Getting An Early Start On The Season

Around midday on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, the SPC issued a Moderate Risk area, centered in north-central Illinois. By early afternoon the likelihood of a tornado watch for this area--which now included SE Iowa was discussed. Tornado Watch 42 was then issued at 3:00 pm, valid until 10:00 pm, which included parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. On February 28!

Although I got home from work about 3:15 pm, I procrastinated enough from watching the strength and track of a severe cell west of Iowa City, that I didn't get started on this chase until 3:30.

With the inevitable traffic issues, I was briefly held up before Interstate 380 from Boyson Road. The above image looks southwest from Boyson Road at Robins Road in Hiawatha, Iowa at 3:35 pm. The most intense part of the storm was located about 35 miles distant, about 5 miles NW of the town of Wellman. My intention at this moment was to travel down I-380 and catch the cell before it moved across it and too far east. It soon became obvious I was too late to accomplish this.

The new plan was to drive east and try to head it off, as its track was in a northeasterly direction. The quick change of plans took me east on US Highway 30. This image shows rain bands to the north at 4:15 pm as I was about 2.5 miles west of Stanwood, Iowa. My new plan would take me south on Highway 38, the turn being just east of Stanwood.

A field near Cummins Manufacturing in Tipton, Iowa provided this perspective of the severe cell--now tornadic--at 4:40 pm. The white-topped cloud in the background was located about 67 miles to the east, just NW of Sterling, Illinois. The turbulent area at right was 11 miles away, just north of Durant, Iowa. Temperature was 57 degrees F, dew point 54 degrees and relative humidity 88%. Nearby rivers contained banks of fog on their surfaces.

This radar image corresponds to the photograph above it, and includes my position (lower left) and the areas of intensity.

4:45 pm. On the road again southbound on Highway 38 just south of Tipton and looking east. This was a fast moving cell, and it had long since left me in its wake. I decided to connect with Interstate 80, then to I-380, and return home. But it was not over!

As I approached Iowa City from the east, a new storm appeared. The above image, looking west and located on I-380 just north of the I-80 interchange at 5:15 pm, shows a small but intense area sporting a layered lowering. In the background is Marengo Road.  At the North Liberty exit minutes later, this storm began to drop penny size hail. The large storm system on this day spawned over 20 tornadoes in several states. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.