2019-6-21 REPORTS: CO, KS, TX

[James Wilson]

I figured I would start one for this day because I know people have some great photos to share of the dusty cell in Colorado.

I left Kansas City at 6am heading to my target in Limon. Once there storms started to fire but I did not move until I noticed the one further south of Elizabeth. Here are a few photos of that cell as I followed it over Simla and to just south of Wild Horse.





After that I waited for the new cell that fired up east of Punkin Center. That cell is the dusty monster that really picked up by Cheyenne Wells and through Sharon Springs. Here is a couple of that time:




I turned into the storm and got blasted by it. Power flashes and snapped poles were around me. Here is a couple links one from front and one from rear dash cam with sound.

Front Dash Cam

Rear Dash Cam with Sound

Here is what my truck looked like after I was hit and a snapped pole.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

While not necessarily a chase day for myself, I managed to capture the northern end of the "derecho" event that traveled from Nebraska into the Southeast United States, as it was passing through Western Illinois. It had a really awesome shelf cloud on it, although the winds at my location were sub-sevrere, they were much more significant further south.

 

[James Wilson]

OK a couple more lol

 

[Matthew Crowther]

https://www.facebook.com/cheeznadophoto/posts/893091491049173

 

[Brett Roberts]

Started the day in York, NE, after chasing IA the day before. Driving nearly the length of I-80 in NE to jump from one 2% setup to another wasn't on my bucket list, but it's June and duty calls! After a quick lunch in LBF, I pressed on to the I-80/I-76 junction, turned SW, and eventually committed to the desolate and generally annoying off-interstate jaunt from Brush to Limon. Before I was done with that stretch, the initial bird farts shortly after CI were occurring near Elbert. By the time I raced through Limon and started W on CO-86, the tornado warned storm rolling out of the foothills exhibited every hallmark of the chaser colloquialism "cold supercell:" sprawling, broad, shelfy and HP, with not a patch of blue sky to be found around its periphery. Oh, and a jacket was mandatory for viewing... in the inflow! Part of my original rationale for bothering with the previous day in IA was that I could follow it with what had looked like a legitimate upslope tornado play on 6/21; now, the reality of how badly the setup had crumbled during the preceding 36-48 hours smacked me in the face like a gust of the 64/44 mile-high airmass.

I reluctantly pressed SE on US-40 out of Limon to stay ahead of this clunker of a storm until it finally put us (meaning myself and the 230 other chase vehicles on the same thoroughfare) out of our misery and dissipated down near Kit Carson. I think I must've sat in a gravel lot near the US-40/US-287 intersection for close to an hour at that point, exhausted and ambivalent, considering a range of options for motels and whether I should prioritize distance, proximity to clear skies to bail and target Milky Way photos, or just price. This was around the 6pm hour, and I was fully checked out mentally by this point. The only reason I didn't compound an already unpleasant situation by bailing early was indecision, honestly. Around the time I'd decided it best to stick with a motel on I-70 in NW KS (thereby relieving any pressure to bail early, since it was nearby), a new updraft separate from the remnant Elbert/Limon cell shot up to my SSW near Eads. In short order, it looked impressive enough to convince me there was no reason to rush off for dinner and rest. Over the 2-3 hours that followed, this storm morphed into a fascinating and photogenic outflow-dominant yet "dry" supercell that propagated at speeds *well* in excess of the mean deep-layer flow and followed US-40 all the way from Cheyenne Wells to past Oakley -- at times, seemingly in excess of 50 mph, as it was simply impossible not to lose ground on it blasting E around the 70 mph speed limit with periodic photo stops limited to a couple minutes each. Below is a series of stills showing its evolution over this period from about 7:30-9:30pm MDT -- visually and structurally, it was remarkably steady state over that window, so the lighting conditions and my storm-relative position are responsible for most of the visual changes.

