- 5 TORNADOES IN SOUTH DAKOTA TODAY
!!
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- What a day !!!
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- The best part is that it was my 40th
birthday today. I couldn't have asked for a more exciting birthday.
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- We witnessed 4 or 5 tornadoes today
in South Dakota today. We arrived on scene, just as the storm
became tornado warned. We watched a large white cone tornado
form to our north, we chased after is and were able to get very
close. So close that we were on the edge of the collar cloud
circulation. If we had gone even 50 feet closer, we would've
likely rolled the van in the hurricane force winds that were
right in front of us.
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- As we tried to get closer, we saw that
the road was blocked. The TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle, an
armored car with an IMAX camera inside) appeared to have taken
a direct hit from the tornado. Power poles were snapped and lying
across the road and electrical lines were down.
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- We back tracked and took some dirt
roads to get east when we saw another tornado. This one was huge.
A massive, violent, dark wedge of a tornado that looked to be
at least a half mile wide was churning away. It passed just north
of the main road and the towns nearby.
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- After is dissipated, we stopped on
the side of the road to photograph a nicely back lit stovepipe
tornado that changed shape into an elephant trunk and a sheathed
funnel. I was able to capture stable, tripoded HD footage of
this tornado as it spun to our west.
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- After a quick fuel stop, we saw yet
another tornado. This one didn't have much shape. It was a large,
bowl shaped multi-vortex tornado that was difficult to spot in
the wrapping curtains or rain.
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- As we continued east, the storm took
on an amazing structure, much like an approaching giant spacecraft.
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- This was my best chase day ever in
South Dakota and a wonderful way to celebrate my 40th birthday.
It was certainly a birthday I'll never forget.
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