{"id":17493,"date":"2017-06-28T21:44:58","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T05:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/?p=17493"},"modified":"2019-01-22T17:23:45","modified_gmt":"2019-01-23T01:23:45","slug":"june-28-2017-tornadoes-in-southwest-iowa-and-northwest-missouri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/2017\/06\/28\/june-28-2017-tornadoes-in-southwest-iowa-and-northwest-missouri\/","title":{"rendered":"June 28, 2017 Tornadoes in southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"170628_2379_Shenendoah\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Begin: \u00a0North Platte, Nebraska<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lunch: \u00a0Lincoln, Nebraska \u00a0(Dickeys BBQ)<\/strong><\/p>\n

End: Saint Joseph, Missouri<\/strong><\/p>\n

537 miles<\/strong><\/p>\n

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SPC Day One\/20Z Convective Outlook<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Mesoscale Discussion 1169<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Mesoscale Discussion 1170<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Mesoscale Discussion 1173<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Mesoscale Discussion 1174<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Mesoscale Discussion 1175<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Mesoscale Discussion 1179<\/a><\/p>\n

SPC Storm Reports<\/a><\/p>\n

\"sfcmap28Jun\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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As you may or may not know, as a chaser, I am heavily inclined to favor chase targets on the High Plains versus the “Corn Belt” areas of Nebraska and Iowa. \u00a0For me to venture near or east of the Missouri River, the (tornado) prospects have to be pretty good that way. \u00a0For a day or two prior, the “Iowa play” was rearing its ugly head for June 28. \u00a0This was in the middle of our Tour 7, so there were no logistical issues. \u00a0We could easily do it. \u00a0We chased the High Plains of western Nebraska on June 27th, and I had not looked very closely at the meteorology for the next day as I called for motel rooms in North Platte. \u00a0Chris Gullikson had been directing the tour for a few days up until the 26th, and he was already heading east for Iowa. \u00a0But he lives in Illinois, so that was a no-brainer! \u00a0 Iowa tends to be a big disappointment time-after-time for storm chasers. \u00a0It is easier to just stay out west and to give the tour guests the sure thing: \u00a0the pretty and severe storms on the High Plains. \u00a0I had not yet decided what to do as we headed for North Platte. \u00a0The forecast charts showed nice instability and shear, though surface winds would be southwesterly. \u00a0Something told me that I had better not ignore the Iowa play. \u00a0And, I didn’t want to be besieged by a lot of pretty Iowa tornado pictures on Facebook twenty-four hours from now, especially by Chris. \u00a0I told everyone to be ready to head east early the next morning.<\/p>\n

As we headed east on I-80 on the morning of the 28th, it appeared that southwestern Iowa would be a good place to target. \u00a0SPC had an enhanced risk, a 5-percent tornado risk, and a 30% hatched hail risk covering southwestern Iowa and extending into east-central Iowa. \u00a0From the forecast charts that I was eyeballing, it did not appear necessary to venture well into the state. \u00a0The forecast models with the “CAMs” (convection allowing models) showed thunderstorm development in or near extreme southwestern Iowa by mid-late afternoon, with very decent supercell and significant tornado numbers forecast to be in place. \u00a0I was happy!<\/p>\n

By about noon we were exiting I-80 in Lincoln and we found a fairly quick lunch stop. \u00a0From there we continued east to Nebraska City, into Iowa and southeast on I-29 to Hamburg, and then east about 15-20 miles. \u00a0 This put us just a few miles north of the IA\/MO border, in nice, gently rolling cornfields with great views of the sky and in a great road network. \u00a0I felt comfortable here, there was good surface moisture convergence here, dew points were well into the 70s, and some storm towers were starting to develop to our southwest. \u00a0This isn’t bad at all!<\/p>\n

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\"170628_2372_Shenendoah\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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It was just after 3 p.m. CDT when the photo above was snapped. \u00a0This activity struggled to get strong as it moved towards our location. \u00a0The cap was rather strong, but it should be breakable this afternoon. \u00a0To our distant northwest, in the haze and murk, a storm anvil materialized, and radar was showing a rapidly developing cell with some strong returns. \u00a0It was pretty close to Nebraska City and moving to the east-northeast. \u00a0Wow — that might be the one we want, and it will be an easy catch, I thought. \u00a0I went back outside the van to look at the struggling towers, now not too far to our south. \u00a0I could stick with these, or head to the new storm that was only 20 miles away. \u00a0 “Get in the vans!”<\/p>\n

This was one of those “dream” type of storm chase intercepts. \u00a0In just 15 to 20 minutes or so we would be close to a developing storm in a tornado watch in mid-afternoon. \u00a0With dew points this high and with the supercell and tornado parameter numbers so good, I just KNEW that our group was in for quite the show. \u00a0We headed north perhaps ten miles, with a couple of short jogs to the west via the small town of Farragut. \u00a0I typically give the tour quite a bit of space from a storm early on to view the structure, but as we neared, the base of the storm already had “that look.” \u00a0I needed to get our group underneath the base. \u00a0We stopped a couple of miles east of a good lowered area along 350th Avenue, just north of Highway 2. \u00a0This was about halfway between Sidney and Shenandoah, in eastern Fremont County. \u00a0The base had a good lowered area, and it looked about ready to get serious. \u00a0Maybe five minutes later, a decent funnel cloud was halfway to the ground, and I was on the phone to the National Weather Service. \u00a0A tornado was about seven miles west of Shenandoah and moving towards the town! \u00a0The time was 3:45 p.m CDT.<\/p>\n

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