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We kept zig zagging trying very hard to stay somewhat with it. This was absolutely amazing what happens here. |
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This updraft now meant business and we were RIGHT behind it now. This is looking up through my front windshield as we drove. It was hard keeping this exposure within the dynamic range of the camera. This part of the updraft was curling cyclonically east and forming a tight notch into another plume. The updraft billowed straight up and was making for a bit of mammatus in the backsheared anvil. |
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These are all shot where we turned east to go towards Linden. Just an amazing site. I soooooooooo wanted to pull over here and take some stills but knew I couldn't. Look below this and you can see something wrapped and low back in there. This was not long before we see the big tornado. I'm wondering what exactly that is as I missed it with my eyes(they were fixated on this amazing updraft display above). Quarter sized hail was on the road in this location. |
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Just amazing. |
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What power. I chase for that right there. Note the sun block thing where the mirror attaches in the upper right. This is looking straight up. I had the ev set for like -1.3 stops hoping my metering point was on the dark cloud(which is actually middle of the exposure here) and not the bright cloud. Without it on -1.3 or so it would have blown out. If the dot was on the brighter cloud most of the shot would have been black. Not an exposure friendly lighting situation. |
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Going east towards Linden. Something might have been wrapped up back in there left of this picture or in the one up a bit. That was happening and this new lowering was forming south of it. |
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Getting east back under it. I was in heaven looking up at this. |
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Just one more. |
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Somewhere sw of Minburn yet. Note the beavertail on the right side of the picture. I wished the thing would have slowed down! |
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Catching up again with a better view of the inflow tail pointing straight se. |
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With those winds aloft it was having a hard time producing any sort of backshear. |
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We got slowed up in Minburn by slow drivers and this slowness continued north aways out of town. While being slowed up we spot this guy to our east! At first I was like, what the hell is that. I was thinking at first it was just rfd kicking up dirt. I could then see near violent motions around it. |
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Full condenstation tube in there kicking up a lot of dirt. |
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Tube getting a bit fatter and standing more upright. |
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Stronger yet. These are all looking due east on our n-s highway. |
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Bigger.
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Big. |
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Very strong looking tornado as we get off 169 and head east towards Woodward. Almost looks like it has a helical vortex spinning off of it. |
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I'm still on that same on ramp. Cars are stopped on the e-w highway left of this picture. I thought we were done right here but nothing was stopping traffic. |
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Moving east trying to get closer. Steve is now infront of me and a cop is blowing our doors off. |
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Not only could I not take stills and video, so only got video, but getting steady video on this highway and zoomed in was impossible. A couple segments of the video are ok, but dang do I now wish I had stopped in the open and got some quick still video of this wild tornado. The motions were still pretty incredible. |
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I think the motion was so incredible due in part to the tornado's forward speed. |
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I'm guessing right now is when the guy in Woodward is shooting that crazy video as it is in his backyard. |
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The tornado is now trying to rope out and starts to hang back a bit(not much). |
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Just about done. Thankfully it doesn't seem like it entered that town when it was its worst. Maybe it did, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it didn't. |
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As we go to where it crossed it was dotted with piles of wet cornhusks. |
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Tornado gone, nice structure continues. |
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For some reason it impresses me it had this big fat inflow tail pointed se as it moved ne so fast. |
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One quick shot of the sunset as we continued north into what was left of Woodward IA. |
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This only happened a couple minutes ago. Emergency people were already turning traffic around here. We really couldn't see much of any severe damage from here. I thought just the last part of the rope out got this gas station and the roof on one house. Evidently that was not the case. Note the brick wall being broken on that casey's store. Behind that tin near the north side of the Casey's was an overturned car. We saw it on the news and whatnot but completely missed it as it was behind the debris from our vantage point. |
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Hard to see here but this tornado must not have agreed with the recent high gas prices. It removed the 1 from the $1.94 leaving .94. |
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The storm seen from the gas station. Our chase was now over. It goes on to produce at least one more tornado near Ames IA. Glad it missed the football game! |
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Zooom! |
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