Deadly Tornado's Impact on Kentucky So Big It's Visible From Space
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The path of a recent tornado that tore across the state of Kentucky has been photographed from above, revealing the massive scar it left across the land.
On May 16, a deadly tornado ravaged three counties in Kentucky, taking 20 lives, destroying hundreds of houses and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake just over 55 miles long and up to a mile wide.
The image of the devastation was captured the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) instrument aboard NASA's Landsat 9 Earth-imaging satellite.
The track of the twister was made particularly clear in the images as it passed through the Daniel Boone National Forest, where it ripped up trees in its path.
The tornado's track, taking by the NASA Earth Observatory using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey.
The tornado's track, taking by the NASA Earth Observatory using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey.
Wanmei Liang/NASA Earth Observatory/ Landsat
According to NASA and the National Weather Service (NWS), the tornado was one of the strongest ever recorded in the area, peaking at a four on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale.
This is the second-highest ranking on the scale, with three-second gusts between 166 to 200 miles per hour. In fact, the tornado in question was estimated to have reached speeds as high as 170 miles per hour.
The Kentucky tornado was part of a severe weather outbreak over several days which hit multiple states, including Alabama, Kansas, Missouri and Virginia.
At least 20 people were killed in Kentucky alone, with the office of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reporting that 17 people died in Laurel County, one in McCracken County, one in Pulaski County and one in Russell County.
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Violent tornadoes leave at least 27 dead in multiple states: What to know
Violent tornadoes leave at least 27 dead in multiple states: What to know
"I promise that we will be there for our people until every home and every life is rebuilt. And I want to thank all our heroic first responders for the work they've done over the past few days," Beshear said in a statement.
"This is another incredibly tough time for Kentucky. And it's another reminder that life is short and it's our duty to be kind and do good. As always—we will get through this together."
A 2024 study on the National Land Cover Database (which is based on Landsat observations) has found that tornado damage to forests in the southeastern U.S. is on the rise, despite a slight decrease in tornado activity across the states as a whole.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about tornados? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Reference
Munro, H. L., Loehle, C., Bullock, B. P., Johnson, D. M., Vogt, J. T., & Gandhi, K. J. K. (2024). Tornado damage in forest ecosystems of the United States. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.109987
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