5/25 - 6:45pm MDT - Rope Funnel, Lots of Hail, Not Much Else

As we intercepted a good sized supercell in West Central Kansas, we just skirted the edge of the hail shaft. We also saw a pretty good sized wall cloud with a possible funnel, which seemed to dissipate pretty quickly after a while. Two golf ball to baseball sized pieces of hail struck our roof and one just on the top of the windshield. They didn't leave a mark, but they sure scared us! We were very close to being inside the hail shaft... That would have left some damage.

After escaping the hailshaft, we stopped and saw this little beauty:



This rope funnel was the first funnel cloud I have ever seen! We stared at it for about 20 seconds and then realized that it was right over us. Get in the car!!! So we drove down the road and it dissipated. After this funnel there wasn't much else but heavy rain and marble sized hail. Tomorrow looks a little less promising since those thunderstorms could be of the MCS (multi-celled structure) and not harbor many tornadoes. Later tonight could be interesting as another outbreak of severe weather could come about. We're staying in a hotel tonight right in the path of the expected severe weather so that we can witness lightning shows and any possible tornadoes. Sleep is a luxury for a storm chaser!