Photographers on the ground have captured similarly-stunning photographs, including Aaron Fuhrman.   He shared several on-the-ground photographs which he shared with NPR, who then combined these photos with screen grabs from Google street view, resulting in the interactive images below.

Click and drag the slider left and right to reveal the impact the EF-5 tornado had on the region.

Grand Avenue:

East 24th Street:

East 24th Street and South Pennsylvania Avenue:

Satellite Photographs over Joplin High School:

Source:  NPR.org

Out of the devastation, a number of stunning images have resulted.   Click each image for a larger view.

The Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado of April 27, 2011. Credit: Dusty Compton.

Destruction in Tuscaloosa, Alabama following the April 27, 2011 tornado.

Destruction in Tuscaloosa, Alabama following the April 27, 2011 tornado.

Destruction in Tuscaloosa, Alabama following the April 27, 2011 tornado.

The concrete stairs are all that remain of this Tuscaloosa, Alabama home following the devastating April 27, 2011 tornado.

The tornadoes tossed cars around like toys. April 27, 2011.

Trees were stripped of leaves and even bark by the winds that topped 200 mph in some of the tornadoes that devastated Alabama. April 27, 2011.

A mattress rests high above the home it once occupied, nestled in the broken branches of a tree stripped by the April 27, 2011 tornado.

A home had its walls peeled way like the lid of a sardine can during the devastating tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011.

Over 17" of freshly-fallen snow collapsed the roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome-home of the Minnesota Vikings.

A blizzard for the ages collapsed one of the most iconic landmarks of metro Minneapolis on Sunday morning: the Metrodome. The home of the Minnesota Vikings and former home of the Minnesota Twins could not stand the weight of the 17.1″ of snow that had piled on the Teflon roof over the preceding 36 hours.

Over 17" of freshly-fallen snow collapsed the roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome-home of the Minnesota Vikings.

For the short term, the Vikings-Giants game that had been rescheduled for Monday night at the Dome will be played in Detroit instead. The NFL has promised free tickets to anyone who wishes to attend the game, as well as preferred seating at the 50-yard line for anyone who has tickets for the Metrodome game and wishes to make the frigid trek to Detroit.
For the longer term, the Metropolitan Sports Commission–the organization that manages the Metrodome, is considering all of their options to repair the roof.

The NFL has moved the upcoming Vikings-Giants game to Detroit and is offering free tickets to anyone wishing to attend.

The massive taurpaulin roof — nearly 10 acres in area — collapsed under the cumulative weight of over 17 inches of freshly-fallen snow.

The massive tarpaulin roof-nearly 10 acres in surface area-collapsed under the tremendous weight of over 17" of freshly-fallen snow.

Aerial photos show the roof tore in two places in the center and one near the edge of the roof.

Over 17" of freshly-fallen snow collapsed the roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome-home of the Minnesota Vikings.

The Metrodome’s roof is made of two layers of Teflon coated fiberglass fabric, and is an air-supported structure supported by positive air pressure. To maintain the differential air pressure, spectators usually enter and leave the seating and concourse areas through revolving doors, since the use of regular doors without an airlock would cause significant loss of air pressure. The double-walled construction allows warmed air to circulate beneath the top of the dome, melting accumulated snow.

A sophisticated environmental control center in the lower part of the stadium is manned to monitor weather and make adjustments in air distribution to maintain the roof. However, such technological efforts aren’t always sufficient to maintain the integrity of the roof.

This photo from several blocks away shows the flattened roof of the Metrodome-an unusual sight for residents used to the familiar inflated bubble appearing on the skyline.

The roof has deflated five times in the stadium’s history. On November 19, 1981, a rapid accumulation of over a foot of snow caused the roof to collapse, requiring it to be re-inflated. It deflated the following winter on December 30, 1982, again because of a tear caused by heavy snow. In the spring following that same winter, on April 14, 1983, the Metrodome roof deflated because of a tear caused by a late-season heavy snow, and the scheduled Twins’ game with the California Angels was postponed. On April 26, 1986, the Metrodome roof suffered a slight tear because of high winds, causing a nine-minute delay in the bottom of the seventh inning vs the Angels.

