southeast around 20 mph so we were able to keep up quite easily with the good road network we faced in this area. Upon reaching an area near New Germany on County Road 33, the storm produced a rotating wall cloud and nice beaver tail. In the last picture below, there is even a lowering from the wall cloud that looks quite interesting upon further review, but could be just condensating air into the wall cloud. This feature did not stick around long enough to distinguish exactly what it was. The storm kept the wall cloud for 20-30 minutes before starting to go outflow dominant and produce a shelf cloud as we reached the southwest side of the Twin Cities Metro near Chaska. At this time, the storm took on an incredible hue of yellow and orange as the sun was setting behind the storm and the hail core. Getting close to sunset and realizing we were likely to get cored if we stayed at our location, we ended the chase as the storm was very outflow dominant with expanding heavy rain.

Lowered base on the storm soon after developing near Winsted, MN.

Lowered base starting to form into a wall cloud between Winsted and New Germany, MN. Notice the rain core starting to form.

Another view of the base starting to form into a wall cloud between Windsted and New Germany, MN.

Condensating inflow tail into the storm near New Germany, MN shortly after 6pm.

Beaver tail into the storm and developing wall cloud near New Germany, MN.

Beaver tail into the rotating wall cloud. Notice the interesting appendage on the bottom right side of the wall cloud.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621682736939/

Storm Reports:

June 21st Southeast Minnesota Storm Chase - Shelf Cloud

November 15, 2009 by Brad in 2007

06-21-07 STORM CHASE: MN This was a Slight Risk day in southern MN with a low threat for tornadoes but decent potential for supercells to produce damaging winds and large hail. I was targeting southeast MN near the MN/IA border and that is exactly where we ended up. Our group of myself, MaryLynn Voth, Michael Nardozzi and Ron Borquin left Burnsville, MN at 3pm and headed south on Highway 52 towards Rochester. Two storms fired in this area as we approached and we decided to get on the northernmost cell that was moving from the north to the east side of Rochester. We progressed east on Highway 14 and then north on Highway 42 to the intersection of Highway 9 where we watched the storm approach. At this point it was still developing and not supercellular, but the storm did intensify upon moving south of I-90 as we followed. Near Chatfield, we watched several brief lowerings as the two storms began to merge. Our route took us on Highway 52 and then back north on Highway 74 back to I-90, all the while becoming cored by the merging storms with a lot of heavy rain and some small hail. All of the pictures below were shortly after 5:30pm near St Charles. This is where the merging storms began to become outflow dominant and produce a shelf cloud. The shelf quickly moved overhead while we observed and we let ourselves become cored by the storm. Thereafter, the storms became rather messy and it was not worth staying with them as they were racing east with a lot of rain and nothing all that impressive to continue the chase. At that time, another storm was starting to look impressive and became severe warned to the south of Mankato. We raced west on I-90 and intercepted the storm near Blue Earth as the storm was weakening greatly. Here we got a few nice shots of the storm before it completely fizzled out.

Shelf cloud just starting to form on a storm approaching our location near St Charles, MN.

Another view of the shelf cloud approaching our location near St Charles, MN.

View of the western part of the shelf cloud approaching us near St Charles, MN.

Shelf cloud about to overtake us near St Charles, MN.

Silver lining on a storm as it was fizzling out near Blue Earth, MN.

Sunlight peeking through the clouds around the dying storm near Blue Earth, MN.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621681673765/

Storm Reports:

June 7th Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois Storm Chase - Fast Moving Supercells and Wall Clouds

