What are these two mysterious lines on satellite image of Nebraska? Any ideas?
NASA’s Terra satellite captured two odd lines over Nebraska, recently. But what are they actually?
You probably remember the twin tornadoes that swept across Nebraska and destroyed parts of Pilger in Nebraska about 10 days ago. Well, what is illustrated in this satellite picture are the tracks and scars left in the Earth after the passage of these EF4 tornadoes.
Here the description by NASA:
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured the top image of northeast Nebraska on June 21, 2014. Two of the EF-4 tornado tracks are visible in the false-color image (near-infrared, red, green). The tracks are tan paths of bare ground across plant-covered fields, which are red. The towns of Pilger and Wisner are bright white. The lower image, also from the ASTER instrument, shows the region on July 4, 2013. Turn on the comparison tool to contrast the before and after views.
These tornadoes were rare twin tornadoes that were on the ground at the same time. The two EF4 tornado tracks start at the bottom-middle and traveled northeast where they eventually crossed paths and dissipated (middle top of the image). According to the National Weather Service, the tornado that hit Pilger directly had a path 18.41 miles long. The eastern tornado traveled 11.84 miles.
