We spent a good deal of the day sitting at a truck stop near Emporia, Kansas along the turnpike. Cumulus developed and finally a storm formed to our immediate north. With its forward speed, we opted (accidentally due to take of exits) to follow the turnpike into Topeka where we parked on the south side of town to watch the storm.

It looked very high based initially, but did have a weak wall cloud that showed some signs of slow rotation. The hail markers and reports indicated this to be a big hail producer, and that was all we were really giving it credit for.

With the storm moving in on the metro, we decided to move to get out in front of it. During this process, the storm intensified rapidly and started to really get its act together with the wall cloud lowering and the low level rotation picking up in a hurry. A tornado warning went out for Topeka.

With the usual issues of the city, we ended up falling behind our escape route from US-75 via I-470 northwest to I-70 and east from there.  We ended up dropping off I-70 into the downtown area to get a better view of the area of strong interest.  We ducked back on to I-70 as hail started to fall. Once on I-70, the hail core caught us and we had to stop to avoid taking bad damage to the windows of the vehicle. The hail, up to tennis-ball size for us, fell as a strong area of rotation was moving in on us. We waited as long as we could for the core to move northeast of us so we could hug it to stay ahead of the developing circulation.

While stopped, we observed a large rotating feature that looked to be a very stout funnel.  With the trees blocking our view to the southwest, we were unable to determine ourselves whether or not this feature was on the ground.  Turns out, a NWS damage survey revealed EF-0 damage near Washburn Rural high school on the southwest side of Topeka which matches up with this feature.  The funnel remained for quite some time, but did briefly touch down doing the damage at the time we were observing it.

The trees blocked our view from I-70 looking back to the west, but this funnel produced a weak tornado to our southwest.

Some hail I picked up at a stop light; smaller than what we saw on I-70.

Once we hit that clearing, we bolted east and took KS-4 north to US-40 east and found a great spot on SE Stanley Road looking back to the west.  The wall cloud, which had the strongest rotation I’ve seen since the Conway Springs, Kansas outbreak day of 2004, was churning like mad to our immediate north.  We stopped in what was then calm winds and observed this feature as it moved at us and eventually crossing over US-40 to our west about a mile.  About this time, a rather weak RFD moved in with some rain and wind.

A violently rotating wall cloud to our immediate west as seen from US-40 northeast of Topeka.

With the storm moving quickly north and east, we decided to backtrack to the west to catch KS-4 that offered the best chance to cross the river and remain in position with the storm.  Enroute up to US-24, we observed at least two long funnels, neither of which we could confirm ground contact with.  Once we got to US-24 and turned east, the storm was cycling again as the wall cloud had dissipated, although the rotation was clearly still there.

With the storm moving toward Perry Lake, we decided to get east of the lake and take County Road 1029 north along the east side of the lake.  The storm again got its wall cloud organized and put out a funnel.  With the trees blocking our view a majority of the time, we had a hard time getting a consistent view of the feature.  Once we found a clearing, we stopped quickly for some structure shots.

Amazing structure looking north from the southeast side of perry Lake.

As we were sitting, we noticed the wall cloud area tightening up quickly.  We quickly raced north to where the county road doglegs to the northwest and saw between the trees what looked to be a white condensation cone all the way to the ground.  The view was tough, but reports were streaming in of a tornado over the lake which quickly lead us to believe the lack of debris was due to the tornado being over the water.

The tornado between the trees as it moves over the water of Perry Lake.

The tornado between the trees as it moves over the water of Perry Lake.

The tornado between the trees as it moves over the water of Perry Lake.

The tornado between the trees as it moves over the water of Perry Lake.

Our northward race was stalled once at the bridge crossing the lake as a cop had blocked traffic as the tornado evidently crossed north of the bridge.  Fortunately, he waved us through without us having to ask and we continued north.  Unfortunately it was on the south side of Lakeside Village where we were ultimately halted due to a tree that had blown down on to the road.  In this area, we noted the tree was blown down from east to west with telephone poles leaning in different directions and nearby signs slightly twisted and bent over.

A large tree across County Road 1029 blocking our path.

