We had driven down from the north and turned east, ahead of a supercell with a long-lived tornado that was reported to be crossing I-40 near El Reno. From a position SW of Piedmont, we waited patiently for its approach. A somewhat rain-wrapped tornado pair gradually became visible immersed inside the hazy murk to our southwest, merging, then expanding quickly into a dust-flinging barrel shape, then a bonafide wedge. Observers in the El Reno area had a difficult time even seeing the tornado(es). Still, from here, the resulting singular brute appeared to shed much of its moat of rain…all while growing in size and drawing closer. As it did, we had no doubt whatsoever of this circulation’s top-caliber violence and potential for great destruction, and were not surprised to learn later of its EF5 rating. The writhing, pulsating, fast-moving, audibly roaring, increasingly bloated monster of a tornado made for difficult photography, thanks to: 1) its tendency to wrap in rain except for this brief, high-contrast interval; 2) the deep darkness of the storm that forced long exposures at high ISO; and 3) the tremendous speeds of cloud movements that still made it hard to avoid blurring. The massive tornado would rumble for 30 more miles, wrapping deeply in rain, but not before growing even larger with a satellite vortex!
4 WSW Piedmont OK (24 May 11) Looking WSW
35.6213, -97.8159