A thick, densely rain-wrapped tornado from a rather high-based High Plains storm obviously can happen (here it is and here’s another from 8 years earlier!), but isn’t common in my experience. In the southeast and sometimes lower Plains, where smaller dewpoint depressions and less evaporative cooling happen, tornadoes can (and often do) generate within dense precip, and can last a long time. Typically, on the higher terrain, drier inflow air and higher ambient cloud bases away from the mesocyclone support stronger evaporative cooling, which can handicap tornado development and longevity via cold outflow, when a lot of precip is produced. Instead, this one formed within an already rain-encircling subcloud mesocyclone, either ignoring or perhaps even benefiting from the added moisture of the rain, and somehow, without enough cooling to stabilize the environment to degrees disfavoring tornadogenesis. We had a hard time seeing the tornado visually, except for this brief window of more-obvious form and a glance at the LCD screen containing this photo, together affirming the presence of a stout-looking tornado inside the “bear’s cage”. [Spotters: shoot photos, and use that LCD in real time! It really can help to reveal features and reduce uncertainty.] Despite the robust form, the tornado crossed grasslands and ranchland, and did not cause damage that would indicate its true intensity.
13 S Pritchett CO (29 May 21) Looking WSW
37.1487, -102.8511