Truman, Minnesota

The siren song of severe weather warnings, March 11-14, was so tempting. The National Weather Service (NWS) predicted multiple hazards, including heavy rain, large hail, strong winds, and tornadoes in the Great Plains.

I signed up for an on-call tornado chase with Silver Linings Tours, flew to Denver, and joined the group at 6:00 am on the 11th. The first day’s action was in Texas, and we drove 820 miles South to San Angelo. Unfortunately, the storms didn’t listen to the forecasters and never became severe.

On the 12th, it became clear that the prior day’s storms disrupted the atmosphere enough to inhibit severe storm formation. But multiple weather models predicted severe weather on the 13th in Southeastern Minnesota.

So it was back in the van for 1,090 miles North to the vicinity of Truman, Minnesota, on the 13th. And we weren’t disappointed on this day!

We saw three tornadoes form near Truman that afternoon. The NWS report is at https://www.weather.gov/mpx/13April2026_Hail_and_Tornadoes. Today’s Friday Photos are the second of the three tornadoes we witnessed. I can hear you asking, “How far WERE you from the twisters?” We were about a mile away.

Thanks for looking,

Chuck Derus Zenfolio | Chuck Derus