By now, you have probably seen the devastation in the Midwest from the latest tornado outbreak from what has been a hyper-active spring severe weather season. As of this writing, the death toll in Joplin, Missouri stands at 126 souls; making this the single deadliest event since modern record keeping began in 1950.
Because the Joplin twister had winds in excess of 200 mph, wind engineers and meteorologists have upgraded the storm to an EF5, on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the strongest of the strong. These types of tornadoesgenerally comprise less than 1% of all tornadoes in any given season. This year is different. We have already witnessed several "super tornadoes," such as the EF5Hackleburg, AL tornado, the EF5 Smithville, MS storm, and the EF4 Tuscaloosa, AL killer that not only had incredible wind speeds, but tracked for hours. Most tornadoes are generally short-lived. Not this season: The Joplin twister was on the ground for an estimated 7 miles, but rapidly intensified right over a highly populated urban area, moving at a forward speed upwards of 40 mph. Despite the warnings, people died as their dwellings simply disintegrated around them.
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