This file photo shows the interior of the Metrodome before the December 12, 2010 collapse of the Teflon roof.

Officials haven’t fully assessed the damage from the recent deflation, though they are optimistic the roof can be repaired before the next home Vikings game against the Chicago Bears on December 20th.

The record setting hailstone was discovered in Vivian, measuring 8.0 inches in diameter, 18.625 inches in circumference, and weighing in at an amazing 1.9375 pounds.

This massive hail fell in the town of Vivian, South Daktoa on July 23, 2010. The hail measured over 8 inches in diameter and weighed nearly 2 pounds. Image Source: National Weather Service.

During a particularly violent thunderstorm on July 23, 2010, all of the town’s 55 homes were damaged, and one mobile home received 25 holes in its roof. Vivian, a town of about 110 people, is located 50 miles west of Chamberlain along Interstate 90 in central South Dakota.

The resident who located this stone in his yard quickly placed the hail in his freezer.  However, due to the severity of the storm, the electricity service was lost and the freezer was not powered for over 5 hours following the storm.  The resident who preserved the stone stated he felt it was closer to 10 to 11″ in diameter (rather than the later-measured 8 inches) at the time if fell.

This massive hail fell in the town of Vivian, South Daktoa on July 23, 2010. The hail measured over 8 inches in diameter and weighed nearly 2 pounds. Image Source: National Weather Service.

This hail stone shattered the previous record for size.  The former record was a hail stone that measured 7″ in diameter and weighed closer to 1.6 pounds.  That stone fell in Aurora, Nebraska on June 22, 2003.  Prior to the Aurora, NE hailstone, the world record hailstone was from Coffeyville, Kansas.

The dynamics of a thunderstorm that is capable of producing such massive hail cannot be understated.  Hail forms as the updraft of a thunderstorm carries water droplets and ice crystals high in the sky.  The moisture is carried so high in the atmosphere that it freezes at high altitudes.  It eventually begins to fall and as it does so, it collects more moisture as it falls through the cloud.  This increases its size by giving it a coating of water.  If the hail stone gets caught up in the uprdraft again, it can make another trip up in the cloud, adding another layer of moisture which again freezes at high altitudes.  As this pattern continues, the hail stone becomes heavier, increasing the liklihood that the stone will fall from the cloud.  But if the updraft is strong enough, the stone may remain in the cloud for many, many cycles.  Initial estimates, based on the size of the stone, indicate that the updraft strength in the Vivian hail storm likely ranged from 160 to 180 miles per hour.

In the days following the storm, the hail stone was sent to the National Center for Atmospheric Research lab in Colorado for full documentation.  They certified the stone as the largest fully-documented hail stone in terms of weight (1.94 pounds) and diameter (8.0 inches).  Plans were made to construct a casting (mold) of the hail stone so that replicas could be displayed at the Historical Museum in Lyman County, South Dakota and at the Aberdeen, South Dakota National Weather Service Office.

Whether or not this is truly the largest hail stone to ever drop in the United States is a question that will remain unanswered.  What we do know is that it is at least the largest documented stone. Chances are a larger stone likely fell sometime in some location in the US but went undetected.

A massive iceberg drifts off the southern coast of Australia, promising tourists and beach-goers an amazing sight should it drift closer. Scientists expect the iceberg to slowly shrink and break apart in warmer ocean waters.

Large ice caps at the poles often shed large iceburgs every year, but rarely does such a large iceburg drift so near land, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.  This particular iceberg is believed to be a remnant of a larger sheet that was shed by the Ross Sea Ice shelf nearly 10 years ago.

