Good day all,
May 7 was a pretty good chase day for me, excepting the fact that I was suckered west away from my primary target (Sterling / Julesburg and points south). I was able to catch some incredible storm structure, plus the Wray tornado from 20-30 miles away, thanks to Colorado's awesome visibility!
Sorry for the late post for this log, but here it is...
1). May 7, 4:30 PM - Observation and penetration of a severe thunderstorm from south of Wiggins and Fort Morgan, Colorado in Morgan and Washington counties from near Highways 34 and 71 and eastward to between Akron and Anton along Highway 63. The storm was a cluster of severe thunderstorms, with a supercell storm on the tail end (southern portion of the storm complex). These storms remained over open country, and produced some brief tornadoes and funnels as well (the tornadoes were not directly observed). Strong winds over 60 MPH, very heavy rains, frequent lightning, and golfball sized hail was also observed with these storms. The supercell storm along the line segment had a striking visual appearance and strong rotation. These storms were caused by upslope wind flow, a low pressure area, upper trough, and surface heating. Documentation was digital stills and HD video. A 2009 Ford Escape was used to observe the storms. A tornado watch was also in effect for portions of the area until 7 PM MDT.
Above: View of the front of my chase vehicle with hail-guards while on a supercell storm near Akron, Colorado on May 7.
Above: Mammatus clouds over Akron, Colorado on May 7.
Above: Tail-end "charley" LP supercell storm (with beautiful sculpted striations) on the southern end of a line segment of severe thunderstorms northwest of Anton, Colorado late in the day on May 7.
Above: Rotating portion, and small funnel, of the LP storm (with impressive structure) northwest of Anton, Colorado late on May 7.
2). May 7, 7:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe and tornadic thunderstorm from near Yuma, Colorado along Highway 34, and into Wray near Morgan County. This storm was observed from a range of 20 to 30 miles at the most intense point, after abandoning the previous storm observed too long above. This was a classic cyclic supercell storm, producing more than 3 tornadoes, one of which struck the northern outskirts of Wray causing damage. These tornadoes were highly visible, and could be seen more than 30 miles away from the storm, especially looking east from near Yuma on Highway 34. At least two of the tornadoes from this storm were observed, despite being farther away (as myself and some storm chasers were also focusing on the cells to the west too long) from other storm chasers who were closer to this cell. The core was not penetrated. Rotating wall clouds and funnels persisted after the storm passed north of Wray and weakened. Damage was observed north of Wray on 385, and it was closed, ending the chase with fuel low. Conditions causing the storm were upslope wind flow, a low pressure area / dryline, upper trough, and surface heating. Documentation was digital stills and HD video. A 2009 Ford Escape was used to observe the storms. A tornado watch was also in effect for portions of the area until 7 PM MDT, later extended via a special MCD for this supercell.
Above: After bailing on the line segment and LP storms to the west, I rushed east along Highway 34 towards a tornadic supercell near Wray, Colorado during the evening of May 7. This storm produced highly visible tornadoes, and despite being 20 to 30 miles west of the supercell (unfortunately), they were still visible. In this picture, a stove-pipe (later rated EF-2) tornado is clearly visible just left of the roadway with a possible second tornado to the far left just lifting!
Above: Weakening phase of the Wray, Colorado tornado viewed from east of Yuma, Colorado at long-range on May 7.
Above: Another view of the Wray, Colorado tornado viewed from east of Yuma, Colorado at long-range on May 7.
