2007 JUNE 6: BADLANDS, SOUTH DAKOTA TORNADO

Tornado near Kyle, South Dakota June 6, 2007 at 2130z (tornado one inch right of pole on left)

Eric and I observed the Badlands tornado for the last ten minutes or so of its lifespan. We observed it from about 10e of Martin, SD on SR 18 when the tornado was between Porcupine and Kyle. Others have reported this tornado lasted more than thirty minutes. Robert Hall and Tony Laubach chased with us this afternoon also. We were surprised at the init location and rapid maturation of the storm into a tornado producer, as well as how quickly the precip blob behind it ruined the show. Almost more interesting than the tornado was the large, long-lived gustnado we observed on Highway 44 1m wsw of White River, which tore branches from trees and blew into a small valley, carrying a vortex of small debris into the community of White River itself where the gustnado intensified into a tall column of swirling gray dust. Had we located a circulation overhead, might have a taxonomy question, but we observed no evidence that this was anything but a stout little whirl along the leading edge.

All imagery © 2007 Amos Magliocco