JULY 28, 2025 SOUTH DAKOTA: MOTHERSHIP AND TORNADO

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The original plan here was to head back out to Watertown, SD after seeing a tornado in the same area the day before as the setup seemed legit for another round to start as a predicted derecho. However, the cap held and it became more stable, which made me pivot to targeting supercells in southeast SD near the NE border… a lot farther than I was intending to go! I was late to the game here, but ended up getting down to I-90 and blasting west to intercept a tornado warned storm near Gregory, SD.

Once arriving on highway 50 south of Geddes, SD and cut off by the Missouri River, I was able to capture the final of 3 tornadoes to the west.

Another shot a minute later of the tornado ongoing and more of the storm structure.

Incredible supercell structure as the tornado dissipated and the occluded wall cloud kept tightening up with another new all cloud right behind it. Inflow streaming in on the right was strong and beautiful!

What a mothership!

Action area right down the road in front of me. Progressing right to left.

The storm was close to producing another tornado here as the dual wall clouds cranked up on the northeast side of the storm right in the strongest inflow area next to the forward flank core.

Action area still cranking with a ton of motion going on in Pickstown, SD.

End of the day shot as I left my original storm and intercepted another tornado warned storm near Corsica, SD. Notice what is left of the wall cloud/lowering underneath the updraft direct center. Next was to race home inside and to get ahead of the developing derecho in southeast SD, southern MN, and northwest IA!

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

JULY 27, 2025 SOUTH DAKOTA: WATERTOWN EF-2 TORNADO

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Initial, early day tornado warned storm near Montevideo, Minnesota. This storm was clearly outflow dominant by the time we got there and had a nice shelf cloud. Unfortunately, this is the sucker storm that slowed us down where we nearly missed the tornado later in the day.

So we decided to bail and head southwest towards Watertown at the triple point where new updrafts kept regenerating and became explosive. This was the view from east of Watertown as we came up over a hill on highway 212 of the ongoing tornado that was northwest of town.

What a cool looking tornado! UGH! Seriously, 15 minutes would have made the difference of us being up close to witness the tornado and this view from 15-20 miles away. Just a bit too late.

Strong tornado here as we started to approach the eastern edge of Watertown, SD.

Clearly starting to weaken and rope out here as we continued to push towards Watertown and get close to the tornado. Felt like it was taking FOREVER.

Tornado still holding strong as we entered the city of Watertown with the water tower in the foreground.

Going through Watertown and frustrated at the time it is taking to get through as the tornado starts to lift west of town.

Progressed southwest of Watertown after the tornado lifted. The supercell was slowly building southeast and held onto a large mesocyclone but clearly lost a lot after producing that tornado. Was going to take a while for it to recycle.

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JUNE 28, 2025 SOUTH DAKOTA: GARY EF3 - TORNADO OF THE YEAR

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My son Gage’s video when the Gary tornado was at its closest point.

Look at these awesome kids. Jumped out of the car here to snag a photo of the funnel cloud on the left side of the wall cloud near Gary, South Dakota after the Clear Lake tornado. This was a completely different storm than what produced the Gary tornado.

The wall cloud on the storm between the Clear Lake and Gary, South Dakota tornadoes on June 28 of this year was a thing of beauty! This storm did produce a weak, short-lived tornado a short while later.

I loved this high intensity moment with the kids. We are in perfect position, following closely behind the rotation wall cloud with condensation fingers and met up on a 4 way stop with a few chaser friends, contemplating our next move. Such a great moment!

Gary tornado initially touching down was a beauty! The structure was impressive.

Easily one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. To have my kids take in this spectacle is the best ever.

A short while later as the tornado was exhibiting a start to a stovepipe shape.

The structure of this thing was seriously mind boggling and incredible. Very impressive.

The infamous squiggle with this tornado. The base of the condensation funnel got pinched off and danced around wildly during the vortex breakdown. Was incredible for those close to experience!

