How rare are double tornadoes?

[Skip Talbot]

That's a video capture from Jerry Funfsinn's 3/28/07 footage, the same tornadoes Lanny linked to. The Bird City wedge is on the left. The tornado on the right was part of a different circulation and might have even been an anticyclonic tornado on the opposite end of the RFD gust front. I suggest this as the tornado in my avatar was also anticyclonic and from the same supercell.

I don't know how realistic it would be to have two independently moving wedges closer to each other than the diameter of either wedge. The parent circulations would overlap and probably just merge.

 

[Chris Allington]

May 5th, 2007 on the NE/SD border near Yankton, SD

EDIT: Later the same day.

 

[Kevin Walters]

On 5/27/1995 two tornadoes that were about two or three miles apart crossed I-80 in West central Iowa. The tornadoes followed similar paths and appeared to be in a mature stage simultaneously.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

That's a video capture from Jerry Funfsinn's 3/28/07 footage, the same tornadoes Lanny linked to. The Bird City wedge is on the left.

Glad to see this storm mentioned. As I read through page one, I kept thinking about this storm...That's actually after the tornadoes (at least the one of the left) had shrunk a good deal...I also didn't know that red tornado earlier in the evening was anti-cyclonic, I must have still been to wrapped up in the initial tornado to be paying close enough attention...Interesting!!

 

[Lanny Dean]

That's a video capture from Jerry Funfsinn's 3/28/07 footage, the same tornadoes Lanny linked to. The Bird City wedge is on the left. The tornado on the right was part of a different circulation and might have even been an anticyclonic tornado on the opposite end of the RFD gust front. I suggest this as the tornado in my avatar was also anticyclonic and from the same supercell.

I don't know how realistic it would be to have two independently moving wedges closer to each other than the diameter of either wedge. The parent circulations would overlap and probably just merge.

No doubt in my mind this is what happens. I have seen it on both occassions and was lucky enough to have been very close to both tornadoes (a few hundred yards) during the process.

Skip,
I am not honestly sure that was the case for that cell/tornado. Unless we are talking about a different one. I remember doing my phoner with Jay and seeing the "other" tornado with a different supercell to the NNW of my location. I was sitting about 5 miles north of Edison on that county road to the east of where you were parked next to me. That particular tornado was clearly from the other supercell NNW of Goodland.

The cell I am refering to blew up sw of Goodland and moved more to the due north. It produced its first tornado 10-15 minutes or so after the Edison snake. It morphed into a small wedge and in the video you can hear me telling Jay that "we have 2 wedge tornadoes on the ground at the same time within 8-10 miles of each other"
I think that cell and tornado may have merged or been "eaten" by the Bird City wedge and I am wondering if this is where you and Jerry assume that the above tornado developed on the front side of the RFD???

 

[Skip Talbot]

Skip,
I am not honestly sure that was the case for that cell/tornado. Unless we are talking about a different one. I remember doing my phoner with Jay and seeing the "other" tornado with a different supercell to the NNW of my location. I was sitting about 5 miles north of Edison on that county road to the east of where you were parked next to me. That particular tornado was clearly from the other supercell NNW of Goodland.

The cell I am refering to blew up sw of Goodland and moved more to the due north. It produced its first tornado 10-15 minutes or so after the Edison snake. It morphed into a small wedge and in the video you can hear me telling Jay that "we have 2 wedge tornadoes on the ground at the same time within 8-10 miles of each other"
I think that cell and tornado may have merged or been "eaten" by the Bird City wedge and I am wondering if this is where you and Jerry assume that the above tornado developed on the front side of the RFD???