November 14, 2009 by Brad in 2007

06-07-07 STORM CHASE: IA/IL

After chasing the day before in the Badlands of South Dakota, our group consisting of myself, the Twister Sisters, Karen Miller, Beau Gjerdingen, Eric Whitehill and the crew from Original Productions found ourselves leaving Fremont, NE. We planned on targeting east-central IA where there was a High Risk issued by the Storm Prediction Center for severe weather and tornadoes. This was our last day of chasing for the television show and we wanted to make it a good one, although storms were expected to be moving very fast off to the north-northeast. Storms began to fire before we could even reach our target area and our group quickly made it east of Des Moines on I-80, planning on intercepting a line of training thunderstorms that were becoming supercellular south of the interstate and quickly moving north. Upon reaching Gonoa Bluff, IA, we moved south on Highway V52 to intercept a good looking cell near North English, IA. We watched a pair of developing supercells cross ahead of us by a few miles, both having lowerings/bases as they went by, but nothing all that interesting. We decided to follow these cells northeast and soon realized we would have a tough time keeping up as the storms were moving at 40-50 mph. Many chasers may think that this was a wasted cause, but we persevered as every storm that went up was becoming tornado warned or exhibiting signs of rotation. The cells crossed I-80 near Iowa City, IA, and we were actually able to get out ahead of the storms and progress north on Highway 1. The best wall cloud that we saw this day was viewed near Mt Vernon, IA (as seen below) when the storm was tornado warned, but the storm never produced any funnels as far as we could tell. Our car ended up being the only car in the group to attempt to stay ahead of the storms any further as they were moving so fast. To do so, we had to quickly move east on Highway 30 to the east of Mt Vernon and then north on Highway Y24 in Lowden, IA. At this point, the storm was tornado warned again as we intercepted near Lost Nation, IA and this is where another nice wall cloud formed with a lot of rotation. Unfortunately, this is the best the storm ever looked but we still followed east on Highways 136 and 64 where we crossed the MS River at Sabula, IA. We ended up following the storm till nightfall and reached Forreston, IL before finally giving up the chase and heading back to Iowa City, IA to meet back up with our crew. All in all, several nice wall clouds and lowerings on this day.

First storm of the day with a lowered non-rotating base near North English, IA.

Nice wall cloud with feeder band near Williamsburg, IA.

Lowered base and condensating inflow air into the storm near Iowa City, IA.

Rotating wall cloud in Mt Vernon, IA.

Lowered base of a supercell near Lost Nation, IA.

Action area of the storm with inflow and lowerings on the MS River near Savannah, IL.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621799857036/

Storm Reports:

June 6th Southwest South Dakota and Central Nebraska Storm Chase - Supercell and Small Funnel

November 10, 2009 by Brad in 2007

06-06-07 STORM CHASE: SD/NE

This was one of the last days of filming for the "Twisters Sisters" reality TV show with our group consisting of myself, Peggy Willenberg, Melanie Metz, Karen Miller, Beau Gjerdingen and Eric Whitehill. This was a highly anticipated moderate risk day with a 10% risk for tornadoes as forecast by the Storm Prediction Center. Our forecast was targeting southwest SD near the Black Hills for tornadoes. Before storms fired, we waited in Murdo, SD on I-90, chatting with other chasers and admiring all of the chaser convergence in a gas station parking lot. Many were anticipating supercells to fire to our west and produce tornadoes upon moving towards our position, hence the reason for the number of chasers that had converged on the area. Storms fired by mid-afternoon and our group quickly raced west on I-90 to Belvidere, SD, then dropped south on Highway 63 to intercept the cell as it became tornado warned. We got on the storm after it had already produced a tornado, around 5 miles to the southwest of Wanblee, SD at the entrance of a ranch. This storm had a lot of motion and originally had a wall cloud leftover from the tornado that we missed by only 20 minutes. This storm produced a weak, short-lived funnel before gusting out as the storm overtook us and we raced east to attempt to stay ahead. The storm continued to exhibit a lot of motion and produced a couple of gustnadoes at this time. After realizing that this storm was turning into a gigantic heavy rain and hail mess with the tornado threat diminishing, our next plan of action was to race east on Highway 18 through southern SD and then drop south on Highway 281 and east on Highway 91 to intercept another supercell around sunset near the town of Sterling, NE. This storm turned the entire sky orange and large hail to the size of nickels was starting to fall as we quickly retreated east of town. Thereafter, it because too dark to see anything, so our plan of action was to drive to Fremont, NE for the night to prepare for the next days High Risk in IA.

Tornado warned storm as we were approaching on Hisle Road ~5 miles southwest of Wanblee, SD.

Small funnel cloud out of a wall cloud, 20 minutes after the storm had produced a tornado to the southwest of Wanblee, SD.

A lot of rising and sinking motion on these lowerings from this storm as it approached.

A lowering that was rapidly rotating and quickly approaching our location near a ranch just outside of Wanblee, SD.

Incredible motion with these clouds as the storm was gusting out upon moving directly overhead.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621675013229/

Storm Reports:

June 2nd Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle Storm Chase - Downburst, Large Funnel, and Amazing Lightning Show

November 10, 2009 by Brad in 2007

06-02-07 STORM CHASE: OK/TX To be honest, I do not know exactly where we chased this day but what I do know is that it was a successful chase in the OK and TX Panhandles, filming for the reality show "Twister Sisters". This was the last decent severe weather chase day before several down days were expected during the 2007 Chase Season. Our crew of myself, Peggy Willenberg, Melanie Metz, Karen Miller, Beau Gjerdingen and Eric Whitehill left Amarillo, TX in the morning and did not have to go far, as storms were expected to fire in this area by the early afternoon. It ended up being a very nice day with impressive supercells, the best downburst/microburst I have ever seen, as well as one of the more intense lightning shows that I have experienced. Unfortunately, typing this chase log three years later, I realized that I forgot exactly the route we took and where we ended up this day. So, on to the photos!

