9 June, 2011: Tornado track

[ZenGum]

The brown streak across this image is the track of the recent Massachusetts tornado.

I saw this at new scientist.
The picture is credited thus: (Image: NASA Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen/USGS, using Landsat 5 data provided by Julia Barsi of the Landsat Project Science Office).

I'm sure this wasn't the only brown streak this tornado caused, but it is probably the biggest.

[casimendocina]

It is one of more than 875 tornadoes to have hit the US since the beginning of the year. They have claimed the lives of more than 363 people

I found these figures more hardhitting than the brown streak across the satellite image.

[SPUCK]

I find it interesting that people still take the attitude that the odds are so low that they don't do anything - at all - to provide some protection for themselves in their homes.

If I lived in tornado land I'd have a concrete bunker basement with a week's worth of supplies and some nice pipe-births. If storms where present we'd all just bunk out in the shelter.

Same thing if I lived in a flood-plane. I'd build my house on a scissors jack. Flood coming? I'd jack that baby up a story or two and split the scene.

[morethanpretty]

Originally Posted by SPUCK

I find it interesting that people still take the attitude that the odds are so low that they don't do anything - at all - to provide some protection for themselves in their homes.

If I lived in tornado land I'd have a concrete bunker basement with a week's worth of supplies and some nice pipe-births. If storms where present we'd all just bunk out in the shelter.

Same thing if I lived in a flood-plane. I'd build my house on a scissors jack. Flood coming? I'd jack that baby up a story or two and split the scene.

HAHAHA...sure you would. LOL. I know I've always found it tons of fun to stay in practically the same room for a whole day, or even a week sometimes just because there are storms.

[CaliforniaMama]

Originally Posted by morethanpretty

HAHAHA...sure you would. LOL. I know I've always found it tons of fun to stay in practically the same room for a whole day, or even a week sometimes just because . . .

For this introvert, that is called a vacation!

[infinite monkey]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaMama

For this introvert, that is called a vacation!

I hear ya!

[morethanpretty]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

I hear ya!

I'm an introvert, I would not call it a vacation. Especially since you are also not supposed have things plugged into the wall during such a storm...like oh, say a TV, or computer, or lamp to read your book by....

[infinite monkey]

Ahhh, would be nice. I live in a tornado zone but have nowhere to go. If I were really threatened I'd probably run across the road to the sort of ditch...but other than that I just wait it out.

Anyone who wants to volunteer to finance, locate, and build a concrete bunker...PM me!

Love,

Dorothy

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

Anyone who wants to volunteer to finance, locate, and build a concrete bunker...PM me!

Love,

Dorothy

Pass. Tell the Wizard we said 'Hi'.

[CaliforniaMama]

Interesting how it goes pretty much in a straight line. Anyone know why?

[infinite monkey]

Same amount of land on each side.

(Sorry, was messing with the old goose joke: You know how when geese fly in a V one side is longer than the other? Know why? More geese.)

I don't know why. I'm sure it looks straighter because the pic is from so high up...but I think tornadoes just follow a pattern like any weather system.

[classicman]

Fascinating pic Zen....
I tried looking for a few others. Curious about the path they take ...
Found a couple links



Here is
another ... The link has a couple more images as well.
Not sure if I got them all posted properly but ...





Lastly this link has a zoom feature. They all seem to go in a very straight line...

[CaliforniaMama]

Seems like they'd be able to calculate the path and get everyone out of the way. More than just the general warning signal that is sent out.

I wonder what it would look like if they did an overlay of all the tornadoes that have gone through a specific tornado alley.

[infinite monkey]

Everything you ever wanted to know about tornadoes, but were afraid to ask:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#The%20Basics

What direction do tornadoes come from? Does the region of the US play a role in path direction? Tornadoes can appear from any direction. Most move from southwest to northeast, or west to east. Some tornadoes have changed direction amid path, or even backtracked. [A tornado can double back suddenly, for example, when its bottom is hit by outflow winds from a thunderstorm's core.] Some areas of the US tend to have more paths from a specific direction, such as northwest in Minnesota or southeast in coastal south Texas. This is because of an increased frequency of certain tornado-producing weather patterns (say, hurricanes in south Texas, or northwest-flow weather systems in the upper Midwest).

[glatt]

That's funny, the damage doesn't look as bad from out here.