Your First Tornado

[Wes Carter]

Well, my first was in April of 1974 during the Super Outbreak. But I was too young to remember it. The first tornado I saw was on my first chase on April 7, 2006 on highway 70 in Cannon County, TN. I had always wanted to chase, and bought a Radio Shack scanner because they were really hyping the event (and the hype verified).

I headed out without a clue, just following the warnings on the radio like a true yahoo. They were talking about a supercell that had tracked all the way from Arkansas and was moving from Columbia towards Murfreesboro that had a history of dropping tornadoes. I positioned myself just East of Murfreesboro on 70. I got pelted with hail, lost my windshield, then saw the wall cloud. As I watched it approach, it appeared to almost be touching the ground. The rotation was very apparent. I realized I was in a bad place, between large hail and a rotating wall cloud with nowhere to go to get away from it, so I drove east trying to stay between the two. As I got to Woodbury, the wall cloud looked like it had moved just a bit north of 70 so I stopped to watch it. It was a thing of beauty, rotating scud would form and dissipate then finally coalesced into a funnel almost instantly. It went on to northern Warren County and killed two people. I photographed the wall cloud, but my adrenaline was high and my sighting brief so I never photographed the actual tornado. The wall cloud is my avatar pic.

I went home and was uploading my wall cloud pics upstairs and my wife came up and told me to get downstairs, a tornado was coming. I grabbed my scanner and turned it on and the sherrif's department was talking about watching a tornado heading right towards our house. We looked out the back window and saw a rotating cloud of debris just to the north of us. We were close enough to get some insulation in one of our trees from one of the homes that was damaged. It killed a woman about 1 1/2 miles to our west. The next day a film crew from The Weather Channel was arrested for trespassing on the property where the woman was killed.

 

[Chris Driedger]

May 9, 2001

Near Chortitz, Manitoba

I was 17. I remember a very large updraft directly overhead, and the clouds were black, and ripped up, like someone dragged a rake through muck. We(I was with a friend)spotted a long, finger shaped condensation funnel that never quite extended to the ground, but we were within a half mile when the tornado touched down and a visible dust swirl was spotted. As near as I could estimate, it was several hundred feet wide, only hit grass and dirt, and lasted just a couple of minutes.

 

[Brandon Lawson]

May 4, 2003, Girard/Franklin Tornado (before it even got going)

Had spent the day sitting on Hwy 43 north of Joplin, Missouri. The day was extremely hazy and overcast, and the cap took a little longer to break than was expected. I was with a friend (Corey Taylor) from the TV station I had been working at (KSNF-TV 16) and his wife. We then headed west into Kansas. Probably the most explosive thunderstorms I've ever witnessed.

It went from hazy and overcast to a massive tower and anvil, and clear skies all around within the span of maybe 5-10 minutes. We got underneath the updraft base around Parsons, Kansas just as it was spitting out a couple of funnels. We weren't thinking about how fast the storms would be moving and got left behind on dirt roads. Could see what would quickly become a destructive tornado touch down miles ahead of us on the dirt road we were on (it hadn't even condensed to the ground yet), and that was the last thing we saw before running into the damage path from Girard to Franklin, Kansas.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=5717861 I hope he doesn't mind me posting this. It's a really short piece that he and his wife put together of our day. We could have easily made it back to witness the 2nd storm, but we stopped to help some people out in Franklin.

Of course I was living on the west side of Joplin at the time and could just as easily have stayed home to watch the 2nd major tornado to cross into southwest Missouri that day, instead(if I had known), as it moved toward Carl Junction. Who knew?

Scott Currens has really good footage of the tornado from the 2nd storm as it side-swiped Baxter Springs. My uncle was living in Briarbrook (northwest side of Joplin, just southeast of Carl Junction). I wish I could get his video that he has of it from his backyard. That 2nd tornado was already impressive, and then it turned into perhaps the fattest cone tornado I've ever seen. The closest thing I can describe to is a gargantuan-sized, overly-bloated dreidel. Coincidentally, he and his family had just moved from Carl Junction to Briarbrook and the tornado caused some minor damage to a couple of the houses on the street where he had just been living.

 

[Patrick Kerrin]

Ahh - back in the day (a Monday actually!):

http://canadiantexan.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/from-the-vault-–-11-may-1992-–-my-first-tornado/

Go Canada Go!

Patrick
London Ontario

 

[Jeff Duda]

April 13, 2006 Iowa City.

