This chase took place in south-central Kansas...Harper County Kansas to be exact.  This was the first time I actually saw the tornado on the ground.  This chase was a great one.  We arrived ahead of schedule and sat a the triple point for a few hours and watched stuff turkey tower on the dry line and cold front.  After the storms calmed down, we went out to take lightning pictures and discovered a wedge tornado that was backlit by lightning.  It later lifted off of the ground and touched back down as a stovepipe.

 

Storm Prediction Center May-12-2004 0100 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

Storm Prediction Center May-12-2004 0600 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

Storm Prediction Center May-12-2004 1300 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

Storm Prediction Center May-12-2004 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

Storm Prediction Center May-12-2004 2000 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

 

Storm Prediction Center 20040512's Storm Reports

 

From the Wichita National Weather Service Press

 

This was the first tornado that this storm produced.  It was less than a mile away.  The first picture is when the funnel cloud first became a tornado.  You can barely see the debris cloud behind the right of the big tree.  This tornado was on the ground for about ten minutes, and did no damage that we could tell after driving around.