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Keith and I spotted Bill and Cheryl parked in town. We were greeted by sweet, rain-cooled air and two weary but happy chasers. We found a restaurant still open and serving steak, the symbolic prize for a successful chase.
A steak dinner was well-deserved by this chase team. Our intercept had begun hundreds of miles earlier. We had thwarted all the obstacles and met all the challenges Mother Nature could muster. Analysis, more analysis, hope, trust, perseverance and teamwork led us to that little fragment of Tornado Alley at Spencer, South Dakota. We had found the needle in the haystack. And, I was able to capture possibly the first violent tornado on 35 mm film. All was well.
Still, our journey was not complete. A television at the restaurant was tuned into a Sioux Falls station broadcasting live from Spencer. We grew silent as news indicated that the tiny community had been destroyed. Reports said that several had died and dozens were left hurting. Our logistical victory was now a human tragedy as well.
Keith and I were greeted by sunny skies, and cool, blustery north winds as we arrived in Spencer early the next morning. Highway 38 was busy on the south side of town as a media camp had been established. All roads to Spencer were blocked by order of the McCook County Sheriff. Large trees were stripped clean of branches and leaves, a farmer placed dead cattle into a truck using a front end loader. The sounds of earth-moving equipment drifted in the wind. We saw a car in a tree, farmsteads destroyed, a toppled grain elevator, and what looked like a bombed-out town. We measured the tornadoes path at .8 mile wide at Highway 38. Northwest of town, we estimated damage along an east-west section road at 1.5 miles long. The damage was incredible.
As storm chasers, we live two lives, one as scientists, the other as humans. As scientists, we concentrate on the physics and the logistics. We are excited and awed by the power of nature. Violent storms and tornadoes are beautiful to us. Sometimes we forget, if only briefly, that to many others violent weather is a curse. Spencer was destroyed by nature. Simply put, an amazing amount of atmospheric energy came together there for a moment. It was haphazard. Unlike man, weather does not kill by intent.
Tornadoes are difficult to forecast. Each time we find the needle in the haystack, we take a step. Sometimes, it's a step back, as nature shows us how little we really know. But, over time, perseverance will move us forward and closer to fully understanding tornadoes. The more we know the more we can help humankind.
Photo copyright Martin Lisius.
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