Mark Farnik
EF5
After the events of Tuesday night, all I can say is that I now fully believe in High Plains Magic! The following is my account of one of the most awesome and completely unexpected meteorlogical events I've ever had the privilege to witness in my life...
On Tuesday evening, around 9 p.m., as I was working outside I noticed a thunderstorm billowing up over the Cheyenne Ridge about 50 miles to my northwest in the twilight. At the same time, the wind began to blow out of the southeast at about 15 to 20 mph. I didn't think much of it and went about my buisness. About 10:30 p.m. as I was eating my supper, I happened to glance out of our north kitchen window and was shocked to see an explosive lightning storm dominating most of the northern sky. I grabbed my tripod and Nikon D200 and ran out to the end of my driveway. About thirty miles to my north/northwest sat a beautifully sculpted LP supercell; the storm was literally crackling with electricity, looking something akin to a Tesla experiment with bolts of lightning shooting in, out, and about the entire storm. It was a sight to behold. As it slowly drifted southeast, it developed a beautifully striated updraft with a rain free base. At this point, the inflow picked up dramatically. Then, about 10:45 p.m., I noticed a lowering developing out of the rain free base, with what looked to be scud rising into it. I eyed this with mild curiousity but really didn't think much of it. A few minutes later, I noticed what appeared to be a funnel cloud descending from the lowering. I thought I was just witnessing scud being drawn into the updraft; after all, SPC didn't even have us outlooked for severe storms, let alone tornadoes! Around 10:50 p.m., I noticed a rapid increase in the amount of CG activity coming from the updraft, going from about two cg's a minute to over 10 every fifteen seconds. My curiousity turned to growing suspicion. At 10:55 p.m., my suspicions were confirmed. This is what I saw:
http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/PrairieWindsPhotography/?action=view¤t=_DSC0036a.jpg
I could not believe what I was seeing.
A cone tornado was on the ground about 15 miles to my north/northwest! To say I was ecstatic is the understatement of the century. The tornado remained on the ground for the next eight minutes, almost constantly lit up by in cloud and CG lightning.
The tornado took on an elongated cigar shape about 10:58 p.m.:
http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/PrairieWindsPhotography/?action=view¤t=_DSC0040a.jpg
At 11:01 p.m. the tornado became semi-transparent and continued to elongate, taking on a classic 'hose' appearance that reminded me of the 1981 Cordell, OK tornado, except less dusty:
http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/PrairieWindsPhotography/?action=view¤t=_DSC0041a.jpg
Right after the last image was taken, I called 911 and reported the tornado. The 911 operator sounded skeptical at best and grudgingly agreed to refer my report to the NWS in Boulder only after I gave her my spotter number. I don't think she ever did forward my report to them, because it never showed up on the LSR or on SPC. I've sent the first and last pictures to BOU to show them that I wasn't lying or seeing things.
Then, of course, my camera battery died. Timing is everything.
I had to run back in the house and spent twenty minutes rummaging for a charged battery, and by the time I charged back outside the storm had largely died out. Oh well.
This was an absolutely amazing and completely unexpected surprise. If you had told me at 9 o'clock Tuesday evening that by 11 o'clock I would see a tornado, I would have outright laughed.
I'm almost certain I was the only person to witness this tornado, and absolutely positive that I am the only person who has photographs of it.
For those that are interested, I have a radar grab of the storm from when it was producing the tornado that I'll dig up and post later.
There's really nothing that compares with watching a surprise nighttime LP supercell drop a gorgeous lightning illuminated tornado on the distant prairie from the end of your driveway...
On Tuesday evening, around 9 p.m., as I was working outside I noticed a thunderstorm billowing up over the Cheyenne Ridge about 50 miles to my northwest in the twilight. At the same time, the wind began to blow out of the southeast at about 15 to 20 mph. I didn't think much of it and went about my buisness. About 10:30 p.m. as I was eating my supper, I happened to glance out of our north kitchen window and was shocked to see an explosive lightning storm dominating most of the northern sky. I grabbed my tripod and Nikon D200 and ran out to the end of my driveway. About thirty miles to my north/northwest sat a beautifully sculpted LP supercell; the storm was literally crackling with electricity, looking something akin to a Tesla experiment with bolts of lightning shooting in, out, and about the entire storm. It was a sight to behold. As it slowly drifted southeast, it developed a beautifully striated updraft with a rain free base. At this point, the inflow picked up dramatically. Then, about 10:45 p.m., I noticed a lowering developing out of the rain free base, with what looked to be scud rising into it. I eyed this with mild curiousity but really didn't think much of it. A few minutes later, I noticed what appeared to be a funnel cloud descending from the lowering. I thought I was just witnessing scud being drawn into the updraft; after all, SPC didn't even have us outlooked for severe storms, let alone tornadoes! Around 10:50 p.m., I noticed a rapid increase in the amount of CG activity coming from the updraft, going from about two cg's a minute to over 10 every fifteen seconds. My curiousity turned to growing suspicion. At 10:55 p.m., my suspicions were confirmed. This is what I saw:
http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/PrairieWindsPhotography/?action=view¤t=_DSC0036a.jpg
I could not believe what I was seeing.
A cone tornado was on the ground about 15 miles to my north/northwest! To say I was ecstatic is the understatement of the century. The tornado remained on the ground for the next eight minutes, almost constantly lit up by in cloud and CG lightning. The tornado took on an elongated cigar shape about 10:58 p.m.:
http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/PrairieWindsPhotography/?action=view¤t=_DSC0040a.jpg
At 11:01 p.m. the tornado became semi-transparent and continued to elongate, taking on a classic 'hose' appearance that reminded me of the 1981 Cordell, OK tornado, except less dusty:
http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/PrairieWindsPhotography/?action=view¤t=_DSC0041a.jpg
Right after the last image was taken, I called 911 and reported the tornado. The 911 operator sounded skeptical at best and grudgingly agreed to refer my report to the NWS in Boulder only after I gave her my spotter number. I don't think she ever did forward my report to them, because it never showed up on the LSR or on SPC. I've sent the first and last pictures to BOU to show them that I wasn't lying or seeing things.
Then, of course, my camera battery died. Timing is everything.
I had to run back in the house and spent twenty minutes rummaging for a charged battery, and by the time I charged back outside the storm had largely died out. Oh well.This was an absolutely amazing and completely unexpected surprise. If you had told me at 9 o'clock Tuesday evening that by 11 o'clock I would see a tornado, I would have outright laughed.
I'm almost certain I was the only person to witness this tornado, and absolutely positive that I am the only person who has photographs of it.
For those that are interested, I have a radar grab of the storm from when it was producing the tornado that I'll dig up and post later.
There's really nothing that compares with watching a surprise nighttime LP supercell drop a gorgeous lightning illuminated tornado on the distant prairie from the end of your driveway...