Near Cheyenne Wells, CO:

At CO/KS border:

Just west of Sharon Springs, KS:

Just east of Sharon Springs, KS (outflow has overtaken me here):

Near Winona, KS (within a mile of where I shot many photos of the 6/8/19 supercell only two weeks earlier):

Ultimately, this was another 2019 chase day for me that started rather miserable and quickly revealed itself as an unlikely tornado producer, but then redeemed itself late with a long period of structure/photo ops in golden hour light. It's been so long since I've seen a high quality tornado from a good perspective that I'm probably getting more jaded and complacent than I should about these kind of days, but even so, this was a really enjoyable storm. CAMs had been extremely consistent in depicting broad but intense UH swaths emanating from the upslope activity by the 23-02z period, and while the initial Elbert storm dissipated and made it a harrowing wait, that forecast ultimately verified (even if reality was displaced a bit E of guidance). One thing I've noticed during the CAM era is that these fat (~15 mi. wide) but high magnitude UH tracks in a postfrontal/upslope regime quite often portend big, photogenic storms that compensate for their lack of tornadic potential with highly exposed and impressive updrafts.

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all, Here is my report for storms for June 21, 2019...

Chase Summary: June 21 was another chase day that ended up with two powerful supercells intercepted in Colorado, but ended with damage to my vehicle from extreme winds. The plan of the day was to play up-slope in eastern to northeastern Colorado, with a target area near and west of Limon. The SPC had this area in a slight risk outlook as of 13z, with a 2% tornado and 15% probability for both wind and hail. I headed west out of Salina on I-70 straight into Colorado and reached Limon by mid afternoon. The SPC also issued Mesoscale Discussions 1176 and 1181 and severe thunderstorm watch boxes 417 and 420, valid until 8 PM MDT and 11 PM MDT, respectively. Storms began developing west of there between Castle Rock and Kiowa on the Palmer Divide, and a supercell storm was intercepted there along Highway 86 with a possible tornado. I met storm chasers Jason Persoff and David Hoadley along SR 86. This storm was followed back via Highway 86 and I-70 through Limon, and SR 71 / 94 south and east to near Wild Horse until it weakened. I met up with storm chaser Dan Shaw again in that area as well as Greg Ansel. Another storm was followed from that area east through Kit Carson on Highway 40. The storm was very powerful with high winds and large hail. The storm was followed into Kansas, and caught up with me in Sharon Springs at a gas station. Extreme winds affected Sharon Springs, blowing out windows on many vehicles and causing sign / tree damage. Hail and / or debris shattered the back window of my vehicle, and even broke the screen on my phone which was on the dashboard! After assessing and cleaning up, I headed north on SR 27 to Goodland, Kansas for the night as well as tape up and tarp the rear window.

Storm Interception Details Are Below

1). June 21, 3:30 PM - Interception, observation, and indirect penetration of a very severe and tornadic thunderstorm from southwest of Kiowa, Colorado in Elbert County near SR 86 and southeastwards via I-70 through Limon along Highways 71 and 94 to Highway 40 near Wild Horse. The storm was a classic to HP supercell storm. A rapidly rotating wall cloud was noted on the southern end of this storm near Kiowa early in its life-cycle. Swirling dust under this feature confirmed a possible brief tornado. Conditions encountered were also frequent lightning, heavy rains, 60 to 70 MPH winds, and hail up to 1.5". The core was indirectly penetrated. Conditions causing the storms were surface heating, up-slope wind flow, post frontal troughing, and an upper trough. Documentation was still photos, audio, and HD video. A 2016 Jeep Wrangler was used to chase the storm. A severe thunderstorm watch was also valid for the area until 8 PM MDT (9 PM CDT).

