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\nThe storm did not waste much time getting its act together, near Englewood in southwest Clark County.\u00a0 The eastern edge of the supercell’s updraft base was hugging Hwy 283, and we soon found ourselves being chased northward by a rapidly rotating wall cloud.\u00a0 It was obvious that a tornado was imminent as we reached Hwy 160, and if we stayed here at 283 and 160 for more than a minute, we were in trouble.\u00a0 As Chris turned east on 160, rain curtains blasted us from the south, and a big rig blasted past us on the two lane road…going the same direction as we were.\u00a0 Chris said that the truck driver was scared for his life!\u00a0 The truck driver obviously knew that he or she needed to somewhere else NOW!\u00a0 I looked back over my right shoulder and up and behind us a tad—a good-sized funnel cloud was RIGHT there—about as close as I’ve ever been to one.\u00a0 Go Chris!<\/p>\n
A few minutes later and a few miles east of 283 we stopped to look back.\u00a0 A whitish, slender, but fairly beefy funnel cloud was dangling just above the earth to our WNW.\u00a0 It persisted for a good minute or two, but seemed reluctant to make solid condensation contact with the ground.\u00a0 It was close enough to definitely be a tornado, though.\u00a0 It developed a kink and lifted up a bit.\u00a0 We were in rain and I tried to get some decent video. \u00a0 The stills below are from video, looking west to WNW, at 6:52 for the wall cloud and from 6:57 to 6:59 p.m. CDT for the tornado,\u00a0 about five miles west of Ashland, KS.<\/p>\n
This was one of the nastiest-looking storms I have ever seen that did not have an obvious tornado in progress.\u00a0 It was dark and green and blue and it had a rain core from you-know-where, which may well have been harboring a tornado.\u00a0 The business end of the newer, closer mesocyclone was headed right for us, and we bailed southward quickly to avoid getting creamed.\u00a0 Only a minute or two south of our high point and we were okay, with an impressive view to the north.<\/p>\n We briefly went north to come up on the tail-end of the meso, but then had to turn around to get out of the way of the older meso.\u00a0 After a few miles southbound we were getting hammered, unable to clear the meso completely.\u00a0 Chris pointed the van towards the WSW, into the wind.\u00a0 The rain wasn’t too bad, and I don’t recall any hail, but the winds were fierce and the trees around us were losing leaves.\u00a0 This was RFD wind, I suspect, on the south side of the action area just to our north.\u00a0 It was possible that a tornado was passing by to our north, but we could not see it due to wind and rain and cloud and spray.\u00a0 Perhaps we were on the southern fringe of a tornadic cuirculation.\u00a0 The wind barrage was bad for about a minute.\u00a0 I never felt that we were in danger, but it was borderline close! \u00a0 We sat for a few more minutes here (near Mount Jesus) to allow the storm to pass, and then headed back north.\u00a0 We soon came upon broken poles and trees and debris —– a tornado had definitely just moved through here!\u00a0 And, less than two miles north of our high point (where we watched the cell approach), three big rigs of empty cattle trailers were turned over on their sides on the road!\u00a0 The drivers were a bit dazed but unhurt.\u00a0 Wow—what a mess this would have been if the trailers had been filled with animals.\u00a0 This occurred where 34 jogs slightly, halfway between Sitka and Bucklin, and I think it is likely that the “lead” meso blew the rigs over.\u00a0 The cell continued to the northeast towards Greensburg (where funnel clouds and tornadoes were sighted), and we let it go as we made sure that the truck drivers were okay.\u00a0 Law enforcement was on the scene quickly.\u00a0 Later, we met up with the media gals (see May 22, 2008 summary) in Bucklin and played tag with new supercells around Greensburg and Medicine Lodge after sunset.\u00a0 From there it was a long four hours or so back to OKC.\u00a0 May 23rd had been a very long day and a very exciting day—-another great chase day in Kansas!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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\nThe road network is not good in sparsely-populated Clark County.\u00a0 The cell was moving to the northeast at about 25 mph.\u00a0 We drove about 12 miles east to Sitka and Route 34, and headed north to intercept the cell again.\u00a0 It was torture to drive farther away from the tornadic supercell and to be unable to see what it was doing.\u00a0 About nine miles north of 160 we found a very nice high spot.\u00a0 This was north of a “peak” called Mt. Jesus on the Kansas Gazetteer, and it afforded an excellent view of the approaching storm.\u00a0 Inflow winds from the east were absolutely tremendous, with gusts of perhaps 50 mph.\u00a0 I set up the camcorder and tripod low to the ground and took the stills (below) as the storm approached.\u00a0 The road in the images below heads west, the storm is maybe four or five miles distant and moving northeast at 25-30 mph, and the time frame is 7:27 to 7:31 p.m. CDT.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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\nIn the third photo above, the old, initial tornadic meso with a wall cloud or funnel cloud is obvious towards the left edge.\u00a0 The brighter area of the RFD\/clear slot can be seen just in front of it.\u00a0 (We are looking more to the southwest here.)\u00a0 Meanwhile, a new meso and prominent, very low updraft base is a little closer and beginning to wrap up (the right half of the same image).\u00a0 The three images which follow show the RFD\/clear slot prominently cut into the new meso, with a good-sized wall cloud (or large funnel cloud and developing tornado) looming inside of the cut.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n