23 June 2023
Limon, CO to Sidney, NE
Well, it looked like Tour 7 was really going to luck out with severe weather expected for one more day but the following days looked quiet.
We met up at ten and Bill noted a storm that looked to initiate near Cheyenne, Wyoming, and then move east into Nebraska. All the characteristics for a tornado were ticked off.
We headed north, making a quick stop for lunch at Kimball before heading to Las Grange and Route 313 near Chugwater. We didn’t quite get to the town, pulling off in a field that gave us a great view of the approaching storm by mid-afternoon.
We left and started what would be close to a six hour chase.
The storm was definitely rotating and Bill was certain it simply could not not produce a tornado. A couple minutes after leaving this spot, a tornado was spotted to our right. It didn’t last long but I caught it through the window.
The number of chasers on the road exploded exponentially from there, at times making it hard to get on the road after pulling off.
Not long after we pulled into one road, we got another tornado.
This one lasted about ten minutes.
And crossed the road we were on before dissipating.
From here, Bill decided to get down off the mesa to the vast plain below. Most of the chasers stayed above and we got ahead of most of them.
We pulled off on the plain below, and within a few minutes, got another tornado.
We headed for Scottsbluff and were chased off one side road by the owner and then stood on the edge of a cornfield, careful not to step on the young plants while another tornado passed to our right behind a mesa.
Scottsbluff reported some damage.
We continued east as it got close to sundown and pulled over on a back road to watch the sun go down, hoping for a lightning show.
While we were there, yet another tornado emerged from the rain.
We headed south and made a brief stop to watch the lightning where one tourmate caught what may have been yet another tornado on his video.
What an epic way to finish the tour!
This was the track of the storms that day.
Our hotel for the night was the Motel 6 in Sidney, Nebraska.
It was an uneventful return to Denver the next day. We had breakfast at Grandma Jo’s in Sidney and stopped in Brush to have our tour photo taken. I flew out of Denver the next day with no issues.
Bill Reid’s entry for 23 June.
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