2). June 21, 8:00 PM - Observation and direct penetration of a very severe and possible tornadic thunderstorm from near Kit Carson, Colorado and eastward along Highway 40 through Arapaho in Cheyenne County and eventually into Kansas in Sharon Springs in Wallace County. The storm was an HP supercell / line bow segment, with extremely powerful straight-line winds. The storm had a striking visual appearance and multi-tiered shelf cloud during its bow segment phase. Conditions encountered were frequent lightning with some close hits, heavy rains, copious amounts of 1" hail with isolated 2" pieces, and most importantly, winds approaching or even exceeding 100 MPH at a gas station in Sharon Springs. Damage was observed to signs, roofing, and trees from this storm. Many car windows were blown out by the wind driving hail and debris such as pebbles. My vehicle had its rear window blown out, despite having a hail grill on it, and my phone on the dashboard had its screen shattered. Sand, broken glass, and gravel was strewn inside my vehicle. I also had small cuts on my feet from flying gravel / hail. Conditions causing the storms were surface heating, up-slope wind flow, post frontal troughing, and an upper trough. Documentation was still photos and HD video. A 2016 Jeep Wrangler was used to chase the storm. A severe thunderstorm watch was also valid for the area until 11 PM MDT (12 AM CDT the following day).

Pictures For June 21, 2019 Are Below



Above: This is a visible satellite image of the pre-convective environment near the target area during the 18z time frame on June 21, 2019. The annotated image shows the synoptic features of the setup, with my area targeting the up-slope expected in Colorado. The large messy complex of storms (to the east / right in the image) is of no interest to storms chasing in this case.



Above: This is a base reflectivity image of a tornadic supercell storm developing over the Palmer Divide area near Kiowa, Colorado on June 21. The hook is prominent and the storm velocity image is the lower-left inset. A weak tornado was observed at this time (the white circle being my GPS location).



Above: Close up of rotating wall cloud and brief tornado, denoted by dust on the ground, southwest of Kiowa, Colorado on June 21.



Above: Beautiful view of an intense rainbow (or "hail-bow") while racing eastward past Kit Carson, Colorado with hail up to golfball sized falling in the foreground during the early evening of June 21.



Above: Powerful bow segment evolving from an HP supercell undergoing upscale growth and passing from NE Colorado into western Kansas during the evening of June 21. Rear inflow jet mentioned in the radar analysis can be seen visually looking south in this image (just above the power poles) kicking up dust.



Above: Developing intense progressive derecho (destructive straight-line winds) with an impressive shelf cloud / rotating head of the bow segment around dusk on June 21 just west of the KS / CO border. The view is to the northwest.



Above: Dust, hail, and small rocks are kicked up in two powerful micro-bursts (the first being dry, and the second loaded with rocks and hail) at a gas station in Sharon Springs, Kansas after dusk on June 21. The second "derecho" surge of straight-line winds gusted near 100 MPH blowing out windows on many vehicles parked at the gas station. The rear window on my Jeep was blown out from the sand / rocks, with even the screen on my phone, mounted on the dash board, broken! Rocks and sand were all over my vehicle, and the front window was cracked and mirrors pitted.

Video can be seen below (of the microburst)



Note: For DETAILS on this storm / setup as well as others in June 2019 … Please visit the link BELOW for more information!

Sky-Chaser Web Site (Chris Collura - KG4PJN)

 

[Moe E]

I'm still pretty new so I have yet to develop the habit of documenting reports for chases. I was able to catch this one though...in a loaner vehicle no less. I got a late start on the chase, left work a bit early from Boulder and drove to Kit Carson as the first cell was just starting to weaken. I decided to hop on this cell and watch it mature. I'm relatively new to chasing so I don't have a lot of experience under my belt, but this was by far the most beautiful, intense, and expensive storm I've ever chased. After getting ahead of it and taking some photos, I decided to hunker under a church overhang in Sharon Springs to try to mitigate any damage, but unfortunately blew out the window. Luckily, there was no other damage and the dealership wasn't too angry...mostly surprised that I managed to put 1200 miles on it in less than two days. It did spook me quite a bit, and made me have second thoughts about my new found hobby but, I got over that pretty quick and was back out on the road within two weeks (in my own car lol).