TORNADOFEST near Strong City KS!! — Travis Farncombe

Published on April 19, 2023

Walton, KS 01:18 PM

Marion, KS 05:49 PM dust being kicked up

The first funnels / possible tornado(es) were slender needles that darted up and down beneath the amazing vault of the storm.

Matfield Green, KS 07:33 PM @NWSWichita large cone funnel

Matfield Green, KS 07:33 PM @NWSWichita @NWSTopeka #kswx

Tornado near Strong City #kswx shot from north of Matfield Green, KS early this evening. What a storm!!

You could not hope for a more classic representation of a full-scale supercell, complete with tornado.

Everything just seemed to come together on this chase. As the day unfolded, I was tempted by the warm front intersection up near Omaha, but I stuck to my instincts instead. I had liked a central or north central Kansas target for a few days, believing that this setup was a prime candidate for a tail-end Charlie storm on the triple point. We staged near Manhattan, then drove south as the triple point storm fired near Newton. A cluster of storms struggled for a few hours, and then the tail-end cell exploded into a tornadic machine. We saw several photogenic funnels and tornadoes, one of which was long-lived and tracked just north of town. This truly was a chase to remember!!!

A zoomed-in shot of the large cone tornado, complete with a debris cloud.

And a short video of the 🌪️ near Strong City #kswx earlier this evening. Faint debris cloud evident ⚡️

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.

Community Comments

Andrew Griffiths

Wow!

1y 1 like(s) Reply

Michael Ulch

Such a fun chase! Thanks for the amazing storm forecasting to catch this amazing supercell!

1y 1 like(s) Reply

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