{"id":2781,"date":"2010-06-08T10:55:10","date_gmt":"2010-06-08T16:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2010-06-08T11:22:45","modified_gmt":"2010-06-08T17:22:45","slug":"storm-chase-2010-wraps-up-chasers-experience-it-all-from-sunsets-to-tornadoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/colorado-weather\/storm-chase-2010-wraps-up-chasers-experience-it-all-from-sunsets-to-tornadoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Storm Chase 2010 wraps up – Chasers experience it all from sunsets to tornadoes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Memorial Day tornado in Baca County, Colorado near Campo was the highlight of a week of storm chasing but it wasn\u2019t the only exciting thing to happen. (Tony Hake \/ ThorntonWeather.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We have said before that storm chasing is as much an art as a science and it can very much be feast or famine.\u00a0 Both extremes were seen over the course of a week of storm chasing on the Great Plains by ThorntonWeather.com.<\/p>\n

We hope our site visitors were checking out the Storm Chase 2010 Examiner<\/strong><\/a> where we were documenting our chase across America\u2019s heartland.\u00a0 With stories, photos and video, the entire incredible week has been described in detail.<\/p>\n

Two \u2018busted\u2019 storm chase days started out the week \u2013 one with a round trip from Denver to Nebraska<\/a> and another one-way to Amarillo, Texas<\/a>.\u00a0 Those certainly fulfilled the \u2018famine\u2019 part of storm chasing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The third day however brought a \u2018feast\u2019 in the form of a bounty of five tornadoes in one day<\/a>.\u00a0 Chasing storms in southeastern Colorado, ThorntonWeather.com witnessed the entire gamut of severe weather from drenching rain and damaging hail to gale force winds and of course tornadoes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first tornado of that day near Pritchett, Colorado<\/a> allowed chasers to witness the complete tornado genesis.\u00a0 As massive amounts of air were sucked into a storm cell and the clouds swirled menacingly above, a small funnel cloud soon grew into a powerful tornado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two other tornadoes and an incredible hail storm on the virtually barren ranchland followed.\u00a0 The main event was yet to come however.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About eight miles south of Campo, Colorado, a massive supercell seemed poised to generate a tornado.\u00a0 Chasers waited anxiously as the sky grew darker on the plains.\u00a0 A funnel cloud formed and was cheered on as it grew closer to the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before long the tornado was on the ground moving at a leisurely 10 mph \u2013 its slow pace allowing for plenty of time to capture amazing photos and video of the event.\u00a0 The Baca County tornado would draw national media attention<\/a> and will possibly go down as the most picturesque of all twisters during the 2010 tornado season.<\/p>\n

While the Memorial Day tornadoes would be the last seen during the week, they were not the last extraordinary weather event witnessed by the storm chasers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Storm<\/a>
Storm Chase 2010 intercepted a flying saucer over western Kansas at the end of a very long chase day. (Tony Hake \/ ThorntonWeather.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two days after the southeastern Colorado tornadoes, chasers witnessed an extraordinary \u2018mothership\u2019 supercell near Goodland, Kansas<\/a>.\u00a0 The sight of the \u2018flying saucer\u2019 slowly moving across the Kansas wheat fields was extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Central Nebraska proved to be the backdrop for another day of weather beauty.\u00a0 Waiting patiently at a small town gas station, multiple super cells moved across the area and chasers were on the move.\u00a0 From highways to dirt roads, the chasers saw the storms generate amazing shelf clouds and funnel clouds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the end, the group of storm chasers covered over 2,500 miles across five states.\u00a0 They witnessed many funnel clouds and amazing storm structures and of course five tornadoes, two of which were at close range.\u00a0 For many it was truly a once in a lifetime experience that allowed them to see Mother Nature\u2019s fury up close and personal.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Complete stories, photos and video\u00a0from Storm Chase 2010:<\/strong><\/p>\n