082505

08-25-05 Aurora and Gregory County SD Supercells

I targeted Mitchell, SD along the cold front this day. After departing St. Cloud at 10am, I was slightly discouraged as the heavy stratus deck persisted throughout SE South Dakota. Without access to a satellite image, I just kept heading West on I-90 from Sioux Falls hoping to eventually see a clearing as I neared the cold front. As I got West of Mitchell a couple towers were finally visible along the boundary. The cell just over the interestate in Aurora County intensified quickly. A wall cloud developed as I sat just East of the updraft. To my surprise, the wall cloud really shaped up nicely and was very low to the ground. However, it was eventually undercut. I could still see distinct rotation under the base but it was quite elevated so I decided to head SSW to the cell in Gregory County that was now tornado warned. A few nice lowerings descended while I was watching the base of the Gregory County cell from the East side. The local stations were reporting strong rotation on radar as I saw what looked like a brief touchdown from a distance. However, I was too far away from the base to confirm any touchdowns. I took a few shots with the 300mm lens and continued to watch this gorgeous supercell. A couple more suggestive lowerings descended before the cell finally began to weaken. It was tornado warned for at least 1 hour and public reported a tornado during this time, but there were no confirmed touchdowns. I saw much more than I expected to this day! Two gorgeous supercells!

Chase log and photographs copyright Melanie Metz and Peggy Willenberg 2005 Twistersisters.com