2011-04-09 DISC: NE/IA

[Chip Redmond]

Jeff did you get that data from NCDC?

Here was our view of the 2-3 mile wide before it was massive:

Does anyone else have images of it being a small cone/stovepipe before it turned into the massive wedge?

And our last view of the tornado while it was likely at its peak:

More photos are on my blog http://chip-redmond.blogspot.com


Chip

 

[Zack Hargrove]

Here's one of our grainy shots of when it was a possible cone. If you can see the dark spots, we were wondering if those spots were debris.

Another possible/cool shot of it when it was maybe a cone.

 

[Chip Redmond]

Zach, what direction were you facing and where was your approximate location? I would think that you would see the ground scraping condensation near the ground before the wedge began too... That storm was so well sculpted. It is a bummer it wasn't in the day.


Chip

 

[Jeff Duda]

Jeff did you get that data from NCDC?

I didn't, but you can get it from there by now, probably. I actually pulled it from the IEM's feed, which goes back about 72 - 84 hours depending on the site and how busy it has been.

 

[Zack Hargrove]

Zach, what direction were you facing and where was your approximate location? I would think that you would see the ground scraping condensation near the ground before the wedge began too... That storm was so well sculpted. It is a bummer it wasn't in the day.


Chip

Chip,

I believe this shot was facing North/Northwest? I know we were well south of Pocahontas and probably a little west at this time as it was still on its way towards that area. I was driver and not radar man like I usually am and I realize when I'm driver I'm not as familiar with my locations as when I'm radar man. I just go where they tell me to go. I will try to get some more information about exacts if I can. I also saved some trip data from Microsoft streets and trips as well.

We, too, were wishing we could have seen this monster during the day. It had to be one of the most beautiful storms I've ever seen in real life or in pictures. I just wish we could have seen it in all its glory. It was indeed the mothership, plus some.

 

[Chip Redmond]

I didn't, but you can get it from there by now, probably. I actually pulled it from the IEM's feed, which goes back about 72 - 84 hours depending on the site and how busy it has been.

Dang I didn't even know IEM had archived radar... I just missed it too. That would've been mighty convenient. I will keep it in mind for future reference, thanks! Now off to deal with NCDC jazz...

Chip

 

[Jeff Duda]

Dang I didn't even know IEM had archived radar... I just missed it too. That would've been mighty convenient. I will keep it in mind for future reference, thanks! Now off to deal with NCDC jazz...

Chip

Do you have problems getting archived radar data from NCDC? Do you know about this site: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/nexradinv/. I find it quite easy to get archived data from it, and it usually arrives in less than an hour.

 

[Rick Stockton]

Mike Smith - that was an excellent tribute to an often over-looked component during events such as these. I still remember and am ever so grateful for the work all of you guys did on, and leading up to, April 26, 1991, for Wichita and the CWA.

 

[Paul Townsend]

So let me make sure I understand your post correctly. You think that I have a tornado in the image I posted that is not the Arthur tornado. I don't see this tornado on any NWS storm survey, so maybe it was very short lived and/or didn't do any damage.

Correct. Based on the continuity of the wedge-shaped black mass silhouetted by lightning from behind it for at least a couple of minutes, which I saw, in conjunction with velocity data at this time which indicated a large mesocyclone circulation with a smaller couplet within, I would have to say with reasonable certainty that you photographed a tornado. That tornado/meso was associated with the reflectivity hook. A more newly formed meso to its east produced the "Arthur" tornado. I called it the Arthur tornado because the Sioux Falls storm survey called it the Arthur tornado. The Arthur tornado in question here formed to the west-southwest of Arthur and ended a couple miles to its north, just as my description of what I saw where I was when I filmed it would suggest. It was a narrow stovepipe or a tilted, more ropey tornado for its entire lifecycle, matching the FSD description of a maximum damage width of one-quarter mile, in contrast to the half-mile or larger diameter tornado we saw further west. After Mapleton, this storm began cranking mesos to the east of the more mature circulations, thus the wobbling nature you indicated.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

I posted this on my Facebook wall last night but thought I'd also share it here. We received this email last night from the family of the Man we rescued on Saturday Night after his house had been hit by a tornado. I thought its a good reminder of why we (and most people) chase storms...

Jeremy, This is Brenda Shank, you rescued my father Saturday night. I was enroute from Des Moines. I wanted to tell you how greatful we are for your kindness. He has told the story a hundred times of the heroic efforts you made that night. He lost his wife a year or so ago and now has lost his farm. But thanks to you and your team he didn't lose his life. The local schools have dismissed and helping with the clean up as well as the community. Much of the stuff in the home was saved and some of the farm stuff. We have been looking for homes for him in the Storm Lake area. Anyway, I had been searching for you as time as allowed and I found a blog you wrote on this evening. Thanks so very much. I have taken many photos and are on my face book page. I was wondering by chance if you videotaped the tornado that took my dad's house or any photos? Thanks again, we are forever grateful and blessed for your kindness.Brenda Shank

 

[Jeff Duda]

Looks like the Des Moines WFO has updated its page on the event. I don't remember exactly how many they had before or what their exact ratings were, but there is now 7 confirmed tornadoes and three of them are EF3. One of them (tornado "D") was given a peak wind of 165 mph, putting it at the top end of EF3!

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=dmx&storyid=66541&source=0

 

[Kevin Walters]

Looks like the Des Moines WFO has updated its page on the event. I don't remember exactly how many they had before or what their exact ratings were, but there is now 7 confirmed tornadoes and three of them are EF3. One of them (tornado "D") was given a peak wind of 165 mph, putting it at the top end of EF3!

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=dmx&storyid=66541&source=0

I see they did not update the 2-3 mile path width. Will be interesting to see what happens with that.

 

[Chip Redmond]

Tornado F is rather interesting as it has the path doing a full loop and continuing on... I wonder how many documented cases of this there are in history.


Chip

 

[Michael Towers]

Tornado F is rather interesting as it has the path doing a full loop and continuing on... I wonder how many documented cases of this there are in history.


Chip

June 3, 1980 Prairie Creek, Nebraska is one I recall:

It was a nocturnal event, an F3 with a maximum width of 700 yards. Reminds me of why I'm not a big fan of chasing after dark and gives pause to consider the possible consequences of a similar event happening in today's heavily chased environment.

 

[Jeff Duda]

A tornado making a loop to the left makes sense to me. Since tornadoes are born from a parent mesocyclone which is rotating cyclonically, then unless the tornado is at the dead center of the mesocyclone, you should expect the tornado to drift left during its life as it revolves around the axis of the mesocyclone. I won't mention a thread from a few years ago about this, but you can get paths similar to cycloids when the tornado comes full circle around the mesocyclone, thus resulting in an abrupt and extreme turn to the left (so much so that from a more distant perspective, the tornado appears to turn right).

However, a tornado turning to the right makes little sense to me unless it was anticyclonic (which I don't believe this one was). However, noting the width of this tornado, it seems entirely possible that a series of RFD surges and random other wind bursts in the sub-cloud layer may very well have pushed this tornado around in an anticyclonic circle. I believe such low level cold air surges are frequently responsible for those tornadoes that appear to extend greater in the horizontal than they do in the vertical when roping out.