Tornado on 4/3/2014 East of Chouteau, Oklahoma

[Tyler Graham]

We arrived to the storm as it was just west of Chouteau. My dad and I both agree there was rotation present. I talked to him yesterday and he also remembers seeing the dirt rotating and the now supposed wall cloud also rotating. Something else I forgot to mention and didn't remember until talking with my dad yesterday: another storm chaser pulled up beside us and we quickly talked. He said that he also saw a tornado touch down briefly and lift back up. He agreed it was rotation, and even agreed on the tornado. Jeff, do you have any times on that photo or video? I want to know at what point you saw the feature you are calling a shelf cloud and that I am calling rotation/wall cloud. Matt, we were facing west, to answer your question. Later re-positioned to get a better view, which was to the west-north-west, which is the direction the picture is taken in. For a brief period of time there was warm air rushing in, and then cold air as the outflow on the left of my picture came forward. It seems to me that the dirt on the ground would not be so concentrated and the "funnel" would not be so concentrated if it was just outflow. I don't know what time Jeff was on this storm, but I guess we are on opposite ends of the spectrum. And I want everyone to know that I am not just some idiot teenager. I have educated myself tremendously on severe weather and meteorology. Now, I have an extraordinary amount of things to learn, but please don't assume that I don't know what I am talking about and that chasing I just chase with my dad in an attempt to get a rush and get nothing out of it. I do it for personal enjoyment, but just read my introduction. I do it to further educate myself. And I'm not saying that anyone has said this, because no one has, but I am serious about my chasing and severe weather, and I just want everyone to know this as they read my account and accounts of the future. But no one has said this, and I deeply appreciate this. It's hard to convey your personality and life and yourself through nonverbal communication and know someone without knowing them. I thought of this and just wanted to address it to everyone.

 

[Jeff Smith]

I will get the time from the metadata on my pic tonight. I know I was there between 3:15-3:30.

 

[Matt Hunt]

Ultimately nobody can definitively say either way without having been there. I know it's tough when you haven't seen it before. It's possible you and Jeff were there at different times. I don't see quite the same feature in Jeff's video, but that's only a 2 min clip. Sometimes shelf clouds can have a lot of movement in them that looks like rotation, especially to a rookie (I don't mean any offense by this). If it were me, I'd just chalk it up as a maybenado, but wait for a good solid cloud to ground condensation to call my first!

 

[Jeff Smith]

Tyler,
Unfortunately the timestamp on my metadata is incorrect(I forgot to set the time on my new D3200), so I do not have a definitive answer for the exact time I shot that pic. However, I shot this one with my phone and sent it to my station at 3:11with a note that it was not rotating and I was feeling cool outflow, thereby limiting if not eliminating tornado potential...also in one of my pics I think I see the nub that is in question-let me look at it closer. Here is my phone pic I shot and sent at 3:11.



At 3:16PM I noted 40MPH outflow(westerly) winds in my report to the station.
At 3:21PM I had repositioned a little north into downtown Chouteau and reported pea and marble hail.
Also a met that was also chasing a few miles to my north reported at 3:21PM the leading edge to be outflow(ish).

Let me look at my pics a bit closer.

Also, where exactly were you at?

Here is a crop of the feature I think you saw from my vantage point. It was on the north side of the shelf cloud.

 

[Tyler Graham]

Jeff,
I was located directly east of the highway 69/highway 412 intersection actually south of Chouteau when I observed the feature that I still say was rotating. I observed with my own eyes the base of this "wall cloud" spinning counterclockwise. Not extremely fast, but it was definitely there. Standing at the position I was, my dad and I both concur on notcing winds flowing west-north-west toward this feature, and sharpy turning east as colder outflow approached from the west. Something else is that the cropped image you have presented is not the same thing as what I saw. I know this because the photo you presented shows the nub on the very end, on right, of the feature you saw. My picture has it more going toward the center. Also, the dirt directly underneath the nub in my photo is extremely concentrated, and was circulating. I rember this distinctly. The photo in which the "tornado" was at its greatest intensity was at 3:23pm. Also, the picture you have presented does not show the same characterisitcs as the photograph I have presented. The photo you have presented shows a much more layered, shelf apparace with plenty of rain behind it. If you say you repositioned into downtown Choteau, then you would be nearing the forward flank. I did go through downtown Chouteau as well and noticed a major shelf cloud and outflow, but the feature I had saw had already dissipated. The iPhone panorama I presented also shows the cylindrical nature of the feature I saw, negating the "shelf cloud' feature showing a more layered, flat appearance. Also, if your picture was at 3:11pm, and mine was at 3:23pm, and the storm officially went linear around 3:30pm, then there are some pretty big time gaps for things to happen. If you were further north, then we may not have been looking at the same feature. All I am saying is while this may not have been a brief tornado, we can not completely and totally ignore the possibility that it was one. Given the time differences and location differences we have, its not possible to say we were looking at the same feature. You may have been looking at a shelf cloud on the northern end of the storm and I was looking at a wall cloud on the southern end of the storm. I could also very well be wrong. I do know this, however: as we were retreating eastward we saw a sheriff pulled over almost in the middle of the highway, and I'm unsure of what he was doing, but they wouldn't just pull over and be watching for nothing. And also, another storm chaser also said he saw a tornado. Now, that could have been a lie or false report, but it is certainly something to keep in mind. Ultimately, I have to agree with everyone else. There is no way to say a definite yes or a definite no. I think I'm going to have to go with Matt and call this a "maybenado" like he said and move on to the next storm. Thank you for the pictures and data, Jeff.

 

[Jeff Smith]

Jeff,
I was located directly east of the highway 69/highway 412 intersection actually south of Chouteau when I observed the feature that I still say was rotating..

I was at the Love's truck stop-virtually the same location as you...

my dad and I both concur on notcing winds flowing west-north-west toward this feature, and sharpy turning east as colder outflow approached from the west.

I never felt any inflow winds-only outflow (from the west)

If you say you repositioned into downtown Choteau, then you would be nearing the forward flank.

I went less than one mile north and was experiencing rain and hail at 3:21, less than a mile away and two minutes before you observed the alleged tornado.

. And also, another storm chaser also said he saw a tornado.

Depends on who it was...lol-could have been a "yocal" yahoo who has no clue.

Thank you for the pictures and data, Jeff.

You are welcome. And I really don't mean to rain on your parade lol-I am merely showing what I observed to try to help. If in fact it was a brief "gustnado" or tornado, then cool deal. I am just sharing what I observed to help clarify things. It's awesome that you and your dad are chasing together, and hopefully I will see you out there under a nice meso very soon! I encourage you to get out there every chance you get