2014-06-13 REPORTS: WY

[Skip Talbot]

Jennifer Brindley Ubl, Phil Bates, and I documented a rain wrapped tornado east of Devils Tower in Wyoming near the small town of Aladdin. The condensation funnel was largely rain wrapped, but we could hear the roar, feel the adjacent winds and downdraft heat bursts from under the RFD clear slot, and see cloud fragments caught in the outer circulation moving at tornadic speeds. The road network of the Black Hills prevented us from getting into a more favorable viewing angle, but we were close enough to be able to feel and experience this tornado with our other senses even if we couldn't directly see it. The NWS surveyed EF3 damage on this tornado. Full log write up, photos, and annotated map:

http://skip.cc/chase/140613/

 

[William Monfredo]

Since there's no chase lately, why not post this one? Had a day off and made the way from Rapid City to the "greater" Belle Fourche area in SD. I knew I'd be able to squeeze in an outdoor lunch on a beautiful day before the severe thunderstorm warning came out. Once done with the picnic, I mentioned to an old-timer passing by that there was going to be a tornado to the west, not far from the WY border. He said, nah, we don't get them around here. This one visibly lasted a few minutes and looked great when it roped out too as I watched through 8.5X binoculars. If only they were all this easy.