Dusty tornadoes at Eldora, Iowa — Travis Farncombe

Published on April 14, 2026

Unlike our supercell on Monday, Tuesday’s storm did not take much time at all to crank up and become tornado. From our position north of Whitten, we watched RFD wrap the updraft into a blocky lowering with broad but fast rotation. A broad circulation with dust whirls soon indicated we had a tornado on the ground.

After the first tornado gusted out, we repositioned north for a view as it spun up a second tornado on the east side of town. This tornado was a dusty column that lasted a few minutes as it passed through fields and a cemetery outside Eldora.

Travis Farncombe

I am the founder Highways & Hailstones. I live with my family in Toronto, Ontario - about 2000 miles from Oklahoma City and the heart of Tornado Alley. Every spring and summer, I travel down there, to the American Midwest, to witness the most awe-inspiring weather on the planet.

The first time I chased was ten years ago; I signed up as a guest with a storm chase tour company, and joined that group for a week on the plains. I saw my first tornado on that trip. It was a silhouette on a dark Kansas night, betrayed by strobes of lightning flickering in the distance. While the rest of the tour guides and group scanned the storm to the south, a lingering flash drew my glance to the north, and there, unmistakable, was a backlit cone. It was serendipity. I yelled cone tornado!, and a storm chaser was born.

After chasing for a few years as a guest with Silver Lining Tours, I gradually began to spread my wings and chase on my own, having learned enough from Roger Hill and other veterans to chase safely and responsibly. I became a guide with SLT in 2015. Now, I am a certified spotter and chase locally in Southern Ontario, as well as down in Tornado Alley. I am always meeting new people, always learning, and always humbled by the power of nature.

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