Terrifying new drone footage shows a huge tornado leaving a destructuve trail of debris behind in Andover, Kansas.
The video, going viral on social media today, shows the tornado’s first form in amazing detail — and then shows off its horrifying destructive power.
“Note how the tornado propagates via vortex dynamics and likely terrain,” meteorologist Reed Timmer wrote in a tweet accompanying the video. “Incredibly, no lives were lost by this tornado.”
The aggressive twister, one of an estimated 15 in the area, leveled dozens of structures in Andover late last week. It was rated an EF-3, meaning it was quite serious with winds reaching speeds of between 136 and 165 mph.
“I just couldn’t believe,” local resident Alaina Adkins told CNN. “It just didn’t look real.”
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), tornadoes form after winds blow in different directions at different speeds, first forming a large thunderstorm. Inside this thundercloud, also known as a supercell, hot and cold air currents can result in spinning air currents.
While scientists are getting better at predicting tornadoes with the help of detailed satellite and radar imagery and computer forecasting models, violent storms can still be massively unpredictable, especially when it comes to determining their trajectory and direction.
It likely won’t be the last devastating tornado season experienced by the Midwest. It is being attributed to climate change.