This satellite photograph shows large icebergs calving from the larger antarctic ice sheet at the edge of the south pole.

The group of icebergs were thought to be heading to New Zealand but have now been blown off course.  That has not stopped a group of Australians who are determined to cash-in by trying to set up a floating bar on one of the icebergs.

The iceberg that has drifted toward Macquarie Island has taken a long path to get there. While it is proving quite a sight for islanders, scientists expect it to slowly shrink and break up in warmer ocean waters as the southern hemisphere summer looms.

The Australian Meteorology Bureau went as far as issuing a shipping alert late last week as a massive iceberg was drifting within 1000 miles of the southwestern coast of the country. This followed New Zealand’s similar alerts late last month when a slew of icebergs headed toward South Island, New Zealand.  Those have since drifted away from land.

This massive iceberg drifts off the coast of Macquarie Island south of Australia, promising tourists and beach-goers an amazing sight should it drift closer. Scientists expect the iceberg to slowly shrink and break apart in warmer ocean waters.

The largest iceberg is 12 miles long and 5 miles wide.  It is slowly drifting northeast toward Western Australia state.

Like others that have come before it, it is expected that this iceberg will break up as it enters warmer ocean waters.  Such events are not entirely uncommon and scientists state that such a singular event cannot be definitively tied to climate change.

Snow blankets a stretch of the Great Wall of China in this file photo. Chinese Government officials have claimed recent successes in seeding clouds to produce snowfall in and around Beijing as a means of alleviating drought.

While the seeding efforts were localized to the Beijing region, snowfall was reported in several provinces, including Liaoning,Jilin and Hebei.  Chinese media reports government officials as hailing the efforts as a success.  “We wont miss any opportunity of artificial precipitation since Beijing is suffering from the lingering drought,” the report quoted Zhang Qiang, head of the Beijing Weather Modification Office, as saying.

This effort comes on the heals of other claims of weather modification successes.  Moscow recently declared it would enjoy a winter without snow, as cloud seeding efforts were underway aimed at forming precipitation outside of city limits.  It is hoped that such efforts would sap the clouds of significant moisture before the clouds moved over Moscow, thus reducing the headaches caused by Moscow’s traditionally heavy urban snowfall.

Cloud seeding efforts aimed at producing precipitation has had a long, checkered history around the world.  While China is employing these efforts to alleviate a substantial drought, other similar precipitation-inducing efforts have been attempted as a means of weakening hurricanes, causing precipitation to fall earlier or outside of a given region, and enhancing snowfall on ski slopes.

This is not the first time the state-run media has made such a claim.  In 2008, the Chinese government openly acknowledged weather modification efforts aimed at reducing smog pollution before and during the Olympic Games.  While the smog was significantly reduced during the games, such results could not be specifically tied to the weather modification efforts, as other smog-reduction efforts were simultaneously employed, such as substantially reducing vehicular traffic in the city.

More recently, China induced snowfall in a similar manner last winter, resulting in highway closures and stranding of thousands of travelers.

Turbulent motions between differing air masses create undulating clouds as seen over rural Kansas in the early morning hours of April 28, 2006. Meteorologists are proposing these clouds be designated as the first new cloud type to be named in over 50 years: Undulus Asperatus.

The Cloud Appreciation Society has designated the clouds as “Undulus Asperatus” or alternatively, “Undulatus Asperatus.”  The Latin term translates loosely as “turbulent undulation.”  Such clouds are relatively rare, but have been photographed in several areas around the world.

Turbulent motions between differing air masses create undulating clouds as seen over rural Kansas in the early morning hours of April 28, 2006. Meteorologists are proposing these clouds be designated as the first new cloud type to be named in over 50 years: Undulus Asperatus.

The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity.  These clouds are not considered a precursor to severe weather, rather appear to form following rain or thunderstorm activity.

Jane Wiggins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa recently captured several spectacular images of the new cloud type as viewed from a downtown office building.  Several of her images have recently been published by National Geographic Magazine – an honor which Wiggins does not take lightly.

This turbulently undulating cloud photographed over Cedar Rapids Iowa may soon be designated as the first new cloud type named in over 50 years: Undulus Asperatus. Source: Jane Wiggins

This turbulently undulating cloud photographed over Cedar Rapids Iowa may soon be designated as the first new cloud type named in over 50 years: Undulus Asperatus. Source: Jane Wiggins

“It is a bit like looking at the surface of a choppy sea from below,” said Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, who first identified the asperatus cloud from photographs that were being sent in by members of the society.

“We try to identify and classify all of the images of clouds we get in, but there were some that just didn’t seem to fit in any of the other categories, so I began to think it might be a unique type of cloud.

This turbulently undulating cloud photographed over Cedar Rapids Iowa may soon be designated as the first new cloud type named in over 50 years: Undulus Asperatus. Source: Jane Wiggins

“The underside of the clouds are quite rough and choppy. It looks very stormy, but some of the reports we have been getting suggest that they tend to break up without actually turning into a storm.”

The Royal Meteorological Society is now gathering detailed weather data for the days and locations where the asperatus clouds have been seen in an attempt to understand exactly what is causing them.

A heat burst is a very rare event that occurs only occasionally as a thunderstorm decays.  When thunderstorms are growing, they draw warm, moist air up and into the cloud where moisture condenses and falls out on the other side.  But when a thunderstorm surpasses maturity and a lot of moist air is held high in the cloud, it begins to drop as the thunderstorm loses its updraft.  As this heavy, rain-cooled air begins to fall, it compresses due to higher pressure at the surface.  As the air compresses, it heats up (think of pumping air into a tire and the tire heats up).  This heating can be substantial and is reflected in surface temperature readings when a heat burst impacts the ground.

The evolution of a heat burst begins with a mature thunderstorm (left). As the thunderstorm matures, the upward movement of warm, moist air begins to cease and the downdraft begins to accellerate. As the thunderstorm loses upward momentum, the downward movement of moist air causes compression and heating, resulting in damaging winds at the surface.

The other headline result of a heat burst is the strong wind.  As the air plummets from beneath the thunderstorm and hits the ground, it has no where to go except outward.  In much of the same dynamic principle as a thunderstorm microburst, the air crashes into the ground and spreads out in all directions, frequently reaching winds that exceed hurricane strength.

Since heat bursts are closely associated with decaying thunderstorms.  Thunderstorms are fed by warm, moist air that rises in response to solar heating.  When the sun sets and the surface heating ceases, many thunderstorms lose their primary energy source.  Once this source is absent, many thunderstorms begin to decay.  Since heat bursts are closely related to this decay process, it follows that most heat bursts occur at nighttime.

The recent heat burst in Oklahoma City occurred at 1am on May 13th.  The temperature soared to over 90 degrees as wind speeds topped 55 mph.  Damage was widespread with small trees and limbs reported down throughout the city.

Dramatic heat bursts have occurred throughout the plains states.  Kearney, Nebraska was impacted by a heat burst in on June 20, 2006 when the temperature went from 70 to 93 in minutes overnight and wind speeds topped 60 miles per hour.

More recently, on August 3rd, 2008, a heat burst in Sioux Falls, SD forced air downward in such a dramatic fasion that the wind speeds over 50 miles per hour and the temperature jumped from 70 to 101 in less than 20 minutes.

A smaller spate of wildfires in early February did less damage, but was also well-monitored by the local agencies, including the Norman National Weather Service office which posted information concerning the wildfires near the Kansas border that were visible on local radar.

This week’s larger wildfires have been visible from even farther away:  from space.

