Rush Center – Minneapolis KS — Travis Farncombe

Published on May 1, 2018

This was a great first chase of 2018. SPC outlooked a moderate risk for north central Kansas, with a 10% hatch indicating the possibility of significant tornadoes. We started the day in Salina and planned to chase the triple point storm somewhere along the I70 corridor. According to forecast, a supercell developed by Jetmore and we intercepted it just northeast of there near Rush Center. It quickly became tornado warned as its structure became organized with obvious signs of rotation.

We chased the storm eastward on a great network of dirt roads that were dry and well-kept. The structure of the storm continued to improve, with a flat round base, cyclical wall clouds and a striated updraft. North of Albert, motion increased and a rotating wall cloud passed over the field just to our north. The colours were stunning.

However the storm began to struggle. It became very HP, inflow was cool and it was being choked off by a cluster of cells that began to crowd it. Normally I never advocate to leave a storm… but this one appeared to be suffering from conditions from which it just couldn’t overcome. We decided to blast south to a cell near St John. It would be a gross understatement to call this a mistake. The storm we left went on to produce a spectacular wedge tornado that we missed; the storm we went to was a weak but pretty LP supercell that fizzled soon after we got there.

As the sun set we headed back north to a cluster of supercells north of Salina. Backlit by flickering lightning, we caught a cone tornado near Bennington that briefly became a stovepipe before roping out and dissipating.

All in all, the day was a good one. While it’s always hard to miss a tornado – especially when I know better than to leave a storm (!!!) – it felt great to be back out on a storm day in the Plains!

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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