If looks like it was another F5 tornado. Winds are estimated (not measured) to be around 295 mph. If true, that makes it the second strongest storm on record.
Here are some gruesome details of the deaths of the three storm chasers:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/nationa...J2utxcEbeZefDJ
Key quote:
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“Because of the circumstances on the two-lane road, it appears that he could not get out of the way, and, basically, the tornado picked up his vehicle,” Jim Samaras told the “Today” show.
The tornado then hurled the light Chevy Cobalt to the ground, leaving it looking as though it had been rammed through a trash compactor, police said.
Tim Samaras, 55, was found dead still belted into the mangled wreck, while the bodies of his son, 24, and Young, 45, were flung a quarter-mile away— in opposite directions.
Their car was found upright in a ditch with its wheels blown off and the engine a quarter-mile away.
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Absolutely awful. Here is a picture of what was left of the vehicle: