Dwarfing the Elevator

The outer fringes of a supercell approach a grain elevator along Highway 141 just south of Hornick, Iowa around 6:35 PM, Saturday, April 9, 2011. Our storm chase team was speeding to get ahead of the cell and our route would take us through Mapleton, Iowa about ten minutes later. Following our departure from the then-undisturbed town, indications of rotation from radar on our laptops brought us back southeast of the area about a half-hour later to witness a twister on the ground there. The tornado caused widespread damage to the community but thankfully no fatalities.