8/9/05: REPORT: North-central U.S.

[charlie roswell]

This was a pretty good day for me. I headed out around 3:30 CDT with intentions of heading west and intercepting the line coming out of MN. However, i saw this over Eau Claire and decided to follow it.

This storm was never severe warned, and it wasn't looking real impressive, so i started moving west again toward the severe warned line. I took the following picture when i decided to turn around and go back east to Osseo, Wisconsin, where this was. I figured I might as well keep watching it, since the line would overtake me anyway.

In Osseo I filled up with gas, and the sirens started going off. They were for the approaching storms, but it was still cool to hear them and watch the first storm boil away to the east.

Finally I found the best spot i could outside of Osseo (which still didn't have a great view due to the corn) to let the line blow over. I wish i wouldve gotten more than one semi-good picture of this as it was the highlight of the day. This looked so ominous and huge appearing over the tops of the cornstalks. There was awesome vertical motion with this.

Shortly after this the line passed me and brining lots of rain and not very impressive winds.

I saw multiple CG's all day, no pictures though.

pictures are hosted by photobucket.com. i don't know how to get them smaller, sorry.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

I'm going to throw my report in here beings it was with the same system. If somebody would like to include IA in the title that would be great...

A quick rundown of the days sights:

Tornadoes - None
Funnel - Possible
Wall Cloud - 1 (Emmet co, IA)
Large Hail - Several Occasions (1.5" Largest)
Damaging Winds - Several Occasions (~65 mph Highest Gust)
Heavy Rains - Continous (visib. down to <50 feet)
Lightning - Intense (Several Strikes within .25 mile, one within 100 feet)


First off, much of the time beings I was in heavy rain/winds I was not able to capture any good pictures. And when I did make an attempt, vehicle was even shaking in the winds so they did not turn out exceptionally well.

Started off the chase day in frantic, of course I was out swimming and saw towers going up. Of course these were well up in MN, but I knew it wouldn't be long before they were forming right on me. I was out and on the road within 15 more minutes after a cell that was already severe warned in Jackson co, MN and so to be Martin co, MN. As I was heading up there just before 4 pm I saw the next cell going up over and just to the west of Estherville, IA. I stopped and watch this thing boil and soon begin to lower, producing a faint wall cloud within all of the rain.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ntWallCloud.png

Soon got reports from EM of a funnel over Superior and I dashed off to towards. I met the EM following it and made a stop as it was just downpouring now. Even though I was still 2 miles out from possible rotation, the rain was all around this storm. I turned and got to a county road to where I could dash south to follow the next storm, which turned out to be a great idea. I got heavy rains and dime sized hail out of the first cell I was on. And then it was onto the next which was just coming out of Dickinson co, IA. I was 5 east of my hometown as I got 45 mph winds and then some nickel sized hail, in which I stopped. And then got nailed by inch diameter hail. I slowly continued my way south as this storm had begun to congele into a line and new warnings were out for Clay and Palo Alto co, IA.

I followed this line until I was on the southern edge of it and where I was also on the eastern edge of a newly formed cell. With both storms so close I figured one would take over and as usual it was the southern one. But, before that happened I had more large hail (1.5 inch) and winds up to 65 mph at least.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...9%20Chase/1.png

As I went even further south of Ruthven, IA I was greated by outflow once again with great winds and huge rains.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...indRoadsign.png

These winds were solid 50 mph for nearly 10 minutes as this storm rolled through and I made my way back north as the heaviest were still to come and i wasn't in great position. I got back onto a highway 18 in between Spencer, IA and Emmetsburg, IA. That is where I got the damaging winds again over 60 mph. That is where I captured this flag being whipped apart by the winds. The pole in the image is a steel 2 1/2 inch diameter pole that was bending over by a couple feet easily.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...hippingFlag.png

I sat and watched the rest of the storm blew over as it was all linear and I had had my fun. With low clouds/stratus deck behind no good images for the back end of the storm... All in all probably the best chase day of the year for actually seeing the severe weather. Only day that has a chance of beating it was the actual funnel on June 29...

All pictures found here: http://photobucket.com/albums/v319/...ust%209%20Chase
And other comments: http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/thread.php?fo...threadid=512616