Chase Log: August 09th, 1999

Click on any of the SPC products below (Convective Outlooks, Watches, or MCDs) to see the SPC's "Severe Thunderstorm Events" page pertaining to this event.

MAP

Total Distance: 350 miles
Target Area: Mankato, MN
Chase Area: St. Peter to Waterville to Pine Island, MN
Maximum SPC Risk category: Moderate
Watches:
Mesoscale Discussions (MCDs):

Matt and my first real chase. We decided to head out around noon, targeting the Mankato area. As we neared Mankato going southbound on SH 169, we decided to stop at the local Best Buy and see if we could get television coverage via the Weather Channel. We were in Best Buy maybe ten minutes when my weather radio went off and we got word of the first tornado warning for Nicollet County, which was just to our north. We busted north on 169 through St. Peter and headed east on Hwy 99. As we crested the hill of the Minnesota river valley, in plain site, a tornado appeared on the left side of the road. WOO-HOO! OUR FIRST TORNADO! Feeling the rush of seeing our first tornado, we scrambled as we tried to get in the best position. Because of the relatively flat terrain, we were able to get very good video of the tornado. We got off Hwy 99 in attempt to get closer to the rotation, at which time we stopped again to watch this beautiful thing. Eventually, the tornado roped out, but we continued to follow the supercell eastward. We temporarily lost site of the storm as we tried to meander around a local lake and forest. We stopped again and filmed a nice funnel cloud, which had very nice rotation. As we approached the town of Morristown, a funnel cloud formed and dropped to ground. This was to be our second tornado of the day. This tornado did appear much better organized and slightly larger (at the cloud base at least) than the previous tornado between St. Peter and Le Sueur. After stopping to film the tornado, we continued east as the tornado started to dissipate and the circulation loosened. My memory gets slightly foggy past this part of the mere adrenaline of the time was sky-high. The setting sun and the backside of the storm provided an incredibly colorful and beautiful picture, although neither of us had a still camera available to take pictures of it. At any rate, we continued following the storm and continued hearing reports of low-level circulation. West of Rochester, we did stop and filmed what may be 3 weak tornadoes occurring at the same time. Because of the poor contrast from the decreasing amount of sunshine, this is a little shaky. While there was no official word of a tornado in the area, I stick by the video showing three seperate tornadoes on the ground at the same time (well, two tornadoes and one funnel cloud). We decided to call it a day as we neared Hwy 52 northwest of Rochester as night fell. Not only is this the most successful chase to this day, but it is also likely the one that I will always remember.