Before it got really large, this young and already-stout tornado ground away fiercely on just a few square miles of Kansas prairie, meandering slowly this way and that for well over half an hour, as if a caged but enraged beast. In the process, its condensation cloud underwent numerous shape changes, in and out of heavy precipitation. The lack of storm movement allowed time for plenty of simple appreciation and admiration, in addition to photography and calling in periodic status updates to the NWS. “Yes, the tornado is still there at about the same location, hasn’t moved much, at least half a mile wide at times, really organized and intense-looking circulation, unlikely to go away anytime soon given how well-balanced this whole process is…“. Elements of the tail cloud at right raced inward then upward into the mesocyclone’s circulation with an astonishing speed exceeded only by those in the tornado cloud itself.
1 NW Bennington KS (28 May 13) Looking W
39.0409, -97.6126