Satellite View of Deadly Joplin Tornado From GOES-13

This animation of GOES-13 satellite visible imagery from May 22 shows the progression of the line of thunderstorms that generated the monster tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri (located in the center of the video). Viewers can see the line of thunderstorms that generated the tornado as the animation continues.

Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project/Dennis Chesters

An animation of imagery from the GOES-13 satellite was created from images taken before, during and after the time the massive tornado touched down in Joplin, Missouri on Sunday, May 22. The nominal time of the tornado was 5:30 p.m. CDT, which is 2230 UTC. Meteorologist Dennis Chesters of the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Md. created the animation from GOES imagery to show the progression of the storm system.

The animation of visible imagery begins on May 22 at 17:44 UTC (12:44 p.m. CDT). In the video, Chesters identified the location of Joplin so viewers can see the line of thunderstorms that generated the tornado as the animation continues.

"The convection above a tornado normally penetrates to the cloud tops and makes visible ripples about 10 minutes after the tornado hits the ground," Chesters said. The animation ends on May 23 at 00:15 UTC (7:15 p.m. CDT, May 22, 2011).

According to reports from the Joplin Globe on-line, the tornado was one half-mile wide when it struck Joplin and expanded to three-quarters of a mile wide before dissipating. On May 23, the death toll reached 89 people.

The GOES series of satellites are managed and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA Goddard, procures and manages the development and launch of the GOES series of satellites for NOAA on a cost-reimbursable basis. NASA's GOES Project also creates some of the GOES satellite images and GOES satellite imagery animations. NOAA manages the operational environmental satellite program and establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States.

Contacts and sources:
Rob Gutro/Dennis Chesters
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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• Justin

  This is the best evidence I have ever seen that there is possibly something artificial creating these storm. Look closely at the “undular bore” (rippples in the surrounding clouds)effect happening around the storm. The clouds that pass through these areas keep moving but the ripples DO NOT MOVE!!! This is evidence that should be put along side all of the other evidence from all the HAARP nuts…time stamps aligned and all. The sequence also needs to be longer…possibly starting 10 or more hours before the strom and several hours afterwards. Also, doppler records need to be pulled, along with ELF readings for this exact same time…10 hours previous and 10 hours afterwards. All of this needs to be analyzed CLOSELY!!! This sequence contains a wealth of information and numerous copies need to be made before it disappears!

  Watch the ripples in the sky! The clouds pass through them and visually materialize the ripples, but THE RIPPPLES THEMSELVES DON’T MOVE!!! This needs to be jumped on right away!!! I don’t think this is HAARP…but there is defintely something causing that. Undular bore effect does not propagate this way…the ripples move through the sky with the clouds in that case. This is NOT undular bore! The ripples don’t move! This is the evidence all of you silly HAARP nuts have been looking for. Now you really have something visual to work with.

  May 23, 2011, 9:34 pm 0 Reply
• Justin

  One last point. Look where the ripples end on the west side of the shot. Where those ripples end is where the storm forms. No doubt the instability was already there and the storm was inevitable, but based on what I know about RF and what I see in this very valuable video, there is most likely some dirty work happening here to intensify these storms.

  May 23, 2011, 9:36 pm 0 Reply