After we saw our first tornado south of Goodland, Jerry and I tracked the same supercell for the remainder of the night. We were parked right next to you for the tornado pictured in my avatar. Here's the radar and our GPS location at that time:
http://skip.cc/chase/070328/radar/KGLD07032849.png

That supercell tracked north towards Bird City and produced three more tornadoes that we could observe. This one minutes after that one looking due north:
http://skip.cc/chase/070328/radar/KGLD07032851.png

And then finally the Bird City wedge and adjacent tornado. The Bird City wedge was on the ground for over a half hour but that other tornado only a few minutes. Here's the radar and our GPS position at about the time of the simultaneous tornadoes:
http://skip.cc/chase/070328/radar/KGLD07032856.png

The Bird City wedge was located right at the tip of that hook to our NNW. We were looking North so the other tornado was off to the east maybe a mile or two. I believe it was either on the opposite edge of that hook echo, or a little bit towards that 15 dbz return next to the hook. That weak return might be part of the RFD gust front extending away from the hook, or possibly part of the supercell's flanking line. I believe this other tornado occured along that gust front or flanking line, but on the same supercell. That supercell stayed discrete the entire time we watched it. I didn't note any mergers until it was well north of Bird City, almost to Nebraska, and long after we stopped tracking it.

Here's a radar animation of the night including our GPS position:
http://skip.cc/chase/070328/KGLD070328.gif

And all of the frames:
http://skip.cc/chase/070328/radar/

 

[Lanny Dean]

Skip, thanks for posting the radar links...the one I am interested in and refering to is posted below. I will try to pull up some video in the next few days.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/staff/landolt/2007mar28/

The tornadic sup just north of the KS one I was on had twin wedges as well. I was driving during that part and only got stuff after they were merged. That link above shows the "twins" sequence well though. Justin Walker had them too but I see his site is down. As did Chris Rozoff and Matt Kassawara...but hey...no site there anymore either. I thought Chris, Matt, and Justin's showed them both as wedges better. Interesting more than one storm was doing that the same day.

Looking at Skip's video the one I posted in Nebraska looks like it was doing it about the same time as the KS one was...or just a bit before I guess....only about 2 counties to the north.


Want rare, try that video from I think it was Pierce Nebraska in like 1994 or something on one of the TVC videos. Two funnels with the same shape and the tips of them curving around and going into one another. Like if you took your fingers and stuck them in a chineese finger trap. That still blows my mind, just wish the video continued on.

 

[Rob Strunk]

You are all very helpful. As a brand new person to this site, I certainly appreciate it.

 

[Jeff Duda]

6 landspouts on the ground at the same time near Lazbuddie, TX on 4 June 1995:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0JrdIUw80&feature=player_embedded

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

I see many cases where multiple tornadoes are usually associated with the same meso, or even a satellite rotating around the main system (sometimes the satellite can be large too, almost as large as the main).

 

[Olivier Staiger]

Stratford, TX , 2003 May 15

 

[Greg Stumpf]

6 landspouts on the ground at the same time near Lazbuddie, TX on 4 June 1995:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0JrdIUw80&feature=player_embedded

I recall watching video of that event in the NSSL archives that show that these tornadoes were born of a supercell. Some of the smaller tornadoes were along the flanking line and not associated with the low-level mesocyclone, some possibly anticyclonic.

 

[Jim Placzek]

Before there were videos there was the June 3, 1980 Grand Island, NE tornado outbreak. I think there were 7 tornadoes which formed in various parts of the thunderstorm. 3 were anticyclonic. Hopefully this link works. www.gitwisters.com.

 

[Paul Sherman]

Has anyone at Norman ever done a Study into the Dynamics and Set-Up's of Multiple Tornado days ?

I also witnessed this 3 times on May 23rd 2008 in 1 single day.

Dighton had a Wedge with Satelite Cone Tornado

Quinter had the EF4 With Satelite (Others have posted pics on here)

Later that day Ellis had a Wedge on the ground crossing I-70 Whilst we were further back at a Roadblock with another Cone Tornado on the ground to our west with Power flashes

Seems May 3rd 1999 and the 4/5th May 2007 had these types of Set-Ups or is it indeed luck that these all happen on the same day/outbreak ??

Paul S