We later heard reports that damage was done in Lakeside Village from this tornado as it moved off the lake.  The tornado was reported to be on the water for several minutes before moving on to land and lifting just to the east of Lakeside Village.

Video of the tornadic storm from I-70 in Topeka to Lakeside Village near Perry Lake.

With the road north blocked, we took a series of dirt and gravel county roads to get ourselves over to US-59 and eventually up to KS-92 where we called the chase in Leavenworth due to dark.

The tornado was icing on what turned out to be an amazing supercell given the marginal conditions (so we thought) and the low expectations of the day.  The wall cloud northeast of Topeka from US-40 had some of the most insane rotation I have seen in a long time.  Had it produced, it would’ve been insane.  The hail was terrific and certainly a nice bonus, although I wish I had been further ahead to avoid the shelter stop I had to make.  Overall, a very exciting chase that fortunately did NOT result in a tornado through downtown Topeka which looked quite likely on a few occasions.  Yet another metro-area I’ve chased a tornado warned storm through this year.  This is becoming a habit, unfortunately..

We sat in the parking lot of a truck stop on the west side of I-35W and watched an area of interest for a while before it finally put down a long, needle tornado.

The tornado stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes before roping out as much as a needle can rope.  We followed the storm briefly toward Italy and elected to pick up other storms to our south.  We hurried east on TX-22 toward I-45 and blew south toward Dew, Texas where we stopped south of town on SR-75 after a quick fill up to observe the storm structure.

As we drooled over the storm structure, the updraft of this storm was strong enough to chuck a few of its hailstones over to us.  A few sounded like buzz-saws through the trees as they crashed down.  Most sounded much bigger than the golfball I found that fell in the field nearby, but all I could verify was that as the rest crashed out of sight from me.

We pursued the storm into Oakwood, Texas along US-79 where we gave up the storm as darkness fell.  We ventured northeast into Palestine where we stayed overnight.

We moved up US-283 a few miles north of town and setup looking west at the approaching storm.  Motions in the clouds indicated a tornado was imminent and within minutes, the first tornado of the day touched down about a mile to our west.

After the tornado lifted, we proceeded north and east to FM-576 with a brief stop west of Moran where a close lightning strike nearly took our my chase partner, Ed.  We continued into Moran where we decided to drop south on FM-880 back into Putnam to intercept another storm moving in just about the same area.  We raced west on I-20 back into Baird where we again moved north on US-283 and stopped in nearly the exact same place to observe a strange tornado which was confirmed to touch down from other chasers further to the west.

We proceeded a couple miles north as a third tornado, a multi-vortex, formed immediately east of US-283.  The tornado came into view as we pushed through the hooking rain and crested a hill.  We stopped on the side of the road to observe when it showed signs of backing to the south and west, right at us.  We backed ourselves along the shoulder before turning around and punching back through the hook to get out of the way.

We circled back down through Baird, then east on I-20 back to FM-880 where we ventured back north to the junction of FM-880 and TX-6.  The storm had a nice shelf cloud which indicated the storm had gone into a mode where tornadoes weren’t going to be an easy find.

After shooting for a bit, we retreated east along TX-6 to northbound FM-1853 and caught FM-576 east back to US-183, barely keeping ahead of the core as it pushed north and east.  We flew south TX-112 toward Morton Valley and continued east to Ranger via FM-101 where we made a final stop for gas and returned to Sherman with a steak dinner in southwest Fort Worth along the way.

CHASE LOG TRIP INFORMATION Log Type: Chase Log Location: Eastern Colorado Departed From: Denver, CO Finished In: Denver, CO Trip Miles: 260 States: CO

SPC Day 1 Outlook

SPC Tornado Probability

SPC Hail Probability

SPC Wind Probability

It was eight-years in the making, my first TRUE Colorado tornadoes broke a long standing Colorado curse and gave me some of the most incredible tornado video I have ever shot in my life! Today was a true Colorado day, and for the first time, I can finally say, I was there!

One of two Colorado tornadoes south of Brush nabbed today by the Colorado Gang!

