To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 13:20:59 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Tornado!
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

On Tue, 30 Apr 2002 09:50:37 -0400 "Erica VD Ginter" <eginter at klgai.com>
writes:
> It's interesting to see how much more media coverage this tornado is
> getting compared with "my" tornado in Sept.

For what it's worth, the La Plata tornado has been rated as an F5, the
strongest rating, while the most lethal MD tornado, which also struck La
Plata (in 1926) and killed 14 children, was estimated as an F4.  This
month's tornado was reported to have cut a path of maximum destruction 26
miles long and 50 to 400 feet wide.  Some tornados are much larger, with
a path of maximum destruction more than 1000 feet wide.  The F rating is
only based on wind speed, not size.

In the Sept. tornado, my brother and nephew were walking out of a
shopping mall in Laurel, and the nephew said 'something's not right'.
They looked towards Beltsville and saw debris swirling in a dark sky.
The Sept. tornado started in VA, crossed DC without touching down, and
did the most damage in College Park and Beltsville.

Ron Kean

.

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