Your First Tornado

[Joshua T. Clark]

My First was the May, 20th 2013 EF-5

 

[Joshua T. Clark]

 

[Billy Faletti]

Mine were November 17th, 2013 near Streator, IL. This is the same tornado that hit Washington, IL a while earlier. It was dissipating at this point, and there was a small satellite to its south. It was getting wrapped in rain as it occluded, but I contrast enhanced the images to make the tornadoes visible. My only tornadoes at the moment, but hoping to change that sometime soon.

The dissipating Washington, IL tornado:

Right image: the rope satellite to its south (can just barely be made out in the center of the frame).

 

[Brett Roberts]

April 24, 2006, on the south side of El Reno. So much about that catch was pure luck: following experienced grad students when I (at the time) had no clue how to chase; seeing two of literally only a handful of photogenic Plains tornadoes during the spring of 2006; catching it before I had to leave OU for the summer in early May; and most of all, breaking in my chase career with two high-contrast tubes -- one anticyclonic -- rather than some unremarkable bird fart that I'd "have" to count as my first.

 

[Rick Schmidt]

Hi, Megan----I just have a short video of a rotating wall cloud near the Nebraska border from that day. It is on VHS tape. It is quite a distance away, so it is not impressive. (I was lured up there by early convection near the low).

 

[chrisbray]

First tornado was June 5 2010 in Illinois, the Magnolia Tornado.

Not my shot, unfortunately I was solo and behind the storm and only got this really bad quality video
https://www.flickr.com/photos/26720179@N08/4707493608/

I have been chasing off and on for 10 years now and that is the only Tornado I have ever seen sadly. My friend and partner has NEVER seen one. To be fair we are usually contained to Illinois and Iowa and have rotten luck and timing. THIS HAS TO CHANGE THIS YEAR! WE NEED TO SEE ONE!

 

[chrisbray]

Aaaand this is a 5 year old thread lol

 

[Billy Faletti]

@chrisbray That tornado is only a 10 minute drive south of me, and is one of the tornadoes that strengthened my weather obsession. Nice video capture! Not very much documentation of that tornado that I know of; it seemed like chasers were all on the Elmwood storm.

 

[David Draun]

My first tornado? May 22, 2007, Hill City, KS. What a fantastic storm! Ideal first tornado too.

 

[Adam Reagan]

My first tornado was the Good Friday EF4 that hit Murfreesboro, TN on April 10, 2009. A photogenic tornado by Tennessee standards.

 

[Bernard Hulshof]

My first tornado encounter was during my first chasecation in the US, on May 29th 2001. The so-called White Deer TX tornado.

 

[Paul Knightley]

Although at the time I was pretty sure I saw my first tornado on May 29th, 2001, near Turkey, TX, I'm pretty sure nowadays that it was probably a gustnado, Thus, my first definite tornado was in Harper County, KS, on May 12th, 2004 - having missed the events in the afternoon and early evening we finally got on the southern side of the storm complex around dark, and caught a nice cone tornado:

 

[Marcus Diaz]

My first official tornado while chasing was this little guy on May 15, 2009 near Pampa, TX. @Wesley Luginbyhl has a much better angle of it with ground circulation.

It was only my second year of chasing, but I committed to going all out that year. I caught one more that day buried in the rain, one near Umbarger, TX on June 4, and 2 in SW Missouri on June 10.

 

[Bob Schafer]

June 10, 1999. This is the first FRAME of storm video I ever shot. It was not a tornado, but FFD scud, and was not rotating. I am just off Colorado Blvd in Denver CO here, looking NNW, and the scud is right about over I-70.



Exactly 2 hours and 11 minutes later I shot this out by Last Chance. This vid was on YT for several years, but I yanked it because I got tired of people telling me this was NOT a tornado. Fact is, I'm not sure myself whether it was or wasn't! There was only slow rotation evident (in the vid). These are all vidcaps.



One minute later it looked like this:



Tornado or not, the day, the chase, bisected my life. There is only before/after June 10, 1999. BTW, even if this wasn't a tornado I still saw my first tornadoes prior to these last two pics when I witnessed some brief spinups with debris back by Watkins, Bennett, and Strasburg.

► P.S. As if the day needed something else to make it "my special day": I was the only chaser there. Some others had been on the scene but had disappeared for no known reason just minutes before I got the images here.

 

[JamesCaruso]

My first tornado was on May 25, 1997 near Harper, KS (image below) while participating on Cloud 9 Tours. It was the first of several during an outbreak with ended with the Perth 'Dillo-Cam wedge. My first tornado on my own was a brief spinup near Throckmorton, Tx on May 26, 2000.

Hey Bill,

My first was the same day as yours, and also on a tour! I was with Marty Feeley's Whirlwind Tours (no longer operating), but driving in my own car with one other customer behind Marty's single minivan. I remember the gorgeous supercell that sprang up, and as we were driving ahead of the storm with the storm back over my left shoulder, I spotted my first touchdown! But I had to get my eyes back on the road, and we both shouted, "Why isn't he stopping?!?!?" Ultimately, in that year of 1997 before all the technology, another storm dominated (which became the Perth tornado) but we were behind the action. I know Marty felt bad about not stopping for the first tornado but he was trying to stay in a good position and figured it would be more than just a quick touchdown and/or that there would be additional touchdowns. But it all got squashed by the other storm. It was a quick touchdown so we didn't miss much from that particular storm at least. Still, it was thrilling to experience all that was going on that day, hearing sirens wailing in Wellington, seeing the huge backsheared anvils near dark as the monsters moved off to the east... I was hooked!!!

My first tornado "on my own" was Basset, Nebraska in 1999 - sorry I can't recall the date, I have it in my records somewhere back home

I was also on the 2000 Throckmorton storm - I remember seeing the funnel extend about halfway down, but I did not have a view of the ground to confirm touchdown... I don't think I ever followed up on that to see if a tornado was confirmed!




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