07/30/2026
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Following further review and US National Weather Service Raleigh NC guidance, I’m updating my classification on the Chapel Hill feature from Tuesday's chase to a funnel cloud.
If you watched the stream, you saw me pause in the moment and decide not to call in a touchdown because squinting at a 4-inch controller screen in the field isn't ideal, and ground evidence wasn't clear. Where I messed up was post-intercept on social media. First, I misread the terrain...what I thought was a funnel touching down was actually resting on the horizon with the low spot blocked by rolling hills. Second, I got ahead of myself and declared a grounded tornado without verified debris or damage, and that's on me for not sticking strictly to NWS criteria.
I also need to clear the air about Jeremy and Dan. They were helping me break down the radar data and mid-level structure, and we did verify rotation in the video footage itself. But the decision to take that rotation and label it a grounded tornado on Socials was 100% my call and my assumption based on my field perspective. Don't pin my hasty post on them.
For context, storm chaser Bill Hark caught the same funnel from the other side, with a much closer view, and extending right down toward the treeline (link below). Impressive feature, but official criteria rules the day.
Continuous learning moment. Onward and upward.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DP54veiz5/
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Brief 15x timelapse of a very low funnel over NW Chapel Hill, NC on 7/28/26 (8:13–8:20 PM EDT).
Filmed from SW at the Chapel Hill American Legion. Radar loop & my position (pink) attached.
Big thanks to Dan Whittaker & Meteorologist Jeremy Gilchrist for helping identify this.
