"The storm developed around 5pmCT and we followed the storm through the somewhat hilly terrain that was has many obstructed views due to hills and trees. The storm itself was rotating nicely throughout the day, but it was struggling to produce a tornado much of the time. As the storm got near the Kansas/Missouri border, we decided not to continue on with the storm simply due to dangerous viewing and road conditions, especially heading into sundown.

"We decided to pull over and watch the storm head east, when we felt a rush of warm, descending air from the backside of the storm (known as a rear-flank downdraft). This descending air is often associated with tornado genesis. It was about 10 minutes later that we noticed the radar had a signature not only associated with a potentially strong tornado, but also that part of the radar reflectivity had debris in it. In short, we quit on the storm right when the tornado formed, crossed the interstate and went into Joplin."