Tornado before and after

This is designed to show a 'before and after' if you click the text at the bottom

Shown is Tuscaloosa, probably hit the max on the Fujita scale, and at times was as much as a mile wide they say . "Initial estimates have rated this as a rare EF-5 tornado with wind speeds well over 200 mph and it will possibly go down in history as the most powerful tornado ever recorded." Source

Thanks for the link odious. Incredible. You can clearly see the path the tornado took as it is scrubbed the face of the Earth clean.

Incredible picture. We drove by there on I-20 Thursday afternoon. We delayed leaving until then so that the interstate could be reopened. The tree damage we could see was extensive and ocurred for miles along the road. Most of the signs and billboards were gone. The power that nature can exert really shows how insignificant we really are.

Quote: timberjim

Incredible picture. We drove by there on I-20 Thursday afternoon. We delayed leaving until then so that the interstate could be reopened. The tree damage we could see was extensive and ocurred for miles along the road. Most of the signs and billboards were gone. The power that nature can exert really shows how insignificant we really are.

Where did all the stuff picked up by the twister end up? Was it pulverized in the cyclone and scattered about in little pieces, or does it end up in a pile of some sorts on the edge of the storm?

Quote: Ayecarumba

Where did all the stuff picked up by the twister end up? Was it pulverized in the cyclone and scattered about in little pieces, or does it end up in a pile of some sorts on the edge of the storm?

When an EF4 came through Cumberland and St. Peter, MN, in the late '90s, it left a clear line of crap along each side of the path of destruction. Things were pretty much chopped to bits in that storm, and I'd imagine that'd be even more the case in an EF5.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Where did all the stuff picked up by the twister end up? Was it pulverized in the cyclone and scattered about in little pieces, or does it end up in a pile of some sorts on the edge of the storm?

There is a lost-and-found site on Facebook where they are attempting to return personal stuff to the owners. I heard a news report about some of the stuff that has been recovered hundreds of miles from where it was picked up. I don't know how common that is with tornadoes.

My brother Robert/Bob moved to Huntsville, AL two years ago with my mom, as a retirement move for our mother (from a New York City Family. I more wisely moved to Las Vegas.)
He Bought a house, works there as a teacher and a musician, took care of Mom, and lived a more relaxing and stress-free life than in NYC.

Then the Tornados come. On our Mom's 80th Birthday to boot.
He and Mom are in the cellar, listening to the screaming roar of the winds blow out the windows, pop off half the roof, with the furniture rattling around the house like dice on a crap game. His house is brick and not wood, thankfully, and his car was in the garage. Walls, Roof, windows, etc, ye gads, a lot of work to repair.

A couple of weeks with no electricity, no TV, internet, cable, and landline phone (and no cell phone for half the time), it was like living in Somalia, a war zone.
Some Cell phone towers went back on line, we spoke. They're okay, the house's structure is basically okay aside from a lot of work to be done, and the town looks like it was bombed. He tells me it was worse in Birmingham.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Where did all the stuff picked up by the twister end up? Was it pulverized in the cyclone and scattered about in little pieces, or does it end up in a pile of some sorts on the edge of the storm?

I actually helped run a tornado cleanup in the late 90's. It was truly amazing to see one house untouched while the homes on either side were completely demolished. Most debris in this case was pulverized and scattered and hanging in trees for miles around. There were also piles scattered around. There really was no rhyme or reason to the way the destruction and debris were distributed. Even though this hit a densely populated section of Atlanta, we were fortunate that there was only one fatality.
Areas that are designated disaster areas receive federal funds to assist in the clean up. There are companies that follow disasters and do the cleanup.

Joplin MO before and after

a train in a tornado, pretty cool

Quote: odiousgambit

a train in a tornado, pretty cool

That's pretty crazy, especially when the tank car comes barreling up at the end.