Debris from Joplin Tornado may have Traveled Record 525 Miles

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: Imperial Vally News

An Indiana couple discovered a receipt that may have blown 525 miles from Joplin, Missouri, to their porch - the longest recorded journey of debris from a tornado.

Tia Fritz contacted Ernest Agee, a Purdue University professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and tornado expert, when she and her husband discovered a receipt dated May 13 from Joplin Tire on the porch of their RoyalCenter, Ind., home on Wednesday (May 25). Royal Center is in north central Indiana about 45 miles from Lafayette.

"This paper traveled more than twice as far as the longest distance recorded for debris from a storm," said Agee, who now has the receipt. "The previous record was a cancelled check that traveled 210 miles after the 1915 tornado in Great Bend, Kansas. The distance paper travels is directly proportional to the intensity of the tornado. This paper's journey is a testament to the strength of the EF5 tornado that struck Joplin and what that city went through."

In order to reach Indiana, the receipt, which was folded into one-quarter of its original size, would have to have been sucked into the tornado and then carried by the jet stream for 12.5 hours, according to Agee's estimates using wind speeds and the distance traveled. It is not known exactly how long the receipt was on the porch before it was discovered.

Read more: http://imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10448&Itemid=1

[Corruption Winz]

1. Brutal. Absolutely brutal..

I can't imagine what that means in terms of the effects it will have on the locals. Horrible.

[GKirk]

2. What?

"I can't imagine what that means in terms of the effects it will have on the locals. Horrible"

It's horrible that a receipt flew so far?

[Corruption Winz]

3. Technically, yes..

Because that means the tornado would have had to be that strong to allow it to travel.

If I threw a baseball 110 miles, that by itself isn't horrible. However, if it was thrown at somebodies head, the effects might not be the best thing.

While that receipt flying that far isn't horrible by itself, the fact that the receipt was able to based on the winds of a tornado makes it awful.

So, yes. It's horrible for those closest to the tornado.

[GKirk]

5. I think the horrible train

left the station after the tornado swept through the town.

[RayOfHope]

6. You are absolutely correct.

The news said today that the wind was so strong that it picked up and moved the concrete parking bumpers that are at the end of parking spaces. Those things are upwards of 300 pounds. Most of the tornado injuries were from people being impaled by debris. Its ugly.

[aquart]

8. I'm still impressed by the kid who put on his bike helmet.

Which saved him from being brained by his flying toilet. His mother went and found that helmet with a reporter.

[emsimon33]

7. I understood what you meant

and I'm not sure why GKirk was being so snarky at your expression of sympathy for those who suffered through the tornado in Joplin.

[GKirk]

12. Well the story posted was about

a person in Indiana finding a receipt that was sucked up into the jetstream by the tornado.

[jberryhill]

4. Who keeps records like these?

[aquart]

9. Weather geeks.

[izquierdista]

10. Who, according to Repubs, are unworthy

I mean what good could studying tornadoes, volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis be? :shrug:

[octothorpe]

11. Wow...

(edited 'cause I'm stupid and read it wrong... I thought it was saying it landed on the porch of two weather researchers.. I commented how that sounded funny to me. Anyway, I was wrong. :P)

[PfcHammer]

13. Dang. It'll be cool if they can mount cameras and record

events like this debris movement in the future.

[RayOfHope]

14. Turns out it wasn't from the tornado

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110528/NEWS11/110528002/Receipt-from-Joplin-shows-up-Indiana-via-tornado-Uh-no?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p


It was from a visting father in law who had passed through Joplin earlier while traveling.

[Corruption Winz]

15. To an extent, that's good news...

Still, such a horrible situation. Awful.