NASA satellite spots tornado track near Conway, Ark.

The top image, acquired on April 28 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows what appears to be a tornado track north of Little Rock, Arkansas.

The lower image, from April 25, shows the same area before the storm. The tracks are pale brown trails where trees and plants have been uprooted, leaving disturbed ground.

The difference in clarity between the two images is likely due to the centering of the scene beneath the satellite. On April 25, Aqua flew more directly over the area, while on April 27, it observed the Little Rock area from a slightly offset angle.

References

National Weather Service (2014, April 28) Tornadoes/Flooding on April 27-28, 2014. Accessed April 28, 2011.

Arkansas Blog (2014, April 28) Mapping the tornado’s path. Accessed April 28, 2011.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Adam Voiland. NASA Earth Observatory would like to credit Aaron Perry for pointing out the track.

Instrument(s): Aqua – MODIS