April 27

Mixed feelings of frustration and anticipation on the evening of April 26 after busting hard in KC after my forecast fail and team's abandonment of our plan caused us to miss all supercells of the day. Nerves were also there though as I knew my Dad and I would be in for my biggest chase day up until that point the next day; a large 10% hatched risk for significant tornadoes over the Plains and Midwest, including my hometown.

PDS TOR HRRR sounding for northern Missouri on the morning of the 27th, forecasted for the afternoon.

My "spaghetti" forecast sheet on the morning of the 27th analyzing the event setup. After being on the fence about whether to go to southeast Kansas or northern Missouri, I opt for the Missouri target.

Holding our position in Savannah, Missouri as we wait for a maturing tornadic supercell to cross the Missouri River.

Radar presentation of the storm at : pm.

I take to Facebook live to warn people near the storm, as well as in Kansas and Oklahoma to warn people ahead of what looks to be a big outbreak day.

Dark grey sky looking west to the tornado-warned storm just off of I-29.

Massive positive lightning strike hits close on the other side of the trees.

Radar presentation of the supercell at : pm as a cone tornado moves through White Cloud, Kansas.

Scared motorists attempting to shelter under an overpast amidst the tornado warning.

Wicked barrage of positive lightning strikes ensues after exiting I-29 as the supercell strengthens.

Dad and I are fighting to stay east of the storm, but are hindered by a river blocking east options. We look for detours and stop at Squirrel Road, checking the condition of the road ahead, we proceed with caution.

Heart-pounding moment when we become stuck in mud after the once gravel road turns to mud. The EAS alarm sounds as the tornado warning is extended east. Checking the radar, I confirm that we are directly in the path of a tightening velocity couplet.

Struggling to crest the hill, Dad's driving expertise gains us progress, and hope. Anxiety increases as I catch sight of the low wall cloud, and realize that whatever lies beyond this hill may decide our fate.

Thankfully, the road levels off and we emerge from the mud. We stop to get our bearings and find the nearest paved road and escape route.

View of the storm's elongated mesocylcone. This elongated and low-based nature made it much more difficult to find where the Rear Flank Downdraft was and where a tornado would drop.

Inflow tail cloud streaming into the supercell's wall cloud.

The storms mesocyclone overtakes us as we look or a way to escape. Thankfully the tornado was not on the ground at this moment.

Epic mesocyclone RFD occlusion just southeast of Maitland, Missouri after we travel north after waiting. This had me think a significant tornado was impending.

We pull over to wait for the now rain-wrapped circulation to pass north of out eastward route.

Velocity couplet of the supercell as we follow it east. As we prepare to pass through its path, I keep an eye out for damage in case it was on the ground and have my phone out ready to call 911.

The supercell over the hills as we play catch-up with it after the close call.

The shelf cloud of the supercell hangs low near the town of Stanberry, Missouri. 

Another storm chaser is seen near this gas station in Stanberry.

The southern edge of the RFD outflow boundary as we approach the storm. A confirmed tornado is on the ground hidden within the rain.

Radar-presentation of the supercell after up ticking and the tornado warning being reissued. 

Large funnel (the Gentry, Missouri EF1 tornado) can be seen entering its weakening stages after attempting to fully condense. Due to the low-contrast and confusing nature of this storm's mesocyclone, we did not notice the tornado until a minute or so after this freezeframe. This was my first tornado!

Tornado continues to weaken and lift as it pushes to the east.

Tornado continues to weaken and lift as it pushes to the east.

Storm Tracker 9 out of the KMBC9 station in Kansas City passes us, doing a 3-point turn and heading back south to find an east option. They arrived just minutes after the tornado dissipated.

Quarter-sized hail near Bethany, Missouri after a hailstorm from a separate severe storm.

NWS damage survey of the Gentry, Missouri EF1 tornado. The red lines mark out chase path near Albany, Missouri. This tornado would flip a trailer and cause minor damage to a home and heavily damage grain bins.