Wildfires burning throughout Oklahoma were visible from space on Thursday evening. This image was captured by a heat-detecting infrared satellite. (Credit: NOAA)

On the image above, lighter shades indicate cooler temperatures, such as the high-altitude, cooler clouds visible in the northern portion of the state and also near the Red River south of Ardmore and Durant.  The darker shades indicate higher temperatures and, in this case, fires burning at ground level, as indicated in the yellow circles.

Good news is on the way:  Widespread moderate to heavy rain is forecast for the central Oklahoma corridor over the weekend.  This rainfall should significantly decrease the threat of more fires in an already scorched region. Below is the rainfall forecast from the Norman, Oklahoma National Weather Service Office.

Widespread rainfall is forecast for the weekend. Such rainfall should significantly decrease the wildfire theat in much of central Oklahoma. (Credit: NOAA)

Damage to the CNN building in downtown Atlanta, GA following a tornado on the evening of March 14, 2008.

A recent study by experts on land-atmosphere interactions suggests a connection may exist between large urban population centers and the intensity of tornadoes that impact these areas.

The urban heat island effect is the term given to the hot, dry conditions generated by large expanses of buildings, asphalt, and other human-made conditions that alter the landscape otherwise covered by fields, forests, and bodies of water.  Decades of research have indicated that large urban areas reach higher temperatures during the day, stay warmer at night, and tend to have drier air surrounding them, as there is little open water or moist soil to provide atmospheric moisture.

Atlanta Tornado of 2008

The study indicates a connection between the intensity of the 2008 urban Atlanta tornado and the heat island effect suggests that the hot, dry urban conditions may have led to a larger discrepancy with the surrounding atmospheric conditions, enhancing stability and thus intensifying the storm as it approached the city.

This map published by the Atlanta National Weather Service office describes the track and intensity of the tornado that struck Atlanta, GA on 03/14/2008. Click for a high resolution image (Credit: NOAA / NWS)

The recent research has taken our understanding of the urban heat island one step further by connecting its impact to severe weather.  “Urban regions create their own weather,” said Dev Niyogi, a climatology professor at Purdue University in Indiana and the lead author of the study, which was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “As we are becoming bigger and bigger in terms of our urban footprint, there’s a distinct probability we are going to see cities have their own weather patterns.”

However, not all meteorologists and climatologists agree.  Harold Brooks, a research meteorologist at the federal government’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, in Norman, Okla., said it is already widely accepted that wet ground breeds tornadoes, and noted that strikes on urban areas aren’t rare. There is no evidence suggesting downtown areas are hit “any less or more than any other area of the same size,” Mr. Brooks said. In the past decade, tornadoes have hit Nashville, Tenn.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Miami, as well as Atlanta, he said.

Urban Tornadoes

A tornado strikes downtown Salt Lake City, UT in 1999.

The myth that tornadoes are less likely to strike urban areas continues to remain pervasive, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

It is a common – and definitely false myth that tornadoes do not strike downtown areas. The odds are much lower due to the small areas covered, but paths can go anywhere – including over downtown areas.  St. Louis, MO, for instance, has been struck 4 times in the last century.

It may seem tornadoes impact urban areas less frequently than rural areas simply because urban population centers cover a much smaller fraction of land area than rural areas.  As such, any given tornado is more likely to impact a rural wheat field in Kansas rather than the urban core of a city such as Wichita or Kansas City.

However, tornadoes impacting large urban areas are far from rare.  Beyond the 2008 Atlanta tornado, violent tornadoes have also impacted other large urban centers:

• Omaha, NE (F5, 03/23/1913)
• Topeka, KS (F5, 06/08/1966)
• Lubbock, TX (F5, 05/11/1970)
• Nashville, TN (F3, 04/16/1998)
• Little Rock, AR (F3, 01/21/1999)
• Salt Lake City (F2, 08/11/1999)
• Fort Worth, TX (F3, 03/28/2000)

For a more exhaustive list and details, see the table compiled by Roger Edwards and Joe Schaefer of the Storm Prediction Center on downtown tornadoes.