04-10-05 North of Brownell, KS-First Tornado of 2005!
Our first tornado intercept of 2005 was a joint effort of Peggy's superb nowcasting and Mel's long hours on the road chasing in her Lexus chase-mobile with only a road map, cell phone, and cameras. Peggy did an excellent job guiding Mel to the perfect ministorm on the dryline near Brownell, KS. The cap broke just as Mel neared McCracken and the cell quickly intensified and organized as she approached the base. While following the storm along 147 a funnel began to decend over Cedar Bluff Reservoir and the first tornado touched down just NE of that area. The hail wrapped around at times and the sun lit the foreground to create a very photogenic scene. North of I-70 the Lexus had a wild, slippery ride on the muddy Kansas roads but managed to avoid the ditch. At 7pm Mel aborted the chase and waited West of the line of cells for the sun to set and illuminate the anvils and mammatus that filled the sky....another picturesque moment.
other chase logs: Tony Laubach, Verne Carlson , Amos Magliocco, Doug Keisling, Chris Rozoff, Mike Umscheid
Chase log and photographs copyright Melanie Metz and Peggy Willenberg 2005 Twistersisters.com
Tornado and hail just NE of Cedar Bluff Reservoir, KS
Earlier, ~4pm, the meso organized just north of Brownell, KS
Wall cloud over Brownell, KS
Chaser convergence on 147 just south of Cedar Bluff Reservoir
Funnel developing
Funnel descending just east of 147
First touchdown
Second touchdown
Image with long lens
Hail wrapping around
Rope tornado with debris
Last touchdown