Storm towers first starting to go up.

Awesome downburst/microburst.

A pair of updraft condensation curls on the edge of downburst.

A large funnel cloud completely rain-wrapped, dropping out of the mesocyclone.

Interesting action area.

Incredible lightning strike with supercell on the left side of the image.

Impressive lightning show with this supercell!

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621673295841/

Storm Reports:

June 1st Eastern New Mexico and Western Texas Storm Chase - Two Weak Tornadoes

November 10, 2009 by Brad in 2007

06-01-07 STORM CHASE: NM/TX

I chased this day with Karen Miller, Beau Gjerdingen, Eric Whitehill, Peggy Willenberg and Melanie Metz as we were out filming for the reality television show, "Twister Sisters". We started the day exploring Palo Duro Canyon State Park just outside of Amarillo, TX. Here we goofed off and did some filming until the mid afternoon before storms started to fire in the western TX Panhandle. Our group disbanded and our car consisting of Karen Miller, myself and our cameraman progressed west on on I-40. Upon reaching Vega, TX we went north on Highway 385 towards Channing, TX. Realizing our storm was not developing as well as we liked, we decided to turn around and head back on Highway 385, crossing I-40, and attempting to intercept another cell near Hereford, TX. Another cell developed in eastern NM that looked like the storm of the day so be abandoned the cell near Hereford and progressed southwest on Highway 60 towards Clovis, NM. The cell was now rapidly developing into a slow-moving and intense supercell just to the west of Portales, NM where we soon intercepted and watched very strong rear flank downdraft (RFD) kicking up a lot of dirt, dust and debris. We did see a lowering embedded the storm where the meso appeared to be located on radar and started to get excited at our prospects at this point. Upon reaching the intersection of highways 480 and 70 just southwest of Portales, the RFD kicked in fierce and our view of the action area became blinded by blowing dirt and debris. At this point, we were very close to the action area and looked up to view a funnel directly in front of us possibly touching down about 100 yards in front of us. That is where I took the photos below of the dirt wrapped funnel. This feature crossed the road in front of us and soon dissipated, although the RFD continued to kick up a lot of dust and dirt to the southeast of Portales. A vehicle of two gentleman came up to us immediately after and asked us if we had just seen that tornado that was close to us. Obviously we did and were fortunate to not have driven any further in front of the possible tornado at this point and had stayed parallel to the action area as it had progressed just south of Portales.

Soon the chase was back on as we continued to follow the storm on Highway 88 southeast of Portales, following the supercell that was picking up speed at this point and exhibiting strong signs of rotation. We chased this cell southeast and ended up on Highway 214 to the north of Morton, TX where we witnessed our second brief and weak touchdown of the day. I actually did not realize that this tornado had touched down until reviewing the photos that night. There was so much dirt and debris being blown around that it was hard to tell in person, not to mention that the sun was setting at this point. Below is the photo from the second tornado that touched down this day. Not very photogenic tornadoes but there was enough evidence that they did touch down. After abandoning the chase, we drove all the way back to Amarillo, TX for the night.

Our chase vehicle (with hail cam strapped to the top) on a cell ~8 miles west-southwest of Portales, NM.

Tornado that touched down around 100 yards in front of us, 4 miles southwest of Portales, NM.

Another view of the tornado with RFD kicking up dirt, 4 miles southwest of Portales, NM.

Mesocyclone with blue, hallow interior and double rainbow. Notice the RFD kicking up dirt directly head of us on the road.

Underneath the supercell and looking at another intense supercell in the distance.

Tornado cutting in from the left and kicking up dirt north of Morton, TX.

Zoomed out view of the tornado kicking up dirt to the north of Morton, TX.

View of the supercell anvil at sunset near Levelland, TX.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621672525853/

Storm Reports:

May 31st Southeast Colorado and Oklahoma Panhandle Storm Chase - Amazing Low Precipitation Supercell, Funnel and Wall Clouds

November 05, 2009 by Brad in 2007

05-31-07 STORM CHASE: CO/OK

Our crew consisting of myself, Karen Miller and the Twister Sisters film production team left Dodge City, KS just before noon, heading west on Highways 56 and 160 targeting extreme southeast CO. There was a decent tornado threat this day but more of a large hail and damaging wind threat more than tornadoes. As we progressed through Ulysses, KS, we encountered the Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV) and the research team from the Center for Severe Weather Research. We were able to converse with them and check out the TIV and DOWS trucks while waiting for storms to develop to our west. After 30-40 minutes in Ulysses, the first storm went up in southeast CO and we quickly gave chase on Highway 160 towards Walsh, OK. Upon reaching Walsh, we progressed south (not sure of the road) and intercepted a very slow moving storm that was moving southeast at around 10 mph. This storm produced an amazing mesocyclone and, consequently, an impressive funnel cloud for around 20 minutes before lifting. Lots of chaser convergence occurred on this storm at this time with several tour groups and numerous vehicles, basically in the middle of nowhere on dirt roads. It was quite the site. We were about to get cored by this storm as we reached the CO/OK border and eventually were forced to core the storm before coming out safely near Keyes, OK in the western Panhandle. We stopped here and waited for another storm to develop on the southern flank of the original supercell. This storm produced a couple of amazing wall clouds before becoming a large HP beast towards nightfall as we followed east on Highway 64/412/3. We knew the next day was going to be an active day further south, so our group drove to Amarillo, TX to spend the night.

One of the DOWS radar trucks as we were waiting and visiting with the team in Ulysses, KS.

Checking out the TIV in Ulysses, KS as we were waiting for storms to develop to our west.

Slow moving supercell east of Campo, CO with amazing spaceship like appearance and funnel starting to form.

Another shot of the supercell east of Campo, CO and the incredible funnel from this storm.

Close shot of the funnel cloud upon approaching our position. Amazing how wrapped up this funnel was at this time.

Matt Renner from Original Productions filming me in Keyes, OK while we waited for a more southern storm to intensify.

Wall cloud with strong RFD kicking up dust/dirt at the base south of Keyes, OK.

One of the more amazing, textbook wall clouds that I have ever seen. This was taken about 5 miles southeast of Keyes, OK.

Another shot of this amazing wall cloud near Keyes, OK. Notice the inflow coming in from the right.

The wall cloud became much larger and became this beast about 10 miles east-southeast of Keyes, OK.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621795355980/

Storm Reports:

May 23rd Northwest Kansas and Texas Panhandle Storm Chase - Supercell With Wall Cloud Hugging the Ground, Funnel and High Precipitation Supercell

November 04, 2009 by Brad in 2007

05-23-07 CHASE LOG: OK/TX

It was a long drive to start the day as we started out in Hays, KS and ended up in the TX Panhandle by the end of the chase day. Our groups consisted of MaryLynn and myself, Peggy Willenberg and Melanie Metz, Bill and Cullen Doms, as well as our camera crews that were shooting for "Twister Sisters". Driving down Highway 183, we stopped once again in Greensburg, KS and witnessed a caravan of trucks hauling away the wreckage of the town and a massive effort to clear the town of the destruction and start the rebuilding process. The tons of wreckage was being hauled out to a large dug out pit about a mile outside of town where it was being burned. This was quite the site to see at this point as we had witnessed the destruction of the town first-hand on May 4th. After stopping for a glimpse, we progressed south across the KS/OK state line as a PDS Tornado Watch was issued for the TX Panhandle and western OK. Storms erupted near the 4pm hour across this area, the first that we witnessed near Fort Supply, OK. This storm quickly went tornado warned and produced a massive wall cloud that hugged the ground on the other side of a ridge. The wall cloud stuck around for quite a while before lifting, cycling and producing a brief funnel upon approaching our location. We did think that we were witnessing a wedge tornado but could not tell for sure since the ridge in the distance was blocking our view if the wall cloud had actually been on the ground or not. Bill later confirmed that he did not witness a touchdown as he was in closer proximity to the storm. After the storm began to weaken, but decided to drop south towards a stronger and still developing storm that many chasers were converging on in the area. This storm had all the characteristics of a high precipitation supercell as we intercepted about 5 miles west of Lipscomb, TX. It was very difficult to see any features due to the massive rain and hail core, but the storm had separate areas that were going outflow dominant and producing shelf cloud features, while others were wrapped up with a lot of rotation and mesocyclones. At the leading edge, we were able to get a very good view of this storm as it approached, along with a lot of chaser convergence, the TIV, DOWS team and even a helicopter doing live reports on the storm. Nearing nightfall we met up with the Twister Sisters and their crew while the storm produced a funnel and apparently touched down 3 miles to our northwest as a storm report had confirmed. We did not witness the touchdown but did see a large funnel embedded in the rain at that time. When visibility was greatly restricted, we ended up driving through another strong storm with hail near Woodward, OK and on to Enid, OK to spend the night.

