Space

View from space: Satellite movie of Great Plains tornado outbreak

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April 18, 2012

The animation below shows the massive tornado outbreak in the U.S. Great Plains on April 14-15, 2012 – the way it looked in a view from space.

Here’s more about the tornado outbreak: Five dead in Oklahoma after at least 121 tornadoes overnight April 14, 2012

The 30-second movie, created using satellite data, runs from Saturday night, April 14 to Sunday morning, April 15, 2012. It shows the strong flow of warm, moist air from the Gulf moving into the advancing cold front. You can see the destructive outbreak half way through, when the long streak of clouds springs into view in the middle of the frame.

The animation was created using data from the GOES-13 (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) satellite, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NASA/NOAA’s GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

More Views from space:
View from space: Dead Sea from 1972 to 2011
View from space: Video of Comet Lovejoy
View from space: Layers of atmosphere on the horizon
View from space: Crepuscular rays
View from space: US Midwest at night with aurora borealis

Bottom line: A 30-second animation, created using satellite data, shows the massive tornado outbreak in the U.S. Great Plains on April 14-15, 2012 – the way it looked from space.

Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.