June 11, 2004 - Boone County IA - Tornado
 

 
Chase Account by: Jonathan Garner

Brian Thalken and myself took the grand tour of northern IA and southern MN today. We intercepted our first supercell just west of Mason City, IA at 4:15pm, and followed this cell north into southern MN. During this time, a second supercell developed 20 miles to the east. It had a strong updraft tower and was relatively isolated at the time, so we quickly repositioned toward its base. However, by 5:30, the cell was overtaken by outflow from another storm, which resulted in a beautiful whales mouth. At this time, we believed the chase might be over, so we ate at a subway, and then drove back south into IA. As we approached Ft. Dodge, IA, tornado warnings were being issued for a supercell to our west. This storm had great structure, so we blasted west and stopped at Blainsburg, IA to get some structure shots. The storm then appeared to weaken during the next 30 minutes, so we began to head south toward I-80. However, we could see a lowered base off to the west, backlit by the setting sun. We decided to give the storm one more chance, and as we approached the base, a cone shaped lowering emerged, and tightened up into skinny funnel, which was reaching for the ground. We drove through an area of precip, and then parked 1/4th-1/2 mile east of the tornado. It was not a strong tornado, but since we were so close to it, we got great video and still-photos...not a bad way to save what was initially a rather frustrating chase.