First tornado

[Tom Dulong]

My first tornado was June 3rd, 1985. It was a land-spout near Parker, Colorado.

 

[Pierre Ducray]

My first tornado was June 3rd, 1985. It was a land-spout near Parker, Colorado.

According to the Glossary of Meteorology of the American Meteorological Society "the landspout is an example of the nonsupercell tornado" "with it's vorticity originating in the boundary layer" [= "in contact with the surface of the earth"].
My question: are landspouts the only tornadoes to form from the ground up? I'm asking because of a 2018 small article in Science ( Surprise! Tornadoes form from the ground up)... Thank you very much!

 

[Tom Dulong]

are landspouts the only tornadoes to form from the ground up?

Gustnadoes are the only other that I am aware of.

 

[rdale]

Gustnadoes are the only other that I am aware of.

And tornadoes...

Science | AAAS

www.science.org

 

[Jordan A.]

My first tornado was the Mangum, OK. EF2 on May 20, 2019. I was coming from the north on Highway 283, listening to a live report on FM radio, which gave an exact play by play of the events. Just north of Mangum, I poked out of the rain, and saw a mass of junk under the southwest portion of the supercell, and realized a tornado was hiding in there. I needed only to stop and wait, ready to launch in retreat if necessary. But the tornado rumbled on across the highway and into a field where it dissipated minutes later. Only a handful of chasers or spotters were on site, as most of the others were stuck in a horrific traffic jam to our south. Minutes later, I saw some of the blackest skies I've seen as the storm moved over Granite, OK., while sirens blared.

 

[Todd Lemery]

My first tornado was the Mangum, OK. EF2 on May 20, 2019. I was coming from the north on Highway 283, listening to a live report on FM radio, which gave an exact play by play of the events. Just north of Mangum, I poked out of the rain, and saw a mass of junk under the southwest portion of the supercell, and realized a tornado was hiding in there. I needed only to stop and wait, ready to launch in retreat if necessary. But the tornado rumbled on across the highway and into a field where it dissipated minutes later. Only a handful of chasers or spotters were on site, as most of the others were stuck in a horrific traffic jam to our south. Minutes later, I saw some of the blackest skies I've seen as the storm moved over Granite, OK., while sirens blared.

View attachment 23394
View attachment 23395

I was one of the ones stuck in traffic after following it from the South. I did get a horribly contrasted view of that tornado, but it ended up being just another one of many high risk days that left me disappointed

 

[Pierre Ducray]

My first tornado was the Mangum, OK. EF2 on May 20, 2019.

Jordan and Todd's tornado:

Location: 8 mi SW Mangum ---> 3.5 mi N Mangum
Length of path: 11 miles
Width of path: 1200 yards
Time: 2212-2229 UTC
Killed: 0
Injured: 0

25 tornadoes that day in Oklahoma...

[NWS/SPC]

 

[Alvaro ivan]

My first tornado was on this year on February 24th, while it is technically a waterspout, i'd still count it as one. I witnessed it from the third floor of the high school that i'm in.
The first photo here is the storm responsible for the spout that i would witness, but at the time when i took the photo, the spout itself was ongoing and i haven't noticed it until later on:

These photos that are taken by me here shows the spout itself until its dying stage:

 

[Mikayla Norris]

The first tornado I can remember seeing was a likely non-supercell waterspout in like 2001 or 2002 from my grandma's house near Fairhope, AL. That is the event that inspired my fascination with severe weather and tornadoes.

Despite my first storm chase being in 2008, I wouldn't see my first supercellular tornado until 24 March 2024 in Wilbarger County, TX. Instead of rehashing the whole thing here, I'll drop the link to the REPORTS thread for that day which has a full chase account with photos and video. It also calls out some of my most frustrating blunders and mistakes from years prior. 2024-03-24 REPORTS: TX/OK/KS/NE

I would go on to see 4 more tornadoes in 2024, including the Eldorado, OK multi-vortex. I rounded out that year with 5 tornadoes from 11 total chase days, so my first tornado really did break the dam for me. I'll never, ever forget it!