Tornados near Scottsville and Jamestown, Ks

May 29, 2004

Note:  Some photos may be contrast enhanced.  No photos are altered in any other way.

16:21:31 CDT - Looking WSW from Dave Doering's driveway (toward Bohemian Hall).  The anvil topped supercell was spawning tornados, large hail, high winds in the Glen Elder area when this photo was taken.  After watching from this point for 30 minutes, I decided that Ottawa County was not in any danger from this storm, so I headed for Beloit.

17:45:42 CDT - When I finally caught up with the southwestern most part of the storm, I was approximately 3 miles west of Scottsville on the Blacktop road, looking NNE.  This cloud feature caught my attention.  This was the area of the storm that was prompting warnings in Northern Mitchell county.  This looks to me like the beginning of a rotating wall cloud, and it is slightly more than a mile away.

17:46:30 CDT - Same location as above.  Still looks like a wall cloud, about 1.5 miles away.  The cloud is moving away, to the east, so after taking this picture I drove about a mile east to catch up with it.

17:48:39 CDT - Things sure change fast in 3 minutes.  At the time I took this photo, I did not realize that I was looking at a tornado on the ground and causing damage.  It is approx. 1.2 miles north of me, or 2 miles west of Scottsville.

17:49:37 CDT - A minute later, I still thought this was just a rotating wall cloud.  I was not able to see debris circulation, which makes me realize how close you have to be to get a good look at a small tornado.

17:49:43 CDT - 6 seconds later, facing more north-east.  This area of the storm seemed to be rotating separately from the area just to the left.

17:50:36 CDT - Wall Cloud moving ENE - about 2 miles away from me at this point.

17:52:56 CDT - I drove about a mile farther east, and woah!!  Here is a nice classic shaped tornado!  The Scottsville grain elevator is visible on the right side.  This tornado was on the ground about a mile north of town.  I have been storm spotting for 15 years.  I have seen wall clouds and funnels, but this is the first tornado that I have seen.

17:53:16 CDT - A close-up showing the debris circulation.  This tornado lasted about 2 minutes and then dissipated.  I jumped in the truck and tried to catch up with the wall cloud.

18:00:05 CDT - This is the same wall cloud that spawned the tornado(s) above.  I can't recall exactly where I was when I took this.  Somewhere really close to Scottsville.  (Note to self:  Learn how to use the voice-notes feature on the camera!)

18:01:28 CDT - I looked up and saw this.  This was a funnel cloud located away from the wall cloud and rotating clockwise.  This is looking up at a 45 degree angle, and a good reminder to be careful near storms.  This funnel dissipated rapidly.  Good thing, since it was only a half-mile away.   I watched and waited for a couple of minutes.  Everything seemed calm here, so I jumped in the truck and headed north of Scottsville.

18:07:01 CDT - Second Tornado!  This one spawned about two miles south of the wall cloud.  This one was rotating clockwise.  This was taken looking southeast, about 2 miles north of Scottsville, and 1 mile east.

18:07:18 CDT - 17 seconds later debris is seen.  This is about a mile away from me.

18:07:28 CDT - 10 seconds later.  A close-up of the funnel and debris circulation.  It looks like this one is over a wheat field.

18:08:06 CDT - Less than a minute later, this tornado starts to weaken.

18:10:48 CDT - Well, it was starting to weaken.  This is the same tornado, looking to the east now.

18:11:00 CDT - Same tornado

18:12:22 CDT - This tornado still on the ground, but probably over a wheat field.  Moments later it dissipated and I jumped in the truck to move in closer.

18:13:36 CDT - On my way east, I saw the damage that was caused from the earlier tornado at 17:52, about 20 minutes earlier.

18:13:51 CDT - Cleanup begins even while storms are only a mile away.

18:17:47 CDT - I'm watching this area of rotation, possibly a funnel cloud.

18:22:02 CDT - This photo taken about halfway between Jamestown and Scottsville, looking NE towards Jamestown.  You can see the grain elevator and water tower just to the right of the tree line. Two funnel clouds in the same photo!

18:22:42 CDT - This rope tornado hit the town of Jamestown, and move north and east.  This one was so interesting to watch that I lost track of the other one, but I think it dissipated seconds before this photo was taken.

18:22:56 CDT - Another photo of the Jamestown tornado.  This photo is Kim's favorite!  If I would have been a couple of miles closer it would have made a better photo.

18:24:38 CDT - A close-up of the funnel as it fades away.

18:55:25 CDT - Damage about a mile north of Jamestown, probably from the rope tornado pictured above.

18:55:41 CDT - Another view of the damage at this farm.

18:55:47 CDT - Damage at the same farm.  I could have taken damage photos until the flash card was full, but negotiating traffic and storms was taking most of my attention.

After finding my way around the damage path, I went through Courtland and then to Belleville.  I was usually to far away to see anything at this point, but I did see a couple of short-lived funnels.  I got to see enough for one day of storm chasing.

All photos taken by Justin Reed ©2004

Camera used - Minolta DiMAGE A1

ISO 100