Seldom do we witness a tornado whose visible part truly looks like a funnel: fat at the top, tapering rapidly to a narrow cone at the bottom. By now a firmly-planted, “no doubt” tornado, air from the occlusion downdraft already was wrapping most (if not all) the way around the vortex, even this early in its lifespan. Notice the lighter areas around the upper, fatter portion of the condensation funnel where drier, subsiding air seems to be carving a moat through the surrounding cloud base. I was concerned that this tornado was about to dissipate. Given that it wasn’t hitting anything but grass, threatening nothing but grasshoppers and perhaps a prairie dog or two, I wasn’t ready for the show to end…and it didn’t yet!
12 E Chugwater WY (20 Jun 10), Looking WSW
41.7405, -104.595