The best of 2015 tornadoes

[Mike Marz]

Although there could still be a few awesome tornadoes to touch down in 2015, most of the action has already happened. I am curious as to which tornadoes were everyone's favorites of this past season. Whether it was because you were there to witness it, or because of the power of the tornado, or because you found the tornado to be very photogenic, which couple of tornadoes were your favorites of 2015, even if you weren't there to witness them in person. I am hoping to come across some photos/videos of tornadoes from this season that I haven't seen yet, or didn't even know of yet.

A clear choice that I think most can agree on is Rochelle. Overall, I would say that this tornado was perfect in almost every way (aside from the damage and loss of life). I was chasing too far south this day and did not get to witness it in person, but I would have to say that it is my favorite of 2015. Violent, bright white from the correct angle, and not shrouded and hidden by precip, this would be my vote for the best of 2015. A couple of runner ups for me would be the Simla, CO tornadoes and the Hutchinson, KS tornado back in early July.

 

[Robert Forry]

A clear choice that I think most can agree on is Rochelle.

I've taken the year off to get some things straightened out in my life, but that didn't mean I stopped forecasting and nowcasting. From all of them I've seen and heard about on here, TV, and YouTube, by far Rochelle was the beastiest of them all. Even though I didn't make it out, it was a forecasting win for me. Running a close second was the storm near Elmer, OK on 5/16. Another forecast win. Was out of town on that day too, but saw that radar signature on Radar Scope and about lost it knowing that had to be a pretty strong tornado.

 

[Mike Marz]

Yea Robert, I actually got to see the Elmer/Tipton tornado on 5/16 and that is another of my favorites simply because I chased it, but I couldn't put it in my top 3 this year because of how low contrast and high precip it was from my angle, although some other chasers were able to get a much better view of it... You are right though, the radar signature was awesome!

 

[James Wilson]

I liked the Colorado tornadoes (8) I saw this year, the attached (Colorado Tornado) had some good structure on it while the first one that day by Eads was a beautiful to watch.

My favorite probably was this brief Kansas one (Allison Tornado) 300 miles from the 2% risk day. It was very satisfying to be the only one that targeted that area.

The Lee Summit tornado (Arrow Tornado-1) was special too as we filmed it from a block or two away in an urban area. This photo is a screen shot from my video.

 

[Robert Forry]

Yea Robert, I actually got to see the Elmer/Tipton tornado on 5/16 and that is another of my favorites simply because I chased it, but I couldn't put it in my top 3 this year because of how low contrast and high precip it was from my angle, although some other chasers were able to get a much better view of it... You are right though, the radar signature was awesome!

Right on Mike! That's the shot I have off of Radar Scope. No chaser convergence on this day, was there. LOL Yeah, @Adam Lucio's video is pretty sweet, and I see others got great shots as well. It's amazing what the season did once May got here.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Rochelle and the Simla anticyclonic are tied in my mind for best of the year.

 

[James Gustina]

Rochelle, Eads and Simla are probably the top 3 with Elmer coming close at 4th. I only saw Elmer but I had a pretty decent position for most of it's lifecycle and got some pretty dramatic looking structure right out ahead of the hook. I guess maybe Canadian would be #5 (talked myself out of that day for lord knows why) just because of where it was and how it moved.

 

[StephenHenry]

10) Moore, OK – March 25th

An unusual little event with some amazing live aerial power flash video and fun Accuweather drama post event.​

9) Cisco, TX – May 9th

I think this one kinda gets lost in the shuffle, but it was a solid entry. I'm mad that I was one storm north of it.​

8) Elmer-Tipton, OK – May 16th

Some of the nicest radar presentation all year. Would be higher if it wasn't so wrapped. I'm mad that I was one storm north of it.​

7) Dora, NM – May 29th

Our closest reincarnation of Mulvane this year.​

6) Big Spring, TX – May 5th

Those wider, full-structure shots are amazing, even if this one was short-lived.​

5) Hutchinson, KS – July 13th

Handily wins trollnado of the year.​

4) Manitoba, Canada – July 27th

I need to see more of this one. It might move up. Incredible long-lived (maybe 3hrs!!) tornado.​

3) Eads – Cheyenne Wells, CO family – May 9th

I give this supercell of the year for its raw, repeated photogenic output.​

2) Simla, CO anticyclonic – June 4th

When that dust wrapped up I had Wizard of Oz flashbacks.​

1) Rochelle, IL – April 9th

What more can be said?​

 

[calvinkaskey]

How are these?

 

[Adam Lucio]

As much as I hate saying it because I missed it in my home state, the Rochelle tornado by far blows all other tornadoes out of the water this year. In my opinion its not even a contest. That was just an incredible tornado.

