Killer tornado in Kansas
 

hxxp://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/05/05/severe.weather/index.html

There isn't much you can do when a tornado that big hits. It pretty much destroyed that town.

I've been trying to find some footage of that storm. I was actually watching it on radar last night (hey, it's Kansas and I was bored- it's what I do: I'll chck out NOAA's watches and warning and see where the crazy stuff is). The big bright ball of green next to the big bright ball of red on the wind map was amazing- Ive never seen anything close to that big.

There were a couple of things on Lezak's weather blog, including the radar of the tornado and it's just impossible to imagine how big that thing was and the level of shear it had:
http://community.nbcactionnews.com/b...g/default.aspx

SI

They're saying it could be the first EF-5 on record.

whats an EF-5?

It's the worst category for tornados according to the Enhanced Fujita scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Fujita_Scale

EF is the new Enhanced Fujita scale- basically the tornado scale. They just switched over to it this year.

Like when you hear "category 4 hurricane"- it's that idea but for tornadoes.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html

SI

Here are some pics. Total devastation. :(

http://www.kansas.com/static/slides/...ornadoaerials/

My god.

I don't see a single structure that won't need to be rebuilt.

Please call 800-redcross or go to www.redcross.org to donate and help rebuild the people of Greensburg to rebuild their lives.

Damn, another huge tornado has touched down near Macksville, KS, about half an hour away from Greensburg, the town that got ravaged last night.

:(

http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigw...ornado+Warning

My god, those pictures are stunning. I never thought that a freakin' tornado could do that kind of damage... :(

You haven't seen the ones of Jarrell, TX then. That tornado was straight from the depths of hell. It hit a subdivision, and there was nothing left. No debris, nothing. It completely destroyed houses, and ripped the asphalt off the road. All that was left was concrete pads, and dirt paths where roads were laid.

That was a scary as hell tornado, and one of the scariest days of my life in general -- although I was 10 at the time, probably explaining it. But just litening to it on the radio, then seeing the aftermath...was awful.

It's just impossible to comprehend a tornado that large- I mean, a 50' wide tornado is considered "big"- this is 100x that size. Looking at this pictures, you can see just how wide it was and to have just a continuous chunk of destruction 6 blocks wide is just staggering to think about. That's actually why I was trying to find pictures of the storm itself (tho hard to get since it was after dark)- I just can't imagine it.

FYI, Lezak's blog has a description from a spotter who was chasing that storm.

It's a little freaky out tonight here. Most of the stuff is out west but it's very muggy and still 78 degrees as of midnight with a really high dewpoint. Thankfully, it looks like the conditions aren't quite right here like they are further west so we're avoiding the storms but back towards central Kansas, they have had tornadoes touching down again tonight including 2 about half an hour ago.

SI

My grandfather designed/built a church in Greensburg some 50+ years ago. No idea if it was still around at the time of the tornado, but sad to think its gone for sure now.

Does anyone have the link to check the status of Greensburd residents? I heard on the Weather channel that there is one, but cannot find it. My work (Kansas Department of Agriculture) has 2 home offices in Greensburg, and I'd like to know how their doing.

BTW, the Extended Fujita scale takes less to get to F5 than the old scale. A new EF-5 is like an F4 or higher in the old scale.

I'll always remember watching May 3, 1999 as the news stations tailed a huge tornado through Oklahoma and then caught the damage when it got to Moore and then skirted around Tinker AFB.

I think the EF scale is more defined by windspeed rather than by the amount of damage it does (the old scale was heavily dependent on the damage caused).

With all the happenings going on in the world today. (ex: fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, war and others)

Is this world destined to be a barren wasteland? Are the people being punished by the creator for destroying what has be created?

I'd believe it if tornadoes were invented in 1975, and wars in 1993.

You're wrong. Volcanoes were invented in 1981, wars in 1991, hurricanes and floods in 2005 and killer tornadoes just recently. Nothing happened before 1980.

The rain falls on the just and unjust alike.

That is the same thing I thought of when I read Jeebers post. The one in Jarrell didn't even leave debris behind. Like you said, it was a clean sweep tornado. Scariest thing I have ever seen.

Very sad. What a monster that thing must have been to so totally devastate the area like it did. Having been through both tornadoes and hurricanes, I think a hurricane would be my choice of poison.

I would like to know what that silo-looking structure in Greensburg was. It looks like the only building in the area relatively still intact.

It's a grain warehouse (Farmers Grain and Supply Company)- amazing that it's still standing. Probably the tallest building in the town.

It looks like someone may have just been found alive in the rubble, more than two days after the tornados.

Can't wait to hear whatever stupid things Jimmy Falwell and his ilk have to say this time.

It doesn't shock me that the grain elevator made it. Those things have extremely thick concrete walls. I can't imagine the wind levels that would be required to knock it down. Earthquake, maybe. Wind? Having worked around and in them for quite a few years growing up, I just can't fathom it. Those tubes are single pieces of concrete (that's a slip-form elevator), so it can't really break into chunks without some kind of explosion. The wind would literally have to rip/lift the entire 100+ foot high concrete cylinder off the ground in order to move it.

It's very sad. I remember going to the Big Well (world's largest hand dug well) a few times as a kid when we drove through on our way to Wichita.

Wow. This is an impressive photo gallery of the aftermath of the storm. Just goes to show the immense power of mother nature.

http://ultimatechase.com/chase_accou...age_Survey.htm