June 19, 2021   

Glad to finally have a storm chase in my own "backyard".  I had laid down for a nap in the afternoon and when I woke, found that severe storms had erupted just to my north.
Immediately went into intercept mode.  I decided to attack the storm from the east.  Headed north on 367 and then west on Highway 94 when I got to West Alton.  I stopped briefly at the Sioux Energy Power Plant just east of Portage De Sioux, Missouri to take a closer look at radar. I was getting concerned about hail size as the core of the lead storm was about to cross in front of me.
 


After a quick look, I determined I could continue west as the lead storm was weakening slightly and figured potential large, window-breaking hail would no longer be an issue.  As I moved west, then south on the curve on Highway 94, I was treated to many cloud to ground lightning bolts.  Unfortunately, the only pictures were with the dash cam through the front windshield with raindrops hitting the glass.





Once I got to I-370, I made the decision to not follow the storm southeastward into the urban areas, so I headed home and made it just before the storms reached the house.
3 Hours      *      Total Miles  - 57

My son Ryan was out in his own vehicle.  He was approaching the southern end of the storms from the west.  Here is his summary.....
I saw a messy supercell develop to my north, so I headed out for an intercept.  I first stopped near an updraft along New Town Boulevard in St. Charles County Missouri where I noticed some minor rotation under a wall cloud.




I then continued west on Highway "B" to intercept another updraft.  Knowing the area well, I found a nice spot offering me a great view of my surroundings.  I was sitting about a quarter mile south of the Hayford Road and the Highway "B" intersection (about a mile or so south of the Golden Eagle Ferry).  A massive scud cloud was pulled up to the bottom of the storm and a wall cloud came into view.  Then a circulation formed under it.  It was very difficult to tell exactly what both the cloud motion and ground motion were like as contrast was a bit difficult, but it appeared it was rotating.  There was a lot of rising and sinking motion going on as well.  It was extremely turbulent.  The first picture below was the first picture I took of the feature and it is blurry unfortunately.  But what looks like a funnel is present above the dust.  The next 3 photos below show the dust under what appeared to be rotation.  The dust went away for a few minutes, but then reappeared again just before it got wrapped up in rain.  I then got hit by 60mph winds and had to bail. 





I followed the storm south to Mason Road and the I-40 intersection.  The wall cloud came into view with a rear flank downdraft present.



After this fell apart, the storm features become hidden due to the wrapping rain and the storm was heading into a more difficult chase area, so I called it a day and headed home.
Click on the link below to see video of some of these storms.


Return to the
Summary 2021 Page
 Return to the
Storm Index Page