CHASE PIC OF THE DAY

THE GROVE INTO THE STORM CHASE PIC OF THE DAY

Tuesday was a rip roaring chase day for the tswails team near Lawrence, Kansas.We intercepted a large tornado that was dangerous to chase due to the rain wrapped circulation. In the picture below you can see the right edge of the rotation, Within the milky white area is the actual tornado. This is known as the bears cage. Entering the cage will get you face to face with the tornado with no way out. A very risky and potentially deadly maneuver.

The only way to know the tornado is there is to use the velocity mode of the radar. You can see the inbound and outbound returns just south of Lawrence showing the couplet. We were about 1 mile southeast of the tornado watching the whole mesocyclone rapidly rotate. We were aware the tornado was on the ground and doing damge. A tornado emergency was in effect for the city of Lawrence.

From here the tornado moved east northeast where we watched it hammer the town of Linwood. After it passed we went to the Linwood area to help with the search and rescue. We found severe damage along with emergency and chain saw teams streaming into the area.

The damage survey teams will be in the area today to determine the strength of the tornado. Based on the damage we saw I would think that it was close to EF3...150 mph+ Fortunately nobody was killed and injuries were minor.

We did what we could to help and got to our room around midnight. We saw our tornado and then some. What a remarkable day it was. Roll weather...TS

Don't forget if you are up in the area of Anamosa, Monticello, and Cascade the Grove Bar and Grill in Scotch Grove is a supporter of Tswails. We encourage you to stop in, have a cold beverage and enjoy the tasty food!