That is actually the first tornado I saw, too. I was a student at the University of Iowa at the time, living in the dorms on the north side of campus. I watched it pass through downtown from the top of a parking garage near the chemistry building. I was terrified, but completely mesmerized, and didn't move, even when it looked like it was coming at me for a few seconds.

 

[jamesmseitz]

June 20, 1987 Littleton, CO - this funnel formed over my apartment and I ran out to the parking lot and got this shot of it.

This was my first Tornado as well...... I was 12 years old. I was hooked from there. By the way I have down Loaded this to my pictures. Thank you Verne I was looking for something to remember that day. I was at Broadway and 285 That day. That was amazing day. Thank you for posting this..........

My first Tornado Chasing was July 7th 1993 In Burlington Colorado. It was amazingly powerful..... luckly no one was Killed

 

[Lanny Dean]

My "first" tornado

April 26, 1991 near Red Rock OK. This was the first tornado I ever filmed, this was also my very first real storm chase!
Saw my first tornado when I was a kid near Dalhart TX while on family vacation but this one has a little more meaning!

 

[David Dildine]

May 28, 2001 - Trinidad, CO. The wall cloud is what I'll remember most about this storm. A really succinct display of tornadogenesis for which we didn't even have to reposition; the lifecycle of the tornado played out fully all in one view. I was a senior in high school at the time and took the second-to-last week off before graduation for my first serious chase. Man was it worth it. I made it back to prom in VA with a lot to talk about. I used to do the weather on the morning announcements and I did a really cool bit on my experience as a part of my last high school weather report.

 

[Stephen Barabas]

My first and only seen tornado occurred on Memorial day in 1995. May 29, 1995 to be exact. The same day and about an hour before the Great Barrington F4 tornado. I recall the day starting off rainy and cool, then becoming sunny and humid, hot. I remember the severe weather statements scrolling on the Weather Channel, the ones that took up the entire screen back in the day.

That evening I remember the tornado warning, and being out on my deck for the barbecue, seeing the storm move over. The motion and shape of the clouds is completely burnt into my memory. So my father decided to drive into town (no more than 1/2 mile from my house) We did that, and we were able to see the funnel pendent hanging from the cloud. The storm was really hauling too.

I was only 8 at the time and I was scared out of my wits. But looking back on it all and having a stronger interest I wish i had a video camera at the time. Haha. The tornado was an F1. You can read about it a bit on Wikipedia for Southbury, Connecticut; where I live.

Here's the radar loop for for supercell. Classic shape to it and a nice hook, especially for New England.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/May_29_1995_Connecticut_supercell_velocity.gif

Another rather infamous storm event in New England occurred on May 31 2002. Watched the supercells go up in Litchfield CT, and then the frontal squall came through. Produced a tornado along I84. I never saw it though. But I did get a picture of this.

New England isn't too bad for storms . . .

 

[Steve Smithson]

Saw my first tornado on Cloud 9 tours in Medford OK on memorial day Sunday 1998. That was a pretty intense 2 hours as I recall, the tornado touched down in a field about 3/4 of a mile away! It was followed by 2 1/4 inch hail then a triple lightning strike on power poles right in front of us which was captured on film.

Hoping of more of the same this coming Spring as I return to the plains after a 2 years absence.

Steve Smithson.

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

Way back in 1987 in FL when I first got my driver's license...

Chase log entry ... Jan 5, 1987 (2 PM) : Penetration of a severe thunderstorm and tornado interception. With a guest, the severe thunderstorm was encountered near Sample Road and State Road 7 in Margate, Florida. High winds, heavy rains, and small hail was encountered as this fast moving storm crossed the area. Near Pompano Beach, Florida, on Sample Road, A small tornado was observed on the backside of the thunderstorm. The chasers came within one mile of the touchdown area, where 2 street lamps were downed and several trailer homes damaged. A jet stream aloft and a strong cold front allowed the storms and tornado to develop. A 1980 Ford Pinto was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photographs. A tornado watch was also in effect until 3 PM for this area.

Enjoy...

 

[Kent Heiderich]

1st ok picture

This wasn't my first sighting of a tornado, but my first better daylight picture. May 8, 2003, Moore Oklahoma. Not much of a chase as I was just getting home from work, and the tornado warnings were coming in on public radio & tv. My youngest son shouted tornado as he was standing on our back patio. I was amazed at the shear loudness of the event. I could hear rapid busting of structures as it plowed it's way through the north side of Moore, Oklahoma. We took shelter underground with our neighbors 2 month old baby, so I didn't go out to take more pics as the tornado swept nearby.The tornado missed us by 200 yards to the west as it eventually became a f4 as it passed interstate 40 on it's ne path.
Kent

 

[Jeff Bartlett]

Many times growing up in Tulsa, there were near misses. The first I distinctly recall was April 24, 1993 when I was in high school and working at Sonic at the time. I stood out in the parking lot (which was completely full of people wanting food) at 31st and 129th and watched the storm pass to my north, but I remember seeing all of the debris in the air as it passed by. To this day I wonder how that many people could be so oblivious to a near catastrophe because they wanted a burger.

