My First Tornados

6/7/09 Chase # 3

Much to catch up on!...

Caught Tornado number 1 and 2 today. The unfortunate part of today was I didn’t have my regular camera with me or any other chasing gear. All I had was my phone; Thank you Verizon for your VZ Navigator coverage in Southern Arapahoe and North Western Elbert counties. I happened to be in the Aurora area when tornado number 1 touched down. Tornado sirens were blaring and the sky was very dark. I was so excited to see my very first tornado. With not really having a plan to storm chase today, I decided to give it my best effort and try to get just a little bit closer to this tornado and maybe be able to snag a couple pictures from my camera phone. I took what pictures I could and kept trying to get closer to this “tube”. I was also trying to stay out of the major hail core that was falling from the northern edge of the core. I made my way to Southland’s Mall where significant damage was strewn about. At this point I was observing that the storm was redeveloping to the south of my current position and looked to be re-intensifying. I headed south towards the Kiowa area as fast as I could to try to catch up with this re-development. Storm motion was almost due east and at a fairly fast pace. As soon as I got far enough south of the core I headed due east towards the base of the now-present wall cloud several miles east. Upon my travel eastward a funnel cloud formed and touched down making this Tornado number 2 near Deer Trail on I-70. This second tornado did not last long but long enough for a few pictures to tell the story. As the tornado development died off and continue to move eastward I decide to call it a day and make my way back home. This was a great chase day and bagged my first two tornados for the afternoon.

Chase Miles: 78.0