Tornadic Supercell Drive Thru 8/4/2008

*Disclaimer*
IN NO WAY DO I CONSIDER MYSELF A STORMCHASER, METEROROLOGIST, ETC... OR SUPPORT / CONDONE STROM CHASING BY ANYONE OTHER THAN PROFESSIONALS!!!!

This video was filmed approximately five miles south of Yorkville, Illinois while northbound on Route 47. I was simply moving back home from college when this supercell decided to make my drive a bit more interesting. I have always been fascinated by weather and have had enough background and formal instruction on the basics of severe weather and tornado formation to know that this thing was minutes away from becoming a tornado and that I needed to get to safety. I didn't have access to any weather reports, but my senses told me that the ingredients were there for a nasty storm: it was a 93 degree day with a veeeeery high dewpoint temperature and a lot of upper level wind sheer (which I had checked earlier in the day before heading out). I figured that this was inevitable and I was surprised that it took that long to see one. Thank God for late-afternoon cooling.

Watching it form was amazing. I was on the western edge of the storm by the time it had moved across the road. Temperatures had dropped to 77 degrees by the time I went through it and there was almost no rain (from the inflow, I believe). The funnel is hard to see because I was fighting the wind trying to keep the car on the road, call it in and film all at the same time. There was no phone service (which you can hear), so I didn't find out until afterward that my tornado touched down not minutes after I had passed through. After I turned the camera off I had to pull off the road and find shelter under a farmer's car port because the rain and hail were so bad. I was in my parent's Suburban, but if I were in my car and didn't have every personal belonging I own in the back, I would have stopped and filmed it.




This clip is cut short because I need a larger memory card.

Damn it.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Tornadic
• Supercell
• Severe
• Thunderstorm
• Tornado
• Funnel
• Cloud
• Yorkville
• Stormchaser
• Amateur
• Environment
• Weather
• Hazardous
• 8/4/08

[PYSTAZ]

omg wall clouds can sometimes be dangerous! but who cares! i don't i would love to do that well.. if my mom and dad let me! they are so afraid of me going in to a tornado infested area. and i believe you meant it WAS a wall cloud but then it changed to a supercell.

[Olds77421]

Actually, wall clouds are produced by a supercell's rotation; they are the base part of the storm from which a funnel cloud descends (FYI for next time). It already was a beast of a supercell and the rear flank downdraft was particularly nasty. It had 75+ mph winds and rain you could swim through. Also, this storm had some of the best and most vicious lightning I've seen in my life. Thank god there was no hail because it was my dad's car! Be safe, smart and keep chasing!

[Unkownwatcher]

Wow that was some fantastic video there and why don't you have phone service?

[Olds77421]

I didn't have phone service because the tower for the area was down from the storm.

Or my phone sucks... either or.

[MrMoo7999]

OMG that is fast!

[Soccergrl1515]

I would be running towards the nearest ditch!

[masterland52]

A bird got scared by the supercell and shitted on his car.

[horrorfreak474]

Are you in koutes filming a little past porter county fair grounds that highway?

[TheBonecrasher666]

man ho man thats pretty deep looking if i saw a funnel cloud i would be like shit and saw to my self why did go threw this again.

[storm095]

there was extreme instability that day with capes up to 7k

[DrFebreeze]

:22 whats on your windshield..?

[residentevl5]

nice camera view

[residentevl5]

id be saying more than just holy shit or cow. Id be like... HOLY MUTHA F****** SHIT!! I GOTTA TURN THIS F***ING CAR AROUND!!

[sonicreducer94]

this happened on the day I moved to Chicago.