First of all, I want to apologize for the radio silence since the morning of April 26th. Candidly, my mental health took a pretty big hit in the week following the tornado outbreak in Nebraska and Iowa. Not immediately afterward, and I'm mostly feeling fine about it now. While it was an objectively successful storm observation day, perhaps my most successful ever, there was nothing joyful about watching strong tornadoes eat their way through communities for hours on end that Friday evening. When I learned that Minden, Iowa resident Nick Ring had passed away from injuries sustained by the tornado as he sheltered in his basement, dying on my 37th birthday, I kind of lost my words.
I processed and relived the events by curating my usual long-form storm observation VLOG. This one felt different. I love adding a little production value, some music, a little extra vibe setting, the April 26th outbreak demanded it be shared raw.
So here it is... 1 hour and 8 minutes from the April 26th, 2024 tornado outbreak, including tornadoes near Waverly, Ashland, Elkhorn/Omaha in Nebraska and Minden-Harlan, Defiance in Iowa. Around ten tornadoes over a four hour period. I've never seen anything like it, and in a lot of ways I hope I never do again.
Long-Form Storm Observation VLOG:
The Minden, Iowa Tornado:
Waverly, Nebraska Tornadoes:
Surprise tornado coming out of the rain at the end of the day in Defiance, Iowa: