My 2026 Storm Chase Summaries

[buckeye05]

I noticed sometimes people post chase summary threads on here, and since I’ve recently gotten back into chasing, I figured I’d do the same! Let me know what you think. There will probably be more after this.

June 1, 2026: Part 1

On June 1, 2026, I chased a Slight Risk setup with a 2% tornado risk in northeastern Colorado. This was my first chase in a long time following a multi-year hiatus. I met up with my chase partners and headed to Elizabeth to view a supercell going up near Castle Rock.


Shortly after arriving, the cell almost immediately dropped a distant rope shaped funnel, which reached about halfway to the ground before dissipating. It’s possible if not likely that this was a tornado, but no ground circulation was ever confirmed.



This storm also produced some really interesting mammatus that looked almost like a hand or a bear claw


The supercell started looking a little less robust so we dropped south to get on some newly developing storms coming off the Palmer Divide. We followed a very LP supercell near the town of Kiowa, which had a pretty cool little sculpted updraft base. It also produced quite a bit of CG lighting. However, it eventually began to weaken and we headed back north towards get back on the Castle Rock cell, which was rapidly organizing and re-intensifying as it headed east over the plains.

 

[buckeye05]

June 1, 2026: Part 2

As we approached the cell, it quickly tried to produce a tornado again, dropping a large, broad cone funnel from its cloud base near Bennett. The cone funnel tightened up into a small knobby funnel with what appeared to be a debris cloud underneath it. At the time, we thought this was a tornado. But pics taken by people closer to this feature indicated this was actually not a debris cloud, but a ground-hugging tiny scud cloud that condensed in a very convenient spot. This was not a tornado. It really had us fooled though.



We continued to near Deer Trail, where we watched the tornadogenisis process begin for a third time. This time, the storm dropped a well defined narrow white funnel. The funnel was small but very pretty, and it lasted at least two minutes. This was actually a weak tornado. While we couldn’t see it due to a small hill blocking our view of the farm field, another storm chaser on the other side photographed a small but unmistakable debris cloud underneath this funnel. A clear velocity couplet was visible on radar too. Unfortunately, this small tornado never garnered a “red dot” report on the SPC page, and was never officially documented or confirmed by the NWS.


After the tornado dissipated, the storm once again tried to produce, this time in the form of a large bowl shaped funnel. My more experienced chase partner said he’d seen many photogenic cone tornadoes begin with this look, and while I was pretty excited as I watched, it never tightened up enough to actually touch down. However, sometimes when I look at this photo I think I see a hint of dust, but I’m not sure.

 

[buckeye05]

June 1, 2026: Part 3

While we couldn’t see the ground circulation of the Deer Trail tornado, that wouldn’t be the case with the next one. Near Akron, the storm produced a small landspout type tornado that lasted about 3 minutes. Frustratingly, once again, while this tornado was documented and photographed by at least one other chaser, it did not appear on the SPC reports page and was never officially documented or confirmed by the NWS.


Past Akron, we pulled over as another tight velocity couplet appeared on radar. We expected to see a funnel form but that never happened. Instead, we saw a rotating cloud base with some dust rising underneath. It wasn’t a tornado, but it was certainly interesting to watch. We then followed the supercell towards Yuma.

 

[buckeye05]

June 1, 2026: Part 4

As we paralleled the storm near Yuma, it became increasingly HP in nature, and subsequently more intimidating. An RFD surge send a plume of dirt into the air as it impacted a farm field along side our car.


Around this time, another cell began blowing up ahead of the main storm, and it was increasingly apparent that a storm merger was about to happen. My chase partners decided to stairstep north into the gap in between. Despite my protests that the gap would likely fill in and put us in a bad spot, we pushed onward. Here is where things got a bit dicey. The road we were on suddenly went to complete crap, abruptly switching from a well maintained dirt road to essentially a narrow, overgrown brushy off-road vehicle/ATV path. We bottomed out and skidded to a stop, accompanied by a distinct burning smell. Our driver jumped out to check the vehicle immediately. As this was happening, the gap between the cells was beginning to fill in, and the precip core from the HP supercell was expanding rapidly and threatening to overtake us. As this happened, there was another RFD surge, and any rotation would be nearby and hidden in the precip. Our driver got back in, turned around, and got us off the overgrown “road” and onto our escape route, but it was apparent we’d have to punch the wet RFD ahead. We entered the RFD quickly, which was accompanied by strong winds and a drop in visibility. Horizontal rain, small hail, and tumbleweeds pelted the vehicle and it was a little loud and scary, but also fun and thrilling! We saw bright sunlight ahead and we broke out of the RFD in about a minute or two. Behind us we saw a striking hail core and rapidly moving rain curtains getting pulled in towards the storm. There was also some small hail on the ground. Lesson learned: even if Google Maps says the road continues, always use satellite imagery to make sure it is viable. We won’t make that mistake again.



After that we began our trek home. We were treated to a rainbow and a nice sunset as the storms moved off into the distance. Not bad at all for my first chase in years!

 

[WeathermanLeprechaun]

Good stuff, dude! Sounds like vorticity was trying to really plant a stout tornado but the last touch wasn't there. Sounds like a fun, thrilling chase