It was a late decision for me to call today a chase day as I had given consideration to chasing it the day before well into the morning. But after getting home from some errands, I decided to pack the car and venture out, cancelling evening plans and calling into the station to let them know I’d be chasing for them instead of going in.

I ventured out I-70 and had just rolled through Watkins when tornado warnings went up. Scott Hammell among others were reporting tornadoes and funnels from storms forming along the targeted convergence boundary that had setup near I-70 around Deer Trail. Of course, it was shaping up to be a typical Colorado chase for me… too late. Fortunately I did see several of the funnels from I-70 near Byers that were spinning around near Agate and south of Deer Trail.

Funnel cloud near Agata/Deer Trail looking south from I-70 near Byers (for the time, I thought this was it for me).

I made a quick stop in Deer Trail to top off my gas tank, then ventured out from Agate where I met with Dann Cianca, Michael Carlson, and Kendell Larouche. We chatted for a few before heading north to catch developing storms on colliding boundaries south of Brush near CO-71.

Riding behind Michael, Dann, and Kendell northbound on CO-71 with the towers going up over the road.

A storm that was sitting stationary along CO-71 near Nine Mile Corner (10 miles south of Brush) went severe warned. After stopping briefly to chat with the gang, I ventured north hoping to get into some hail. After crossing the “hail core” on CO-71 and venturing just east of the highway on a county road, I decided the severe warning wasn’t worth while as there was NO hail on the side of the road, and barely a few pennies falling.

I turned around to head back to CO-71 when I saw a thick funnel spinning almost directly overhead (and just a hair to my south).

The stout funnel looking almost directly overhead from a county road near Nine Mile Corner.

At this point, I was looking for a ground circulation to confirm this as a tornado. In the distance, to my west/southwest, I saw the debris swirl. I zoomed in from the funnel to check the ground and saw the dirt swirl on the ground. Next thing I new, I was looking through the lens to see this tornado destroying an outbuilding.

Video still of power flash due to a large piece of flying debris.

I continued filming this tornado until it roped out with the funnel stretching what I think was over a mile from the cloud to the ground. I then ventured over along County Road N where I witnessed the destruction of the building. I talked to a couple farmers to ensure everyone was all right (live stock as well). A horse trailer was rolled from a nearby yard and landed in the middle of the county road. In the midst of my conversation with the rancher whose newly built shed was destroyed, I turned around to see this… tornado #2..

Tornado #2, looking south from County Road N.

I shot this tornado as I left the property where it eventually roped out as I sat at CO-71 at County Road N.

A few photos I shot of the tornado between shooting video…

Storms up north were forming, but the linear nature and quick movement of these storms indicated the boundary tornado generation was probably done. I ventured up to Brush where I eventually met with a successful crew of happy Colorado chasers to toast our tornadoes over a nice truck stop steak! Upon the conclusion of dinner, a nice shelf cloud rolled overhead, closing out an amazing chase day!

Beautiful shelf cloud rolling along I-76 and over Brush with a brief wind gust and some light rain.

While I have seen tornadoes in Colorado since 2002, today was my first true, beautiful Colorado tornado, and I paired up and topped them off with some of the most amazing video I have ever shot. Today, the Colorado curse was destroyed; I can finally say I beat a curse that has haunted me for years. These two tornadoes will be two I remember from Colorado!

A special thanks to the crew whom I was able to enjoy a celebratory steak dinner with in Brush! It was a terrific day for the Colorado chasers who were treated to an August show that we got to enjoy on our own in our own state!

7News Using My Video During the 10pm Newscast Later That Night

Airdate: Monday, August 16, 2010 @ 10:00pm Newscast

Good Morning America Using My Video The Following Morning

Airdate: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – First Half Hour

7News Story The Following Day Using My Video And Behind-The-Scenes Consulting

Airdate: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 @ 5:00pm Newscast

Various Segments From The Weather Channel Used The Following Day

Airdate: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 In Frequent Rotation During The Day

MY STORM REPORTS Tornadoes Observed: 3 Hail Observed: 0.75" Flooding Observed: None Wind Gusts Observed: None Loading...

