NASA Satellite Video of Tornadoes from Space

5 Days of Tornado-Generating Storms in U.S. Midwest [HD Video]

The U.S. Midwest was hammered by severe storms for the last several days and this animation of satellite imagery from the GOES-13 satellite shows the progression of storms from May 20 to 25, 2011. This animation includes the storms that spawned the deadly Joplin, Missouri tornado on May 22 (around 5:30 p.m.) and the Oklahoma tornado event (Oklahoma City and Piedmont, Oklahoma) on May 24, 2011.

The video shows the progression of the May 24 storms moving from Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri into Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. The May 24 event killed people in Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press. The National Weather Service reported that several twisters touched down in Oklahoma City and some of its suburbs.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 covers weather events over the eastern U.S. and the Atlantic Ocean. The GOES series of satellites is operated by NOAA, and the NASA GOES Project creates images and animations from the GOES series of satellites. This movie is in a large-format 720x1280 H264-encoded digital movie from the GOES-13 satellite.

Movie Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project, Dennis Chesters
Caption: NASA/Rob Gutro

Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

Missouri Tornado Chasers' Raw Footage

Tornado chasers captured the Joplin, Missouri tornado on video as it developed on the ground and then drove through the aftermath minutes following the destruction.

One hundred sixteen people have been reported killed with more missing and injured. The death toll is expected to rise. Joplin's main hospital took a direct hit. One-third of the city suffered catastrophic damage.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A massive tornado that tore a six-mile path across southwestern Missouri killed at least 116 people as it smashed the city of Joplin, ripping into a hospital, crushing cars and leaving behind only splintered tree trunks where entire neighborhoods once stood.

Authorities warned that the death toll could climb as search-and-rescue workers continued their efforts. Their task was made more miserable early Monday by a new thunderstorm that brought strong winds, heavy rain and hail.

More tornadoes touched down throughout the Midwest, with damage reported in Kansas, Minnesota and Oklahoma, as well as in Missouri. Dangerous weather is expected to continue across the region.

A brief moment of light with a rare double rainbow following the tornado:



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Tornado Victims Struggle to Cope with Damage

Mayor Walter Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, describes the deaths, destruction and injuries following the direct hit on the north side of their city during last Wednesday's swarm of tornadoes across the Southeastern United States.


Tuscaloosa lost a 5.9 mile stretch of their city of 100,000. They lost their city services. President Obama arrived today. He expressed his heartbreak at the loss of life and pledged emergency funds, full support with FEMA, and ways to coordinate through HUD to rebuild.

Officials are calling the tornado swarm to hit the Southeast, US, the 'worst national disaster since Katrina.' Jack Hayes, the director of the National Weather Service is not calling this climate change. He cited prolonged flow of more humid air from the Gulf with a strong Jet Stream from Canada. Heated air was the triggering catalyst.

Massive tornadoes hit populated cities head-on. Forecasters had warned of an "insane" storm system for days, so it's unlikely that the tornadoes caught many by surprise. But with few basements in Dixie Alley, not many places were safe in the paths of tornadoes that had nearly 200-mph (322-kph) winds. Even solidly built houses were swept away. Many entire neighborhoods were completely obliterated.

Though rare, extreme tornadoes have touched down in the southeast in the past. Hayes could not rule out climate change as a factor in the severity or sheer number of tornadoes. April has been one of the worst for tornado deaths in U.S. history. The deciding factor will have to be established over a period of years (climate vs. weather patterns) to determine if the warming of the climate was the catalyst in this extreme event and whether they will continue to grow in frequency.

Some of the storms were a mile wide with wind speeds for over 200 miles per hour (EF5). The people of the Southeast don't have to wonder whether the climate has become unstable. They are at effect of it. Whether it will continue, their need is now. Red Cross Link.

What's with the Weather? The La Niña-Tornado Connection

by Janet Ritz

Cross-posted on The Huffington Post, Reuters

2008 has seen a record outbreak of tornadoes in the United States from California to the Midwest, from the South through the central plains, to the Appalachian states.

In January, THE ENVIRONMENTALIST reported the University of East Anglia's prediction for a strong 2008 La Niña event.

"The assessment for 2008 is that there will be a strong La Niña event in the Pacific, which will limit the warming trend for the year (whilst still being one of the warmest years)."

The La Niña phenomenon is an upwelling of colder waters resulting in a change in ocean temperature that causes a shift in the jet stream, reducing corresponding climate temperature. A NOAA study from October, 1999, still referenced on their site, which uses data from 1950 through 1996, concluded there was no tornadic connection to the El Niño/La Niña event. Since then, however, Joseph Schaefer, Director of NOAA's National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, according to this February MSNBC report, has revised his position:

Tornadoes do happen in February, but a study by Schaefer two years ago found that winter tornadoes in parts of the South occur more frequently and are stronger when there is a La Niña.

The La Niña connection was also cited in a Purdue University study reported in Science Daily (also from 1999), this one with data from 1916 to 1996, which offered the intriguing possibility that the La Niña event could be traced to a geographical shift in tornadic activity

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