Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched into the barren landscape.
Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched into the barren landscape.
The find intrigued scientists, including my colleagues and I. Upon closer investigation, we realized the scar was created by a ferocious tornado that no-one knew had occurred. We outline the findings in new research published today.
Tornadoes are a known threat in the United States and elsewhere. But they also happen in Australia.
Without the power of technology, this remarkable example of nature’s ferocity would have gone unnoticed. It’s important to study the tornado’s aftermath to help us predict and prepare for the next big twister.
Tornadoes are violent, spinning columns of air that drop from thunderstorms to the ground, bringing wind speeds often exceeding 200 kilometers an hour. They can cause massive destruction—uprooting trees, tearing apart buildings and throwing debris over large distances.
Tornadoes have been reported on every continent except Antarctica. They most commonly occur in the Great Plains region of the United States, and in the north-east region of India–Bangladesh.
The earliest observed tornado in Australia occurred in 1795 in the suburbs of Sydney. But a tornado was not scientifically confirmed here until the late 1800s.
In recent decades, documented instances in Australia include a 2013 tornado that crossed north-east Victoria and traveled up to the New South Wales border. It brought winds between 250 and 300 kilometers an hour and damaged Murray River townships.