The first time I tracked down a tornado was December 2nd, 1999 on the south-side of Perry at night, and a beautiful stovepipe removed parts of the town. I wasn't expecting anything and was on my way out of Stillwater going towards Tulsa to meet some friends, so I had no camera of any kind. I heard reports on the scanner of a tornadic thunderstorm moving through Guthrie and Mulhall, so I took a detour and headed west. I sat up on a hill on highway 86 and watched that thing move across, looking down at the damage path as it moved across the southern side of Perry. It was a rare Oklahoma winter tornado and I will have that scene playing in my head for forever.

 

[Jay McCoy]

I will limit mine to my 1st chase tornado since thats what this site is about.

Mine was May 7th, 1986 near Canadian, Tx. This was my 2nd year chasing. I didnt even have a camera, just a map and an AM radio and some wx maps from that morning. Mostly luck that day. The only pictures I have ever seen of these tornados were from Gene Moore and Tim Marshall. Not the best visibility due to haze and rain but these few tornados were beautiful stovepipe beasts. Canadian was very lucky they didnt get hit. Wish I would have run into those guys that day but ofcourse I wouldnt have known who they were anyway...lol.. Dind know anybody else was crazy enough to chase them back then. Never heard the word "stormchaser" before. I probably did see them just didnt know it.

Here is a link to Genes page with some great pics of them.
http://www.chaseday.com/tornados-canadian.htm

and a good chase log from Tim
http://www.stormtrack.org/archive/0956.htm

Thank God somebody documented this day for my sake...

 

[Lanny Dean]

April 26, 1991 near Red Rock Oklahoma. This was not my first tornado but it was my first tornado intercepted while on a chase and was also my first "real" storm chase.

I remember hearing the red box go out via local media and thought what the heck....I would drive west and see what I could see. I really didn't think I would see anything until I got a little closer to 35....wow..what a memorable first chase and tornado!

 

[Jeff Hawkins]

Mine was at a family Easter dinner in Omaha, Nebraska, when I was around 2 to 3 years old. I looked out a south-facing patio door and saw something coming towards us, and thought 'hey, this is interesting', and said to my mom and aunt nearby, who were doing dishes 'mommy, look'...next thing I remember, we were down in the basement under a pool table. I've been told the tornado ripped off a neighbor's roof, but my uncle/aunt's house was spared.
I tried looking up historic tornado info for the Omaha area from 1965-1970 on a web site I found, but the link was broken to view the specifics, so I hope this anecdotal story will suffice for now. I sure wasn't a storm chaser at that time, but
such an experience did "imprint" in my mind tornadoes and severe weather.
(As an aside, I did travel with my dad to the same house back in March or April of the late 1970's, where we stayed overnight traveling to Denver, and there happened to be severe weather in the area overnight there that day. I don't recall specific times, but I do recall being s-c-a-r-e-d!!)

 

[Chris C Sanner]

March 17, 2003, F0 Tornado near Pumpkin Center....also my first storm chase. It was a rather cool thing to see a Tornado, especially considering I still had very little idea what I was getting myself into

 

[Michael.Brewer]

Just recently joined the site, and this is only my second year of chasing, but I did manage to see my first tornado back in January. It was the tornado that hit downtown Huntsville back on January 21, 2010. I first intercepted the storm about 30 miles west of Huntsville, and trailed behind it on I-565. I stopped a few miles west of downtown and took pictures and video as the sun was setting.

The high base allowed I think everyone within a 30 mile radius to take pictures and video of that storm. I know that some have mentioned that it could have been the most photographed tornado ever in the Southeast. Very unique storm for the South, and one that I could just relax, keep my distance, and not feel pressured to get close. Great chase for a newbie

Michael Brewer

 

[Marcus Hicks]

My first one was June 24, 2003 in Hartford, SD. This was an F2 that destroyed the Hartford Heights community, a small subdivision.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

My first Tornado was the Earle, AR EF-3 Tornado on May 2nd, 2008.