Personally, Elmer was my favorite tornado encounter of the year (of the 18 I managed to snag this year.) I chase to experience the ugly side of nature...and that storm is a prime example of what I seek when I am out there.

 

[James Gustina]

Cisco was seen by so few people it really does get lost. I and what seems like everyone else settled on that middle storm because the Cisco storm was already going balls to the wall while everyone was in transit into central TX.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

I would have to agree with everyone else here that the Rochelle tornado on April 9th was probably top for the year, chaps me that I managed to miss it. However I managed to score rather big twice on some super local setups in Late June/July, so I suppose I shouldn't complain! My favorite intercepts of the year were probably the Elmer, OK tornado on May 16th and then I guess its tied for the backyard July 16th intercepts I had. Hard to beat something less than 15 minutes from your house. I'll attach a couple photos here:
Large tornado hitting power-lines outside Monmouth, IL on July 16th. Screen grab from some video I shot.


DSLR shot of the elmer tornado spinning away in the field after crossing the road at close range just south of town there.

I saw numerous others this year as well, but these are just the two that constantly stick in my mind when I think about this year (for myself personally!).

 

[Mike Marz]

Ethan, the video that I saw of that Monmouth, IL tornado is some of my favorite of this year, and probably of anything I have ever seen. I would definitely rank that tornado in the top 10 of what happened this year.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Given the new video from this past Monday, I think the southwestern Manitoba tornado belongs on this list, now, too.

 

[Mike Marz]

Given the new video from this past Monday, I think the southwestern Manitoba tornado belongs on this list, now, too.

Yea Jeff, I definitely agree. The video that Timmer got was incredible. That was a violent tornado.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

We really should (with permission from everyone) have a thread at the end of the year with the best pics or vids of each nominee and run a poll on which tornado was the best overall.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Sunday's Adams County, Iowa tornado is probably a contender for the top 3 in my book.

 

[chrisbray]

Another year of several top notch tornados in IL and I missed them all either due to being on the wrong storm, beign on vacation, etc. At least I did manage to catch a mesoscale accident on a 0% day 5 miles from my house! Still, I'm bitter about Rochelle.

 

[Rachel Donoghue]

Even though I wasn't out chasing this season, I have watched some of these storms unfold at home. In my personal opinion, The Rochelle EF4 tornado takes the cake for my favorite tornado of 2015. Hands down. It was huge and powerful, very photogenic and not rain wrapped. This tornado seemed just perfect. (Aside from the loss of life and damage.) Another tornado that is a second for me would be the Canadian Texas tornado. Very photogenic and beautiful tornado.

 

[John Farley]

My chasing during the peak of the season was very limited due to international travel this year, so I have not seen any tornadoes this year and have no personal horse in this race. That said, from the pictures, reports, and videos I've seen I would rank Rochelle first, Adams County, IA second, and third would be close between Manitoba and Simla. Seeing any one of these certainly would have made the season for me.

 

[Verne Carlson]

Here's a list we compiled back in mid June on FB. The August Iowa tornado should be added in as well as Hutchinson for how photogenic the were.

1. June 04, 2015 Simla, CO
2. April 09, 2015 Rochelle, IL
3. May 09, 2015 Cheyenne Wells, CO
4. May 16, 2015 Elmer, OK
5. May 27, 2015 Canadian, TX
6. May 29, 2015 Dora, NM
7. May 05, 2015 Big Spring, TX
8. June 05, 2015 Cope, CO
9. May 09, 2015 Cisco, TX

 

[Matt Ashworth]

I haven't seen anyone mention the June 4th Berthoud, CO EF3 yet, and I also feel the March 25th Sand Springs, OK tornado is worth mentioning. My chasing this year has been severely limited, but for having only been on three chases so far I've seen funnels on every one, with this latest one having actually scored a legitimate tornado, so I'll be a little biased towards those. This includes the Berthoud tornado because I was actually on a delivery at work when it occurred and could see it clearly from nearly 10 miles away and the brief Kiowa, CO tornado. May not have been anything particularly powerful or even photogenic but the chase that led up to that lucky catch makes it noteworthy to me.

So here's my top 5 so far...

5: April 9th, Rochelle, IL
4: March 25th, Sand Springs, OK
3: June 4th, Simla, CO
2: August 17th, Kiowa, CO
1: June 4th, Berthoud, CO

(Attached files are of the Berthoud tornado, one taken by my coworker and the other by myself.)

 

[Jason Blum]

Excuse the terrible dust on my lens. My lens actually broke just as this tornado dropped (!) and I had to scramble and use an old, dirty lens. These were taken near Eads, Colorado.