OMG seriously look at this structure and tornado. I am so fortunate to witness this. Just 1/2 mile south of the town of Gary where we have sat in the same spot for nearly 30 minutes.

Stovepipe starting to drill in here. JUST GRINDING

The whole structure is something to be appreciated.

This is a framed shot that I have in my house. Can’t get much better than this.

Beast mode as the tornado was entering its demise. Still extremely violent but about to take in the underkill.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

JUNE 26, 2025 MINNESOTA: I-90 WARM FRONT STORMS

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This was video from the day before from a brief tornado in relatively the same place near Ostrander, but wanted to post it here in this chase log.

Lowering west of Austin, MN on the storm that produced the tornado near Albert Lea a little earlier.

Storm to the north of Austin that was tornado warned at the time.

This was a pretty common view today. Ground scraping LCL's and low visibility. It was grungy out there!

Suspicious rotation and lowering that was condensing near Wyattville, MN.

This was the big time lowering that was rotating and condensing under the meso near Rushford. Very suspicious and wondering if it ever touched down. Notice the RFD surge of rain and hail coming around the south side at the time.

Gage enjoying the storm about to roll in near Houston, MN.

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JUNE 20, 2025 NORTH DAKOTA: 6 TORNADOES FROM A DISTANCE - NIGHTTIME ENDERLIN EF5

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The first storm blowing up right in our target area as we looked south from Jamestown, North Dakota.

Wall cloud tightening up and spinning hard as we got on I-94 in Jamestown and followed east.

Spinning action area of the tornado warned supercell just east of Jamestown near Bloom on 87th Avenue SE.

One of my biggest mistakes of my chasing career was leaving the storm that produced the Spiritwood tornado and realizing too late as we were already 10 miles south to intercept what I thought was a better supercell. Still was able to view the tornado. Timing is everything!

Another wider shot looking north at the Spiritwood tornado from a distance and sulking at the mistake. UGH

Second tornado that touched down on our southern supercell near Homer, North Dakota. What a beauty of a storm!

Incredible storm south of Homer! Absolutely jaw dropping structure.

I mean, seriously. How great is this twisted soda can structure. Storm was spinning like a top.

Big C Shape cut into the storm here as the RFD was attempting to bring another tornado to life with this awesome structured storm.

3rd tornado of the day briefly formed near Meadow Lake.

Our position near the third tornado of the day.

4th tornado soon after north of Litchville at 10:07 p.m.

5th tornado near Fort Ransom, North Dakota as we were bailing and navigating a path towards home at 10:22 p.m.

Our position relative to the radar and hook echo of the Fort Ransom tornado.

Here's what it's like trying to view a tornado in the distance from a raging supercell in North Dakota at 10:23 p.m. Open the photo and you can see the tornado down the road in the distance. I usually don't like chasing storms when it gets dark but this storm kept pulling me over to take a look as I was navigating the route home.

Another shot of the same tornado from above.

The supercell that went on to produce the Enderlin EF-5 tornado.

The Enderlin EF-5 tornado is visible here underneath the updraft on the right side in the distance. Wish we were closer but this was our vantage point from a distance as we continued to navigate home for the night!

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

JUNE 19, 2025 MINNESOTA: FUN LOCAL CHASE

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Severe warned supercell riding south along a warm front near Welch, Minnesota.

Base of the supercell and hail core in sight as we approached from the west near Red Wing, Minnesota.

Beautiful storm over the Mississippi River near Frontenac, Minnesota.

Supercell still looking good near Lake City, Minnesota. Notice the big lowering underneath the updraft at this point.

Interesting lowering here as we stopped of Hwy 61 near Reeds Landing, Minnesota. There was slow rotation and condensation into this feature as we watched from the north just after getting hailed on with nickels.

Lightning illuminating the storm southwest near Kellogg, Minnesota.

One last shot for the evening.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

JUNE 15, 2025 MONTANA: FIRST MONTANA STORM CHASE!

