Arkansas tornado damage visible from space
Digital Reporter
Thursday, May 8, 2014, 5:55 PM - The track of a violent tornado that tore through parts of Arkansas April 27 left a trail that can be seen from outer space, NASA has announced.
A brutal band of severe weather battered the central Plains and mid-South on April 17, killing more than a dozen people in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The violent storm came from a cold front originating in the Rocky Mountains, churning up enough energy to generate a violent tornado.
RELATED: Chaos reigns as severe storms strike the U.S.
Beginning at 7 p.m. local time, the large twister levelled a path between Mayflower and Vilonia, Arkansas, destroying up to 500 buildings.
The following day NASA'S Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite captured the twister's path.
BEFORE:
Note the brown trail present on Little Rock's green landscape.
AFTER:
On May 2, another NASA satellite passed by, painting an even clearer picture of the destruction.
In the latest image, a clear path of damaged trees and buildings can be seen.
This nightmare storm was all too familiar for the small community: It formed almost exactly three years after another storm ransacked the town, following essentially the same path.
RELATED: Remembering the deadly tornado outbreak of April 25-28, 2011
All photos courtesy of NASA
