Tornadoes on the Road!

Craig and I traveled west to Denver for JC's high school graduation this past week. This year the plains states have had the highest number of tornadoes in recent years, and more storms were forecast the day we were to drive through Kansas.

Well, it was our lucky day (depending on your point of view.) As we crested a hill in Junction City, Kansas, I spied a tornado coming at us over the hill.

We pulled off at the next exit and waited the storm out in a restaurant. The sirens were blaring and we had hail and rain, but the storm passed on and we hit the road again.

Unfortunately, more storms were approaching us.

 We kept an eye on these clouds for a while, unsure if they were anything dangerous or not.

Suddenly, another tornado dropped down into the fields to the right of us.

 It was moving away from us, so we pulled over the watch it.

As it intensified, another one began forming alongside the first one. It thickened very suddenly and became wedge shaped

and then together they both began to lift and dissipate.

While seeing so many tornadoes in such a short span of time was thrilling, we decided that, since the storms were still coming our way, it would be wise to stop for the night and not chance running into any more. We pulled over in Salinas and got a motel room.

What a way to start our trip!