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Tornado warned storm looking north from near Sumatra, Montana. Big time stout lowering in there and very well could have been a tornado. I would have driven north on this dirt road but it was a marked private and no trespassing ranch road :-(

Nicely structured supercell with cow catcher shelf cloud on the leading edge. Inflow bands feeding southwest to northeast into the storm.

Wall cloud reforming on the leading edge of the storm as we watched from well to the south. Really wish we had a public road to get north and take a look at what is in there!

We tried going north out of Vananda, Montana but had cows galore blocking the road. Decided to turn around and head back east on our main road. Family with me really enjoyed this moment ha ha.

Taking pictures of the cows instead of the storm :-)

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

JUNE 14, 2025 WYOMING: HIGH BASED SEVERE STORMS

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Thunderstorms developing late in the day near Wright, Wyoming.

Small lowering developing on the storm now as it continues to strengthen and move out into better air towards us.

My beautiful daughter enjoying the storm while exploring and picking flowers and dandelions.

A couple of bases on strong thunderstorms southwest of Gillette, Wyoming. Beautiful wide open country out here.

Severe thunderstorm over Gillette, Wyoming as we approached from south of town. Ragged updraft base but intensifying.

Storm gusting out and turbulent skies just to the north of Gillette, Wyoming. Still severe-warned.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

MAY 28, 2025 OKLAHOMA: MOTHERSHIP IN ALL ITS GLORY

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After attempting to chase messy storms in southwest Kansas, we bailed to a tornado warned storm near Beaver, Oklahoma. Great structure when we were finally able to get southwest of the storm and get a view.

iPhone pano of the storm as it was barreling at us and left to right.

Got head of the storm a bit more here to view the incredible structure and stacked plates above the shelf cloud near Slapout, Oklahoma.

Here it comes! Getting close as Silver Lining Tours guests watch in awe and eager anticipation.

Looking back to the northwest as the tornado warned storm is about to overtake us.

Pano from the iPhone. WHAT A MOTHERSHIP!!

Mr. Pickle, our stormchasing mascot, needed a shelfie.

Got back ahead a bit more for our last look of the day at this awesome storm. Still holding on to great structure with a stout inflow beaver tail feeding into the base.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

MAY 25, 2025 TEXAS: BRIEF TORNADO & SUPERCELL STRUCTURE

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Supercell exploding and starting to get going near Floydada, Texas. Rotation in the base already.

Base under the hook echo swinging around the south end of the storm.

Nice long-lived shear funnel.

Beautiful structure on this storm! Became tornado warned here with wrapping up base and long inflow tail cloud.

Storm slowly getting its act together and broad rotation.

Broad mesocyclone with lowering on the right side near the core. Another rain core is wrapping around the south side of the hook.

Cigar shaped funnel cloud forming near Afton, Texas.

We have a tornado! Confirmed to have touched down near Afton, Texas. Awesome structure too.

The tornado lifted and we were left with a beautiful storm and stout wall cloud while Silver Lining Tours guests enjoyed the amazing view.

Electrified storm near Rule, Texas.

What a great looking supercell at the end of our chase day! Still sparking like crazy.

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MAY 23, 2025 COLORADO: STORM STRUCTURE OF THE YEAR!

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Storm just getting going near Kit Carson, Colorado.

Beautiful storm exploding right in front of us. Very strong updraft and solid base forming.

This storm just had the look like it was going to do something special.

Incredible structure. Love the oil pump in the foreground and the wide open spaces.

And it gets even better at sunset!

Holy crap! What an amazing supercell. Really hard to be able to top that structure and lighting.

Getting pretty dark here after sunset while the storm is holding onto terrific structure.

Lightning starting to really spark after sunset, indicating the storm still had a lot left in the tank.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

MAY 22, 2025 TEXAS: SUPERCELL STORM STRUCTURE

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Storm with large lowering near Archer City, Texas. Outflow to the left with the RFD, and inflow to the right with new developing wall cloud tucked in right next to the core.