My first Minnesota tornado and its 5-second show saved the day from a total bust.

Thanks to Ed for letting me steal this video still from him as he shot this out the passenger window as we were approaching Wadena after missing the main show by 20 minutes.  This was from the round 2 and was so brief that by the time I reached down, grabbed my camera, and pointed it out the window, it was gone.  We pulled into Wadena and offered some assistance in town, but our chase was done.

We’re overnighting in Rogers, Minnesota tonight with uncertainty regarding plans for the next day or so.  The midnight Day 1 outlook doesn’t do anything for me that makes me want to endure another day of this.  Two-in-a-row for us in terms of missing huge shows, and this was thanks to a bad tire that needed repaired on the way out of Lemmon this morning.  That 20 or so minutes cost us the day today as we pulled in just a bit too late.

Wadena was a mess when we pulled in, and parts of the crew stepped in to help pull some folks out.  Unfortunately the above tornado and its parent circulation chased me out of town as it moved through.  We ventured north out of its way, then returned to town to assist where we could and document some of the damage. The people we talked to seemed to be in amazingly good spirits given what looked to be EF-3 damage.  I was happy the group was able to help out where they could.  Seemed as if everyone had plenty of warning.  There were a few injuries from what I hear, but no fatalities in this tornado as far as I know.  My thoughts and prayers go out to this town along with the others affected by today’s storms.  It was another devastating day across the northern plains today.

A pulverized car thrown from the parking lot of the high school.

The metal came from a building over half a mile away and it landed on this house.

The high school entrance severely damaged by the tornado.

A severely damaged home in a neighborhood south of the high school.

A severely damaged home south of the high school.

We left town, gave pursuit to some storms east which did nothing more than add a bunch of miles to what’s already going to be a long trip home.

Based on what I am seeing on the SPC, I don’t figure we’ll stick out tomorrow.  Morale feels pretty low and I certainly can attest to that.  I know the next few days hold potential, and depending on some logistics within the group, will determine the next course of action for myself and/or the team.  At this point, if we are to return home, I want to split it over two days as I am in no way eager enough to cover 950 miles in a day only to be useless the rest of the weekend.  I’ve done that twice already this season after bust chases and it was painful.  I’m not up for a third marathon drive home filled with the thoughts of the last couple of days.

So we’ll see… I am going to get cleaned up and crash out.  Sleep has been a premium over the last week and change.  Hopefully I can get 6-7 tonight… may do me some good.  Tomorrow will mark the 10th day in a row I’ve been on the road.  This trip started out well for us but has been rough in its ending.  We’ve covered over 4000 miles in chasing alone, not including the OKC trip and its related mileage (so closing in on 5000).  With the season coming to a close, I am hopeful to end it much better than the streak we’re on now.  2010 started out very rough for us, and unfortunately its trying hard to close in the same fashion.  I’m hopeful we can end on a note similar to the middle of our season where things were going much smoother for us.  This season has had a few career chases and on paper looks stellar, but its been a major struggle this entire season and I am very hopeful our last days are much better than what’s we’ve endured over the last 48 hours.  I do not want to remember 2010 with the frustrations the last two days have given us…

Goodnight from Rogers, Minnesota…

Looking west as the tornado crossed EW 34 Road at its biggest stage.

The tornado at its early stage when it was getting its act together south of EW 34 Road.

More to come…

I am rendering out the raw videos from both the Bison, SD tornadoes as well as the Adams County, North Dakota videos.  Both should be up at some point tomorrow.  Below are a few stills, captioned below..

The start of the Bison, SD tornado; this was AFTER the "Faith" tornado.

The main tornado (foreground) and a smaller, brief tornado southeast of it.

The main tornado at its wedge/large cone point southeast of Bison.

A bad screen grab of a multi-vortex tornado spinning up as the main tornado was to its east.

My VERY FIRST North Dakota Tornado! Taken from ND-49 looking west about 10 N of the border.

Stove-pipe tornado spinning up behind the hill along ND-49; disappeared before we crested, so this was best still.

Multi-vortex tornado crossing west-to-east across ND-49 looking north.