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On Its Way
Photograph by Nicholas Rutledge, National Geographic Your Shot
Nicholas Rutledge snapped this picture of yesterday's devastating tornado as it gathered strength in Newcastle, Oklahoma. It later intensified before smashing through suburbs surrounding Oklahoma City, including the city of Moore.
The Oklahoma medical examiner's office currently puts the death toll at 24 people, 9 of whom were children. All 24 fatalities occurred in Moore, according to news reports.
If you have a picture of this tornado and would like to submit it to National Geographic's Your Shot, our editors will consider adding it to this gallery. Please include the hashtag #tornado.
Published May 21, 2013
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Buildup
Photograph by Edgar Rowe, National Geographic Your Shot
Edgar Rowe documented the tornado as it grew in Love County, Oklahoma, on May 20. It would later form an EF5 tornado—the most powerful category of twister—and grow to two miles (three kilometers) across.
The enhanced Fujita (EF) scale—from 0 to 5—measures a tornado's intensity based on wind speeds. EF5 tornadoes have three-second wind bursts over 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour).
Published May 21, 2013
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After the Storm
Photograph by Edgar Rowe, National Geographic Your Shot
Rowe also caught the golden glow of a sunset after the tail end of the storm system—that spawned the devastating tornado that hit Moore—swept through an area just northwest of Muenster, Texas.
The twister that barreled through Oklahoma City and Moore was on the ground for 40 minutes. It traveled 20 miles (32 kilometers) after touching down, according to news reports.
Published May 21, 2013
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