Storm chasers catch tornado winds above 300 mph in rare 'intercept'

As a deadly tornado cut a path across Iowa last month, storm chasers tracked it, gathering rare data that is now offering detailed, close-range insight into powerful twisters.

The tornado raced across southern Iowa at nearly 45 mph, shredding wind turbines like string cheese. 

In the town of Greenfield, it overturned cars and ripped homes from their foundations, leaving a gash of destruction that can be seen from space. The twister, which the National Weather Service later rated an EF4, killed five people May 21, making it one of the deadliest so far this year, and injured 35.

More than a dozen tornadoes touched down in the state that day. While most everyone in the area hunkered in basements, a team of nine scientists — storm chasers — sought to get as close as possible to the twisters.

Just before 3 p.m., they saw their opportunity. As a tornado began to brew on their radar screens, the group scrambled into action. They rushed one of their radar trucks to a location about 10 miles west of Greenfield, a community of about 2,000 in southwest Iowa. 

Another team dashed to deploy a pod of scientific instruments directly in the twister’s path. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/storm-chasers-catch-tornado-300-mph-winds-rcna158040

---