Storm now organizing and pulling in focused moisture as evident with the organized inflow tail from right to left into the rotating action area.

Another shot, similar to the last one of the storm structure and inflow tail.

Supercell storm moving right towards us with organizing wall cloud and scud fingers rising up into the action area.

Bailed the Archer City storm and went towards other storms forming closer to the triple point near Crowell, Texas. Unfortunately, these storms were immediately outflow dominant but did produce some good structure and striking shelf clouds.

My favorite photo of the day of a shelf cloud as we raced north and east to try and get ahead of the storms as we made our way back to Oklahoma City. I believe this would be near Quanah, Texas.

Stopping for a gas stop and bathroom break for the tour as the storm was bearing down on us.

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MAY 18, 2025 OKLAHOMA: THE ARNETT EF-3 TORNADO

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Storm updraft exploding looking west towards the Ellis County Wildlife Management Area in western Oklahoma near the Texas border.

First tornado of the day looking southwest towards Dreyfoos, Texas. This was an EF-1 and was on the ground for 1.8 miles.

Now we have two tornadoes! The one on the right never officially made it into the tornado database but was confirmed by other chasers that were closer to have briefly touched down.

Closer view of the second tornado that briefly touched down right as the first one dissipated to the south.

Love the zoomed out view of the structure with the tornado in the distance.

Talk about a merry go round! This fast rotating wall cloud went right over us and moved on to the northeast, eventually spawning the Arnett tornado a short time later.

Wall cloud sure looked like it was ready to drop one here with condensation fingers rotating around the action area. Thought it was going to drop one right in front of us but it waited a bit longer to do so.

Here we are trying to blast north behind the tornado as we could only get glimpses of it through the rain, which led to a great rainbow/tornado shot.

Emerging from the rain and THERE IT IS IN ALL ITS GLORY!

Spectacular structure of the entire mesocyclone with RFD cut and beautiful tornado with hail streaks as we viewed from the northwest.

Closer shot of the tornado with substantial debris cloud.

My favorite shot of the day of the entire mesocyclone and tornado.

This is a unique perspective as we were just west of Arnett. Wes Hyduke and I were blasting east to catch up to the tornado from behind before it roped out just before reaching the road ahead of us. This while getting pelted with golf ball size hail after we stopped to take a few photos from further back 🤪 Quite the intense experience!

Tornado #4 on the northern side of Arnett and about to rope out. Thankfully it barely missed the town!

This is what’s left of the supercell after producing all those tornadoes as it became LP and eventually shriveled up and died.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

MAY 16, 2025 MISSOURI: EF-3 AND EF-1 TORNADOES

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Tornado warned storm in the Mark Twain National Forest near Ellsinore, MO. Large, broad mesocyclone present.

Fell behind the storm and trying to catch up and get ahead as it remains tornado warned near Dexter, MO as we blasted east on highway 60. Explosive updraft that is tilted over and looking amazing.

Tornado! We were able to just get ahead in time and get through the town of Bertrand, MO to find a clearing to view the tornado, looking northwest. Thank you Roger Hill for texting me and letting me know there was a tornado occurring or we may have missed it! Tornado was on the ground for 16 miles.

Beautiful view of the tornado and storm structure. That is one stout inflow band on the right feeding this storm.

The rope-out of the tornado was spectacular!

Another tornado! This one was an EF1 that was closer than it looks near Benton, MO.

Beautiful contrast of this tornado as it meanders just south of town. It was on the ground for 1.3 miles. Thankfully did limited damage.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

AUGUST 5, 2024 MINNESOTA: EF-1 TORNADO NEAR ST. JAMES

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Storm really looking interesting right away as we got on it between Darfur and St. James, Minnesota. Great inflow of hot, humid air, wall cloud forming, clear slot, and great structure.

Tornado developing!

Beautiful EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 100 mph, width of 50 yards, and on the ground for 2.3 miles. Rotating mesocyclone and tornado. Textbook.

Tornado getting closer and coming right towards us.

