Colorado's First Tornado Of 2022 Touched Down Monday In Logan County
DENVER (CBS4) - After a slow start to the thunderstorm season in Colorado the radar turned active on Monday thanks an increase in moisture near the surface. Scattered storms on the eastern plains even prompted a few severe thunderstorm warnings late in the day.
One storm in Logan County produced Colorado's first tornado of 2022 around 6:20 p.m., about 5 to 7 miles southeast of Iliff. Storm chaser Dakota McGee said the landspout tornado was on the ground for about 8 minutes.
The picture above is a great example of how sometimes a tornado does not have a fully condensed funnel. You can see the funnel in the cloud and the circulation on the ground, but nothing in between. This is very common in the beginning stages of a tornado, or with a weak tornado, especially in a dry climate like on the plains of eastern Colorado.
Landspout tornadoes are spawned from non-supercell thunderstorms. They are typically weak and short-lived but can be very photogenic, like the one near Platteville last summer. Regardless of the type, any tornado should be taken seriously and monitored closely if you are nearby.