Large wall cloud close to the ground underneath a supercell near Fort Supply, OK.

Large wall cloud and funnel close to the ground on the other side of a ridge near Fort Supply, OK

Wall cloud hugging the ground with a sharp edge on the right with strong vertical motion near Fort Supply, OK.

Wall cloud with rapid rotation and vertical motion as noted by condensation rising on the right side, near Forth Supply, OK.

Zoomed out view clearly showing the strong updraft of the storm with wall cloud underneath near Fort Supply, OK.

Funnel from the storm upon approaching our location near Fort Supply, OK. The radar was indicating strong rotation and a TVS signature at this time.

Running into the TIV in the Texas Panhandle.

Massive high precipitation supercell near Lipscomb, TX. Notice the mesocyclone as the outflow wraps into the storm on the leading edge.

Yes, a blurry photo, but this is all I have of a funnel embedded in the rain core towards nightfall on the storm near Lipscomb, TX. A tornado touchdown was reported around this time.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621791300400/

Storm Reports:

May 22nd Northwest Kansas Storm Chase - Amazing Low Precipitation Supercell, Wall Cloud and Funnels

October 02, 2009 by Brad in 2007

05-22-07 CHASE LOG: KS

Our group consisting of myself, MaryLynn, the Twister Sisters, Bill and Cullen Doms as well as our camera crew from Original Productions, were still out at the end of May filming for the reality television show "Twister Sisters". We left Hays, KS during the early afternoon, targeting an area just to the west of Hays that was in a moderate risk for severe storms, including tornadoes. A cell quickly fired as we progressed west on I-70 and then south on Hwy 283 towards Ransom, KS. We decided to take a gravel road to the north of Ransom and intercepted the cell soon after just to the north of Utica, KS. As we followed the very slow moving storm, we quickly realized that this was going to be an incredible low precipitation supercell as little to no precipitation was falling and the storm quickly developed into a large spaceship like appearance, rotating very fast with striations throughout the updraft. The storm was so slow moving, that we were able to view it in the same spot for nearly a half hour just to the north of I-10 near Voda, KS. Another storm went up to the north of this initial storm and soon formed a base with a rotating wall cloud and a brief funnel cloud. This is when we decided to head north on a gravel road towards the new storm that was quickly cycling and became tornado warned. Unbeknownst to us at the time was that our heading was taking us up a dead end road and we ended up traveling 5 miles before realizing this. So is the frustration of storm chasing. Our course of action took our group back to the interstate and east to WaKeeney, KS where we traveled north on Hwy 283, all the time hearing of the storm that we were forced to leave on our dead end road had produced a tornado. We finally got on the storm with a lot of chaser convergence, the TIV, DOWS vehicles and other research vehicles as the tornado had lifted and now was a ragged funnel. This was the same area, roughly 6 miles north of WaKeeney, where many of the storm chasers had hail damage due to the baseball sized hail that fell with this storm but we fortunately were able to stay out of the main hail core and primarily experienced some dime and nickel sized hail. Thereafter, we became split with our group and our vehicle progressed ahead of the storm from Hill City, KS down to Plainville, KS where MaryLynn, Matt Renner (our cameraman) and I sat and watched the storm become outflow dominant and produce a fantastic lightning display and shelf cloud. This storm later came into Hays where we had gone back to the hotel and produced 80 mph winds in town and quite a bit of damage.

Updraft going up directly ahead of us with the anvil being blown overhead near Ransom, KS.

Mammatus underneath the anvil of the storm as we approached the storm near Utica, KS.

Wall cloud on a new storm to our north with a brief funnel emerging from the base near Voda, KS.

Another, more zoomed in view of the wall cloud with funnel near Voda, KS.

This is our view of the low precipitation supercell just to the north of I-10 near Voda, KS. Note the incredible spaceship-like structure!

View of the southern end of the storm opposite to the picture above. Notice the inflow tail on the left side and striations above.

This is one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken! The low precipitation supercell was finally starting to produce some rain and rotating quickly, slowly moving northeast in front of our position.

