After observing a rain-wrapped tornado crossing the Interstate near Hampton, we bailed E in the face of hail falling downshear from the “tail-end Charlie” storm in a nearly continuous line of supercells. That turned out to be the vault region for the mesocyclone that spawned this beauty. After watching it form nearby in the near view of our rear-view mirror, we zipped east a half mile or so, then pulled safely off I-80 to watch the tornado organize and move northward. The hectic part of the intercept over for the time being, we could admire the magnificently whirling column as it moved northward, its condensation cone growing downward as the dust tube rose in a translucent sheath to meet and cover the funnel. Meanwhile, the ambient cloud base assembled temporarily into remarkably straight, parallel rows.
3 NE Henderson NE (20 Jun 11) Looking NW
40.8214, -97.7932