Tornado really getting close here. Time to bail and get out of the way!

Gage enjoying the view as the storm continues to rotate but lost a lot of punch after producing the tornado. Going to take time to recycle.

Beautiful storm structure near Truman, Minnesota. Last look at the storm for the day before we decided to call it off and head home.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

JUNE 22, 2024 IOWA: TORNADO WARNED STORMS AND FUNNELS

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Storm near Ackley, Iowa ingesting hot and humid air. Decent looking base here with inflow tail on the right side that looks like a funnel but is not. Intense core on the right as well.

Ragged wall cloud at the same position as the last photo. Not much movement or rotation with this feature.

Tornado warned storm and rotating wall cloud!

The kids throwing rocks at the storm, taking photos, and enjoying the scene :-)

Weak unattached lowering here so nothing threatening, but still some decent structure with this storm.

Still has a lowering but starting to look like it's gusting out with a hybrid shelf.

Funnel cloud as the storm to the south was about to merge with ours near Petersburg, Iowa. Did not see it touch down and the funnel was weakly rotating.

Love this shot at the end of the day near New Vienna, Iowa. Clearly have a rotating supercell!

Shelf cloud as we were heading home near Garnavillo, Iowa.

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JUNE 15, 2024 NEBRASKA: KALAMAZOO TORNADO

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Initial storm going up near Brunswick, Nebraska with strong core.

Storm with a lowering on the south side with several needle funnels being produced as we watched from the west near Neligh, Nebraska. Not a normal position to watch a storm but this was a unique day where the action areas were on the far southern portions of the storm and made for easy, safe viewing.

Big time rotating wall cloud right in our faces. Thought for sure this was going to produce a tornado near Petersburg, Nebraska.

Funnel cloud near Closter, Nebraska on the southern edge of a line of storms.

Another funnel cloud as we waited southwest of Emerick, Nebraska. Notice the storm in the distance too which ended up being the storm that produced our tornado.

Gage is loving the scene and funnel right behind him!

Wall cloud rotating hard west of Kalamazoo, Nebraska. About to produce a tornado.

Tornado occurring near Kalamazoo, Nebraska!

Emerging from obstructed view to see the tornado.

One of the last shots of the day with lightning and a rainbow.

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STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS:

MAY 23, 2024 OKLAHOMA: ONE OF THE TORNADOES OF THE YEAR

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Storm starting to intensify with some decent structure near Dodson, Texas.

Storm looking better! Forming a wall cloud on the right side of the base.

Funnel looking thing here as it was twisting and turning, condensing up into the base. Thought it might actually produce here but it did not.

Beautiful structure on this storm as it moves into far southwest Oklahoma.

This was the supercell before it became tornado warned northwest of Eldorado, Oklahoma. Twisting and turning storm, good inflow, and a lowering embedded in there.

TORNADO! Watching from the intersection of Hwy 6 and Hwy 34 with many other chasers.

EF2 tornado moving to our north across Hwy 34 with the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) taking good measurements from our position.

Barrel tornado continuing to the northeast of our position as we watched and about to bail east to stay with it. This was one of the last views we got before the tornado eventually rain-wrapped and lifted. What a last day of the tour!

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MAY 21, 2024 IOWA: TORNADO OUTBREAK - 4 TORNADOES

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First tornado of the day touching down near Red Oak, Iowa.

Another zoomed in view where you can see the debris cloud.

Second tornado touching down west of Corning, Iowa and heading right for us. Love the wrapped up look of the mesocyclone with a big bowl lowering and tornado.

Tornado still down and was a multiple vortex heading right for us at 60 mph. We had to get out of there fast shortly after I took this photo!

Third tornado occurring to the northeast of Corning, Iowa.

Debris cloud on the tornado as it was rapidly moving right to left in this image and about to cross the road to our east.

This is what we call a “dead man walking”. Multiple vortices like these typically will indicate a strong, possibly violent tornado is about to occur.

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