Tucson tornado

I-19 north of Sahuarita, near the mission today. Notice the RFD above. In my opinion it's a tornado and not a dust devil.

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[WickedTornado]

@cf104b Yessssss! Finally...someone else nailed it too! Great assessment.

[WickedTornado]

@chrisfiliano4 Not as rare as you think. I've been chasing the midwest for 25yrs, and live here in Az. Normally, my Az. chase area is from Tucson northward....utilizing Oracle Rd. northward, up to Oracle Junction, then northwest to Apache Junction. I have seen many funnel clouds, as well as real tornadoes...formed from mesocyclones...along this route. Normally, very late in the monsoon season (late sept.-oct.) as well as March-April are my most successful times.

[chrisfiliano4]

that is a dust devil,not a tornado because tornadoes are rare occourances in arizona.

[cdogg69ful]

i know tornados and i live in tucson domb a** thats not a tornado

[cape6000jkg]

This was not a tornado. It's a type of dust devil known as a gustnado. It is occurring on the outflow boundary and has no connection with the thunderstorm. It is also very small and weak, typical of dust devils. It is much closer to you than the cloud base in the background. Gustnado type dust devils are very common in Arizona.

[WickedTornado]

I remember several yrs. ago I was driving along I-10 from Vail to Tucson. On the side of the road was an area that was totally scoured of vegetation, with what did remain in a circular pattern. NO DOUBT what touched down there. Tornadoes in Az. are almost unpredictable. Our best month(s) is late Aug. thru Oct, when the monsoon is shutting down. We can get different upper and mid level winds interacting on still decent moisture in the air. I've seen some wicked, wicked tornadic storms then here.

[WickedTornado]

@pinkybutterfly1234 Please see a previous post of mine for info on me. I was curious, have you seen any other tornadoes or even just legit funnel clouds in your area? The area around San Xavier Mission is somewhat of a "mini tornado alley" in so. Arizona. Same with the area I like to chase from Oracle Junction northwest to Apache Junction. I think both are wind shear zones. An old Illinois guy who lived in that area I just mentioned used to save photos of funnels / tornadoes he'd take for me.

[cootercat486]

WOW!!

[WickedTornado]

Great capture...I'm jealous! I live in far north Tucson, north of Tangerine rd. I'm a hard-core chaser who chases the midwest for a month each spring. I've chased Az. a ton too. Hard to bag naders in Az, but I have photo'd some. When was this?? Did you know that in '64 and in '74, tornadoes barely missed the Mission and killed people both times? There must be some kind of shear zone there, same as north of the Tortolita Mtns where I am. Seen several tornadic storms, some on the ground.

[henrifirstman]

Awesome