The dead end road ahead of us that was clearly not marked and the reason why we missed the tornado produced by a storm to the northeast of the LP supercell on the left. I particularly like the anvil in this shot.

We finally were able to catch up to the storm as the tornado had lifted and we were left with a ragged wall cloud and funnel that was quickly diminishing.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621657114415/

Storm Reports:

May 8th West Central Texas Storm Chase - Wall Clouds and a Shelf Cloud

October 01, 2009 by Brad in 2007

05-08-07 CHASE LOG: TX The film crew for "Twister Sisters" decided to take a day off...but that didn't stop the myself, MaryLynn, the Twister Sisters, Beau Gjerdingen and Eric Whitehill from going after a squall line that was racing across western Texas through the day! We wanted to show our guests a good time so we took off from Amarillo by late morning, trying to get ahead of the squall line that was racing east of Lubbock. We finally ended up getting far enough ahead to stop and get some pictures near Throckmorton, Texas. There were a pair of supercells out ahead of the main line of storms that each had non-rotating wall clouds upon moving north through our area. We did get some photos, but all agreed that they would not amount to much due to the squall line likely to overtake both storms soon. The squall line had one of the best shelf clouds I have ever seen and we let this overtake us at our position, all the while staying outside and feeling the full power of the winds that were gusting around 40 mph. The shelf moved overhead and had a very nice underbelly that we viewed before the rain hit and we called it a day. This was actually a very fun and relaxing chase day as all we had to do was get out ahead of the shelf cloud and wait for it to hit us. Plus we got to view a couple of supercells out ahead of the main line, which was a pleasant surprise to say the least. Check out the photos below!

Impressive updraft with a supercell ahead of the squall line and with wall cloud underneath as well as some striations.

Nicely structured wall cloudy developing underneath the supercell ahead of the approaching squall line.

MaryLynn and I in front of the wall cloud moving our north by a few miles.

Awesome shelf cloud about to overtake us with 40 mph winds and very heavy rain. Check out the shark teeth!

The underbelly of the shelf cloud that has just overtaken us. What a sight this was with all of the intense motion, horizontal and vertical.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621655776921/

Storm Reports:

May 5th Central Kansas Storm Chase - Tornado Damage from Night Before, Stafford Tornado and Funnels

October 01, 2009 by Brad in 2007

05-05-07 CHASE LOG: KS

This was the day after the Greensburg Tornado so it was rather somber, especially considering this was a High Risk day in the same area that was devasted by tornadoes the night before. We started out in Claflin, KS where we found tornado damage from the night before. The tornado had done a lot of tree and power pole damage in the area and actually did some structural damage in the town, including tearing a grain bin from its foundation and throwing it around 100 yards into a building near another grain elevator. As MaryLynn and I progressed south towards the town of Ellinwood, KS we came across a church that had its steeple and part of the roof torn off as well as a lot of other, more minor damage in the area. As we progressed further southwest towards St John and Macksville, we came across additional damage from the 12 tornadoes that touched down in central KS the previous night.

As we neared St John, KS storms began firing on the dryline that was well forecast for mid afternoon. Between St John and Pratt, we approached our first storm of the day. This storm quickly produced a funnel cloud and was 3/4 of the way to the ground before lifting. This is where we also saw the TIV and the DOWS vehicles that were attempting to intercept this developing tornado. Our group that included two vehicles, with Beau Gjerdingen and Eric Whitehill in the other vehicles, followed the storm up towards Stafford, KS. The storm had been cycling quite a bit with several wall clouds and areas of rotation. North of Stafford, our vehicle was about to pass very near the mesocyclone and this is where the storm decided to drop a very brief tornado, only about 40 yards from our location. The tornado touched down momentarily and then lifted, producing a beautiful funnel that was well lit as it crossed the road directly in front of us. The funnel soon roped out and dissipated a few minutes later. We continued to follow the storm to the north of Claflin, all the while having the storm cycle and produce wall clouds but not any more funnels. It was very eery following a tornado warned storm into the same area that was hit the night before with tornadoes. Nearing sunset, our group met back up in Hays, KS for the night.

Power pole snapped by a tornado the night before near Claflin, KS.

Grain bin thrown around 100 yards from a weak tornado that came through Claflin, KS the night before.

A tornado ripped the steeple off of this country church between Claflin and Ellinwood, KS the night before.

The tornado also took part of the roof and broke a few of the stain glass windows of the church.

Funnel cloud that came within 3/4 of the way to the ground between St John and Pratt, KS.

