June 11th, 2008 - Beginning of the "Manhattan, KS" EF-4?

[Dick McGowan]

I was recently editing video I donated for the Storms of 2008 DVD and noticed a lightning flash, when we were on the south side of Junction City. It kind of looks like an elephant trunk funnel looking to our northeast. It would have put it near Ogden or just to the SW of there. I slowed the shutter way down and placed the camera on the dash. Here is a google map I created showing our position. Not entirely sure on the time...

Thoughts?

Video capture:

Video Capture with contrast added:

 

[Matt Hughes]

I thought that the damage path began just west of the Manhattan airport. If you're looking towards Ogden from JC then it would be in the same general direction. I do remember as Brandon Ivey and I were in between JC and Ogden there was a rain shaft that was highly defined in the area you have pointed out in the google map. I wonder if it was the same time you took the picture. It sure looks like more than a rain shaft though. When we watched it roll through Manhattan from the E side of town it was completely rain-wrapped but even so it didn't seem that high-based at the time. I'm sure Ivey will see this thread and might have an opinion.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/top/?n=mhktornado2008

 

[Jim Saueressig]

Looks possible, hadn't there been a few various sighting right up to the Manhattan tornado in the same path? Hadn't you yourself seen one (or power flashes) near or East of 135 in that track?

 

[Brandon Ivey]

It could be the start of the Manhattan tornado. As the map shows that Matt linked, the tornado first touched down in the Ogden area. We were in the Ogden area close to the time of your frame grab, but may have been too close for the lighting to reveal those details. Most of the lightning was off to our northeast so we did not get a good view to the northwest where the tornado would have been at that time.

It is funny the greater detail you find in your footage when you review it. I realized later on, that we captured a developing tornado near Enterprise that night. That tornado went on to destroy most of Chapman.

I just know I am going to play much further south and/or east at night from now on and let the lightning help me out. Too many close calls in the dark for 2008. I'm just glad we turned around and went back south on 113 in Manhattan that night. We would have gotten a front row seat of flying cars at the Toyota dealership.

All we ever saw of the Manhattan tornado were the multiple power flashes behind a wall of rain. We traveled east on 18 after we left 113 and watched it all back to our northwest.

 

[Dick McGowan]

It sure looks like more than a rain shaft though. When we watched it roll through Manhattan from the E side of town it was completely rain-wrapped but even so it didn't seem that high-based at the time. I'm sure Ivey will see this thread and might have an opinion.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/top/?n=mhktornado2008

Thanks for the link, I can never find those when on their pages! The supercell that died shortly before the Manhattan supercell (which you and Ivey have video of going over Salina) was very high-based...and was near Ellsworth where it produced 1-2 tornadoes that others were on.

Looks possible, hadn't there been a few various sighting right up to the Manhattan tornado in the same path? Hadn't you yourself seen one (or power flashes) near or East of 135 in that track?

We have video up on youtube of what I think is a cone tornado illuminated by the first power flash...but we were just 1-2 miles south of Manhattan...this was earlier near Junction City.

It could be the start of the Manhattan tornado. As the map shows that Matt linked, the tornado first touched down in the Ogden area. We were in the Ogden area close to the time of your frame grab, but may have been too close for the lighting to reveal those details. Most of the lightning was off to our northeast so we did not get a good view to the northwest where the tornado would have been at that time.

It is funny the greater detail you find in your footage when you review it. I realized later on, that we captured a developing tornado near Enterprise that night. That tornado went on to destroy most of Chapman.

I just know I am going to play much further south and/or east at night from now on and let the lightning help me out. Too many close calls in the dark for 2008. I'm just glad we turned around and went back south on 113 in Manhattan that night. We would have gotten a front row seat of flying cars at the Toyota dealership.

All we ever saw of the Manhattan tornado were the multiple power flashes behind a wall of rain. We traveled east on 18 after we left 113 and watched it all back to our northwest.

Yeah, being south that night did no good as the RFD gust front gave you no view on these HP storms to the north and with the initial storm movement at E/NE at 50 mph, it was tough to stay with it...up until it slowed down just before Manhattan. You aren't lying about the lightning that night! You couldn't make out any features on that sup...except when they went over the cities.

LOL, I remember watching you guys on there via SN and thinking..."they had better get east/south quick!

I always go back through every lightning flash frame-by-frame during the "offseason" to see if there is something we missed...and I saw that. I'm still debating on whether it is or not. I remember some skywarn spotters were reporting it near Ogden, but wasn't for sure...