[Broken External Image]:http://www.benholcomb.com/files/earleartornado.jpg

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

My first chasing tornado was March 27, 2004 in Western Oklahoma. The first video grab was from a funnel that I bet was probably in contact with the ground near Bessie, OK at the time Clinton was getting tennisball size hail.

My first official (confirmed) tornado came later that evening near Okarche, OK which had a smaller funnel right next to it. In the background of my video you can hear Tejano music as I was trying to find a radio station when I noticed the tornado.

Still one of the most classic looking supercells I have seen to date. Here is the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4uK6DrmRf8.

 

[Adam Lucio]

My first tornado was as weak and pathetic as they come. 5-5-07:



My first full condensation tornado came about an hour later on that same day but only lasted about 10 seconds.

My first long lived, full condensation tornado came a month later 6-6-07 and was the Kyle, SD tornado. We were able to view it from I-94 and the badlands for a good 20 minutes.

 

[Bill Tabor]

My first tornado I ever saw was back when I was a kid about 4 in Knox City, Tx. I don't remember a lot other than me and a few others watching it in the backyard near the swing set and my grandmother commenting as it approached. We took shelter inside in the closet and it was very loud. Later I learned my swing set had been picked up and deposited in a neighbors yard.

My first storm chase tornado came in '93 on my second chase. I was following an NWS Tornado Warning just ne of Colorado Springs, CO. I anxiously raced through traffic and eventually came upon a surrealistic country area with florescent green fields and an odd yellow hue in the sky amongst the light and dark grey clouds. As I approached the area of interest there was a bizarre looking cylindrical column of fog / cloud material directly in front of me about 1/2 mile ahead - maybe not that far. It was slowly rotating counter clockwise with small curled tendrils and wisps of cloud material occasionally protruding like short tentacles. Above this cylinder was a bit of transparent shaft which disappeared into the nearby clouds above. It didn't really look like a tornado. It was very odd. In retrospect I believe it was a tornado in the 'dust whirl' phase of development but it was developing over a rain flooded grass covered field so only condensation was showing around the base - not dust or dirt. I didn't have a lot of time. I was excited and confused - not really knowing how to identify much back in those days. I tried to get my camcorder up. I believe traffic messed with me and I had to do a U-turn. While I was doing so what I now recognize as the RFD hit and the tornado took off to the east and literally raced across a large field and disappeared over a hill. At the same time the wet RFD blasted me and my vehicle with precip. I tried to follow it anyway not exactly sure of what I had seen but wishing I could see more of it. As I did so I was engulfed in heavy wind and rain, and small hail. The hail piled up on the road and sides like it had just snowed heavy. Pretty amazing. I haven't really seen anything like it in all these years. Wish I could have gotten the camcorder on it - that was a big disappointment, but there was no doubt I was hooked on chasing!

 

[Olivier Staiger]

my first tornado was May 6, 2001 near Springer, OK.

I was chasing alone, but had help with Tim Vasquez's great chaser hotline service. He told me to go to Ardmore and wait for the dryline to fire up . Saw towers shoot up west of Ardmore. drove west of Ardmore on 70. Followed some of the towers. Looked at base with binoculars, saw obvious rotation, followed for over an hour, criss-crossing the dirt roads, arrived on 53, till it finally dropped. It was , like, heaven ! My first tornado. Oh what a joy !
and a very photogenic, good light, contrast. And an awesome rope out, too.

a few more :
http://www.klipsi.ch/tornadoes/651tor2133a.html
http://www.klipsi.ch/tornadoes/651tor2133c.html
http://www.klipsi.ch/tornadoes/651tor2133d.html

video :
http://www.youtube.com/klipsigeneva#p/u/71/yL_6oFBAH2w


back then I had a Sony video cam Digital8, and a Sony Mavica to shoot digital stills on floppy disc ( remember those ? ;-) , and shot Fujichrome slides with a Canon EOS 5 ( non digital , a.k.a. A2 ).

 

[Shawn Gossman]

My first was when I was 13. Year 1997 and it was in the summer months, can't remember which because that was over 10 years ago lol I was SCARED to DEATH of tornadoes at the time. It was night time. We were issues a warning and then the sirens went off. We then drove to next town which was not even a mile away to a basement, lol, redneck territory gimme some slack

As I was running my little scared body to the basement, I happened to turn around right when lightning spread out through the sky and I saw the tornado, it was like 2 miles away but I saw it... I instantly fell in love with severe weather at that moment and me and my step-dad watched it the entire night. It dissipated before it got too close to our location but I never went into that basement once that night... I think I got in trouble with my Maw once we got home, lol...

Since then, if I am off work and there is severe weather... im with it