Satellite Follows Georgia Tornado Path

CREDIT: Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon/NASA View full size image

A pale green swath in this Landsat image from April 28, 2011, reveals the path of a tornado outside of Griffin, Georgia, according to a NASA statement.

The tornado was on the ground between 12:03 and 12:28 a.m. local time on April 28, hours before the image was taken. By the time the funnel cloud lifted, the tornado had covered about 20 miles with a path about half a mile wide, said the National Weather Service.

The tornado was an EF3 tornado with winds of about 140 miles per hour.

This image shows that the tornado moved across lightly populated farmland. Bright-colored spots are buildings, and some are close to storm's path. The town of Griffin, shown on the far right, is the nearest community to the storm track in this area.

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