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Omigod! I can't even begin to describe which will likely become a historical storm. Starting shortly after 7 and going well passed dark, I ended up wrapping up the day with at least seven different tornadoes. The South-End Charlie served us well as it developed meso after meso, cycling through about every 15 minutes and dropping a tornado not long after that. The first two tornadoes were the most photogenic; the forth and fifth were smaller tornadoes with a decent bit of dust swirling beneath their funnels; the sixth tornado dropped and had Amos and I racing south to get out of its way, it passed within 500 yards of my vehicle when it crossed the road. Number seven came after I called it a night and was heading back to the Interstate. I ended up meeting Storm Chaser Warren Faidley for this night-time tornado, lit up only by lightning. A world of things made this the best chase to date, and what will likely be a day like none I will ever see again! Whistling hail almost as big as softballs crashed down during tornado #2 sounding like meteors hitting the ground. RFDs and inflow tossed us about most of the evening. Nearly 3 hours of non-stop tornatic action made this one for the record books. I have nearly doubled my life count of tornadoes in less than 3 hours!!! Tornado #1 - Near Medicine Lodge, Kansas @ 00:10z [VIDEO]
Tornado #2 - West of Attica, Kansas on Hwy 160; Brief dust swirl on the ground beneath rotating base. No images. Tornado #3 - Attica, Kansas [VIDEO]
Tornado #4 - Southwest of Harper, Kansas just south of Hwy 160.
Tornado #5 - Southwest of Harper, Kansas just south of Hwy 160. Just east of where tornado #4 touched down.
Tornado #6 - Between Harper, KS and Anthony, KS on K-2 @ 01:25z [VIDEO]
With the tornado nearly stationary at this point, Amos and I elected to jump south on K-2 to get ahead of it. What I think was an RFD from another storm pushed this tornado into warp speed as it quickly began to race east at us. With us committed to our southern route, Amos and I made a run for our lives as this tornado closed to within a couple hundred yards of us. Within moments, what we thought would be an easy drive turned into the highway from hell as the tornado moved in on us making driving very difficult. I was following as closely to Amos's truck as one wants to do at the speeds we were driving. Debris was being pulled into the tornado across the highway in front of us. I managed to maintain control of my sedan while filming behind me as the tornado hit a part of the high school only 30 seconds after we passed. When we finally emerged from the inflow, we found a spot about a mile south of the tornado to catch our breaths and film as the tornado again stalled its forward speed and eventually dissapate right at K-2. This tornado was eventually rated an F-2.
Tornado #7 - West of Anthony, Kansas looking northeast from K-14; I believe this tornado was rated F-4.
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