Just had a funnel cloud buzz right over my loft in Chicago...

[truth]

I've never heard the warning sirens sound in the city for anything other than a test before...pretty wild. Managed to snap a few pics...

This was the tail end of the funnel cloud as it buzzed by us...dropped down to maybe 300 feet.



Here it's pulling out over the loop and then the lake...the main funnel is out of frame to the left. The color of the clouds was wild.



Southern edge of the cell passing over the sears tower. Note how light it is behind me (east) in the reflections on the buildings compared to the darkness of the storm.

[Art Shirk]

sehr rad. funnel clouds sound like torndos to this PNW boy. no thanks, especially in a high rise.

[meatdrink9]

So did you jump out of it or what?

[truth]

Dude, it's the closest I've gotten in weeks. I had my pool suit on and was ready to rock. No matter, the Ford Explorer derby is still in play and I'm going to a Cubs game next Wed with Woodsy. Booyah!

[meatdrink9]

Yeah, well I've been eating icecreambreadpies all night. Seriously, this time next year NASA will have all this shit figured out.

[Red Baron]

Yeah, what a day - unreal. These things came ripping through the area at 60+ mph - from the moment they popped up on radar, I could tell it was going to be a big one.

It was kind of my first real test on TV here, doing live tornado warning cut-ins, with a network of four live doppler radar feeds all going at once, and all in all, it went pretty well!

oh, and nice pics!

[ak_powder_monkey]

so did any hit the ground and cause damage?

[Schmear]

I saw more freaky weather in the few years I lived in Chicago than in all my life out west. It's a little scary when the sky turns dark green at 4 pm.

[WWCD]

It sounded like a pressure washer was being aimed at my window at work and we lost power.

I did get a chance to go up on the roof after it passed through and the whole city was an eerie red color.

[YooperSteeze]

Wow, the second and third pics are downright apocalyptic... hopefully all the midwestern precip as of late is a sign of things to come this winter.

[Vets]

Originally posted by truth
...
The color of the clouds was wild.
...

I recall being near a passing tornado in Southern Illinois. The clouds were the strangest shades of green.

[Tippster]

"...sounded like a freight train..."

About 5 years ago we had a tornado touch down in the Pentagon Parking lot, it then lifted off the ground (turned into a Funnel Cloud,) passed right over us t the White House, then touched down again just outside the District in College Park, MD doing a ton of damage. Really weird scene all around - color, noise, even smell.

Naturally the client I was with still wanted to go live. Damn Arabs. She was disappointed.

[truth]

Yeah, what a day - unreal. These things came ripping through the area at 60+ mph - from the moment they popped up on radar, I could tell it was going to be a big one.

It was kind of my first real test on TV here, doing live tornado warning cut-ins, with a network of four live doppler radar feeds all going at once, and all in all, it went pretty well!

oh, and nice pics!

I saw you dude! Was wondering how hectic your day must have been. Just wait until we get a good rush hour blizzard, then you'll have fully experienced the retarded nature of our climate here.

[iceman]

The wild thing about the one that touched down in College Park was that it traveled for miles in the air and then touched down in College Park right on top of a couple of trailers that were only there temporarily. It searched for miles for trailers to destroy and then knocked out the only two around.

A couple of girls hiding from the storm in one of the trailers got killed, that sucked.

[Theodore]

I drove out to Denver on Thursday through that massive low... not fun.

[Ski Monkey]

Ah, the memories of midwest storms. I somewhat miss all those warnings, sky colors, smells and mad dashes to the basement. Cool pics.