Is this a tornado?! 🌪️🤔 This particular storm remains one of the most hotly debated ones on the team many years later. A powerful supercell had a powerful low-level mesocyclone that had increasing low-level rotation.Suddenly, as the rotating wall cloud passed over several dirt fields, a weaking rotating dust cloud began to rapidly ascend to the cloud base. There were much quicker rotating visible dust vorticies at ground level as well. I think your perspective on if this is a tornado or not pr

Evenings like these, with massive 10 mile high storm towers over the landscape of the Great Plains, are indescribable. You are humbled at just how small you feel next to these massive storms. I still can't believe that colliding and moving air makes these things possible. I can't believe that moisture from the ocean is the driver of these things, hundreds and even thousands of miles inland. I can't believe we can forecast these things oftentimes to the county before they happen. It's like being

Tornadoes are terrifying and beautiful all at the same time. The feeling is not unlike how you might see a lion or a hippopotamus. You see it. You recognize its power and beauty, but also its might and ferocity. You don’t want to mess with tornadoes and indeed, we recommend people don’t try to get close to them, even beginner storm chasers, until you have a lot more experience under your belt (a few seasons at least). The environment around tornadoes is very dynamic, and storms do wildly differe

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