Sunday, June 9, 2013

More storms from space

In the spirit of Storms from orbit and other space and astronomy news, I present two more views of recent superstorms from space, or at least Space.com.  The first is Oklahoma's EF-5 Tornado Scar Seen From Space | Video.

The May 20, 2013 tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma was 1.3 miles wide at its peak and had winds that reached 210 mph. The NASA Terra satellite took imagery of the tornado track and NOAA's GOES-13 captured the storm from over head.
The second is a simulated view from geosynchronous orbit: Superstorm Sandy's Track, Winds Intensity Visualized By Supercomputer | Video

In the most accurate assessment to date, the changing wind speeds are seen over a 5-day time-lapse (Oct. 26 to Oct. 31, 2012). NASA GOES-5 atmosphere model computer was used to create the simulation.
Both of these are impressive in disturbing ways, showing how huge both storms were.  In particular, note how far out Sandy's winds reached, with strong winds blowing over Lake Michigan while the eye was still over the ocean.  I've had hurricane remnants pass over me before, including Tropical Storm Lee, but I've never been inside an active hurricane before.  It was eerie.

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