This is one of my favorite photos I have taken early in my chasing career. This tornado did briefly touch down in the field about 40 yards in front of us. It then crossed the road about 2 power poles away from our location. This was near Stafford, KS.

Image of the funnel as it crossed the road and began to occlude and rope out just to our north.

Image of funnel roping out and dissipating just to our north.

View of a large funnel cloud directly ahead of us and the rear flank downdraft and subsequent hail core to our left.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621653451679/

Storm Reports:

May 4th Southwest Kansas Storm Chase - The Greensburg Tornado

August 19, 2009 by Donya Gjerdingen in 2007

05-04-07 CHASE LOG: KS

First off, my thoughts and prayers will always be with the people of Greensburg on this horrific day of unspeakable destruction. This storm chase involved our filming of the "Twister Sisters" reality show with Peggy Willenberg, Melanie Metz, Beau Gjerdingen, Eric Whitehill, MaryLynn Voth and the entire crew from Original Productions. We started the day in Hays, KS right on the northern edge of a moderate risk day. There was uncertainty into if the cap could be broken further south so we hung around Hays till late afternoon and then meandered towards Great Bend, KS. Intense supercells formed along the OK/TX border by late afternoon and we questioned going after these storms due to their distance and with more supercells firing on the triple point in southwestern NE, our secondary target. We ended up moving south on Highway 281 towards Medicine Lodge, KS and then west on Highway 160 to Protection, KS just after the storm had split and we were on the right mover. As we drove about 2 miles west of Protection, KS the inflow to the storm was absolutely amazing, gusting to near 40-50 mph INTO the storm. It was the strongest inflow winds I have ever felt into a storm and for good reason. I had pulled the camera's out of the back of the vehicle, only to realize that they had condensated over due to the dewpoints being in the lower 70's. Therefore, I only was able to get limited pictures of the wall cloud and none of the tornado that began to form when we were on a dirt road just to the north of Protection, KS. MaryLynn and I had become split of the group at this point and had were watching a tornado form several miles to our northwest while the eventual Greensburg Tornado started to touch down in a field 1/4 mile to our east around 9pm. As we followed behind the tornado that was rapidly increasing in size, it was starting to become more difficult to see as nightfall was soon approaching. The soon-to-be wedge tornado was only illuminated between the power flashes and the lightning and is an image that has been in my thoughts and nightmares since this night. One of the more scary things was the weather radio saying over and over "A Tornado Emergency has been issued for Greensburg, KS. A tornado is imminent and all residents must seek shelter." MaryLynn, our camerman and I ended up in the town of Mullinville, KS looking at a traffic jam in the middle of a KS night on Highway 54 as the road had been shut down as a result of the first EF-5 tornado in history, sadly destroying the town of Greensburg, KS. Below are some of the pictures from this day and some of the aftermath:

The beautiful shelf cloud out ahead of the left split of the Greensburg Supercell from our vantage point near Deerhead, KS.

The actual splitting of the Greensburg Supercell (on left) and the left splitting storm (on right) near Coldwater, KS.

Bad photo (I know) of the very tight and rapidly rotating wall cloud at the start of the Greensburg Tornado near Protection, KS.

All of the news outlets in Greensburg only 3 days after the tragedy.

A van that was thrown several times.

A very large grain truck that was flipped.

There was extensive tree damage throughout the town.

The U.S. flag being flown proudly after the town had been dessimated.

A pickup truck flipped from the winds of the tornado.

Another amazing picture of the destruction from this powerful tornado.

A random piano thrown into the middle of a parking lot.

A grain bin wrapped around a tree like tinfoil.

A slab of concrete completely ripped out of the ground.

Boards thrown as projectiles.

Incredible destruction the tornado caused in Greensburg, KS. Debris spread for many miles.

One month after the tornado went through Greensburg, KS as the rubble has been cleared.

Another image of the entire town after having been cleared of the rubble one month later.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621652591365/

And here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621654273947/

Storm Reports:

May 3rd North Central Kansas Storm Chase - Low Topped Thunderstorm Funnel

August 07, 2009 by Donya Gjerdingen in 2007

05-03-07 CHASE LOG: KS

This was not your typical "storm chase" as we were on a travel day to set up for the chase the following day. This was the start of our filming of "Twister Sisters", a reality television show that MaryLynn and I were a part of in 2007. The show aired in December of 2007 and January of 2008 with re-runs for a few years after. The funny thing about this is that we were driving on I-70 between Salina and Russell, KS and came up over a hill and noticed a really nice cold air funnel that was halfway to the ground! That was an amazing site to see as we were not expecting any severe weather this day, let alone any funnels. The funnel formed from a low topped thunderstorm, then dissipated and recycled with a wall cloud before the storm weakened in strength. Our crew of Suburbans and vans pulled off the Interstate to witness this "gift" that Mother Nature had given us. It was a great start to one of the more fun experiences of my life...being a cast member in a television show.

