HotPotato Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 An unusual and powerful tornado in Mississippi has left storm chasers and meteorologists in shock as it left a devastating trail in its path. At least 25 people have been killed in the state with search and rescue efforts continuing into Sunday. The tornado looked enormous as it approached the small town of Rolling Fork, with some calling it a "wedge tornado". The National Weather Service estimates the storm lasted more than an hour. "I still can't get over what I saw," said Stephanie Cox, a storm chaser based in Oklahoma who witnessed the tornado as it rolled into Mississippi. Ms Cox told the BBC that she initially was not able to determine how large or strong the storm would be. But she then heard a massive roar, she said, followed by a lightning strike that illuminated what she described as a "monster" of a tornado. "I've never seen one that violent or heard one just make that roar sound - that sounds like a train horn coming right at you, " she said. The NWS estimates the tornado, which began hitting western Mississippi on Friday night after it formed over the Mississippi river, travelled 59 miles (94 kilometres) with a width of three-quarters of a mile, and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes. It developed from a supercell storm - a rotating storm where the updraft and the downdraft are separated. It is caused by warm, unstable air near the ground and changing speed and direction of the wind at increasing heights. These storms are some of the least common but among the most destructive, according to the NWS. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65072195 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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