The ’98 Dover tornado, about to dissipate four miles to my east-southeast, was shredding and uprooting trees along US-81 at the time of the photo. The diffuse grayish-pink area to is near right was made of veils of rain circling the mesocyclone, aglow in the cloud-muted pastels of early-stage sunset light. For most of the tornado’s lifespan, the supercell also forced good precipitation–updraft separation; rain began over my location at about the time of this shot, for the first time since tornadogenesis. This event was part of the largest known October tornado outbreak in the U.S. at the time, with 28 confirmed over Oklahoma and eastern Kansas. A classic Okie tornado this was, from start to finish…in autumn!
5 WSW Dover OK (4 Oct 98) Looking ESE
35.971, -97.9938