This is the view of our dashboard in our suburban when we were filming for the Twister Sisters reality television show. Notice the 3 dash cameras, one for the driver, another for the passenger, and another to look out the front window. Quite the set-up.

View of the funnel a few miles to the south of the Interstate as we were traveling between Salina and Russell, Kansas.

Funnel cloud approaching Interstate 70 in north-central Kansas.

Wall cloud organizing a mile to the west of I-70 and several miles to the south of our position.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621770518272/

Storm Reports:

April 27th Northeast Kansas Storm Chase

August 07, 2009 by Donya Gjerdingen in 2007

04-27-07 CHASE LOG: KS There is not much to show for this day as the Twister Sisters and I went down to northeast Kansas and spotted a few lowerings on a couple of supercells near Atchinson, KS. These storms were moving to the northeast at close to 45 mph and were very difficult to keep up with. Nothing ever came close to making even a nice wall cloud as the storms ended up quite linear rather quickly.

One of the not-so-impressive lowered bases near Atchinson, KS.

A neat shot of our view of one of the storms and one of the many unpaved Kansas roads. We were sitting at a cemetary at this point which was a spooky place to view the storms as they passed.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621645443005/

Storm Reports:

July 27th Southwest Wisconsin Storm Chase - Supercell and Wall Clouds

July 28, 2009 by Donya Gjerdingen in 2009

07-27-09 CHASE LOG: WI

Quite glad that I went out today as MaryLynn and I chased a couple of strong supercells through the rolling hills and trees that is southwest WI.It ended up being a surprisingly good day, all things considering.Upon leaving Burnsville, our course of action took us to Rochester, MN where we waited for initiation as a mesoscale discussion had been issued, talking about the development of supercells with primarily a damaging wind and large hail threat as well as an isolated tornado or two.A severe thunderstorm watch was then issued for all of southeast MN and most of south-central WI into northeast IA.Thunderstorms had already developed across the border right on the warm front into WI and, realizing the trough and associated wind shift were passing to our east, we decided to head east on I-90 towards La Crosse, WI.Storms in WI continued to get their act together and become severe, showing signs of strong rotation as we made it through La Crosse and towards Sparta, WI where we came upon the first storm of the day.This storm was still exhibiting strong signs of rotation and here is where we witnessed the first wall cloud, and a large wall cloud it was, although quite ragged.As the storm passed south of the Interstate near Sparta, we pursued on Hwy 71.This is where the VIL’s spiked and the storm started to have a couplet.We got directly out ahead of the wall cloud at this point as the motion started to greatly increase and inflow winds became stronger, also while we encountered some dime sized hail.I was rather nervous at this point being directly out ahead of the rapidly rotating wall cloud with the storm having a TVS signature on radar but, surprisingly, the storm never produced a funnel through the entire time we were watching, just outside the town of Norwalk, WI. We continued south on County Road T ahead of the storm as different storm became tornado warned 35 miles to our southwest.This was the storm that dropped a confirmed tornado in southwest WI today.We were not able to get to this storm due to the bad road network and the likelihood that we would have to core punch the storm to have any chance of seeing anything.Therefore we stayed on our storm to the north and this storm ended up becoming tornado warned as we were witnessing another developing wall cloud, although short lived.Near Hillsboro, WI is when the chase ended as the storms congealed into a big HP mess.

Back edge of rain shaft on a storm in La Crosse, WI.We had to punch this storm to get out ahead to get to the storm near Sparta, WI.

Large wall cloud on the storm near Sparta, WI. This storm was severe warned for large hail and damaging winds at this time.

Screen shot of the velocity imagery at the time we were approaching this storm near Sparta, WI.

Image of inflow into wall cloud from right to left. Hail/rain core is on the left side of the image.

Velocity imagery near the time we had the strong rotation very close to us in the video.

Wall cloud near Hillsboro, WI shortly before the storm became tornado warned.

Anvil of supercell on I-90 near New Lisbon, WI as we got back on the interstate to head home.

Sunset near St Charles, MN on the drive home with towers going up close to the Twin Cities.

More photos from this day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39991047@N02/sets/72157621751427445/detail/

Storm Reports: