Storm chase 5-10-05 in western Iowa

wxnut · May 12, 2005

Copied from my submission to a "weather " list so disregard the terminology. Just enjoy the pics.

spin up about 5 to 10 mins after tornado warning issued. This was about 4 miles east of Harlen, and ½ mile north of 44.

Just after that spin up, same location. Rotating wall cloud with some scud.

And look how fast the RFD cut into this thing. This is 4 minutes later.

Farther down 44 the storm really started looking mean. Here another meso/RFD kick up lots of dust.

After dark, I headed south to 80 as the storm was now moving south east. I got slightly ahead of it, hoping to get some good lightning pictures but only managed to get a couple good ones.

Doug Raflik
[email protected]
http://www.wxnut.net

john3eblover · May 12, 2005

i like that last one

AIRIC · May 12, 2005

Very cool! :thumbsup: I have always wanted to chase storms.

Eric

LaFoto · May 13, 2005

Well, here's someone who has for all her life been very afraid of storms, but VERY, which is why I'm only too glad we've never so far experienced anything of what your photos are showing in my country (or we may have last year, I dimly remember something, but it was elsewhere, more further south, I think). But your PHOTOS of those weather phenomena fascinate me to no end!

And the last photo as such is a wonderful photo! That single spot of orange light makes it more than the lightning does! Looks like that place is a safe haven, though I'm sure in a storm like that, nothing is really safe, right?

Meysha · May 13, 2005

You guys have some crazy weather! So glad we don't get anything like that.
Although we do get crazy cyclones.

That last photo would be pure gold even if the lightning strike wasn't in there.
#2 is probably my favourite. It looks like the sky is falling! The sky is falling! Quick Chicken Licken! The sky is falling!
(yes still on sugar high)

LittleMan · May 13, 2005

Yikes, that's a crazy storm...
I remember a while back when I was with my family driving on this REALLY long flat strait road in East Texas when the weather hit BAD.
It was raining so hard you could barely see... You couldn't count all the tornado funnells that were starting, only about 3 tornados actually touched down.
We passed 3 cars that had slid off the road and fllipped over in the ditch... That was a crazy day... :meh: