PICTURE: The spectacular image of a tornado towering over the Kansas prairie [ot]

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Time to run for it, Auntie Em: The spectacular image of a tornado towering over the Kansas prairieBy Sarah Titterton16th June 2009 A dusty old Ford Explorer stands abandoned on a track before a towering inferno of wind and Kansas dirt in an image that feels like a scene from the Wizard of Oz. This astonishing photograph of a landspout tornado stretching some 4,000 feet into the sky was taken by one of the most famous 'storm chasers' in the United States.Time to run for it, Auntie Em: The landspout tornado towers above the parched Kansas prairie Time to run for it, Auntie Em: The landspout tornado towers above the parched Kansas prairie Photographer Jim Reed has been documenting natural phenomena in America for over 15 years. This photograph appeared in the June 2009 issue of National Geographic Magazine. The Explorer is Mr Reed's research vehicle, that he has used to chase storms across the United States for the last decade and a half. Its red chassis and the parched red-brown dirt of the Kansas prairie is set off against the dazzling white of the clouds - lit from the front by the sun - and the black gathering storm clouds piled beneath. Landspouts are so named because of their resemblance to waterspouts. They are tornadoes that develop through thunderstorms or a towering cumulus cloud. They are usually weak and short-lived. The photograph was taken on May 8, 2008. The twister is just one of 187 that tore through Kansas that year - a U.S. record.«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»Paranormal_Research - Scientific Data, Health Conspiracies & Anything Strange Paranormal_ResearchSubscribe:... Paranormal_Research- GREAT VACATION RENTAL ON THE LAKE: www.vacationhomerentals.com/39833