The tornado's path can be seen in this panchromatic image acquired on May 1 by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI), flying aboard NASA's EO-1 satellite. La Plata is situated toward the left hand side of this scene and the twister's swath is the bright stripe passing through the town and running eastward 6 miles (10 km) toward the Patuxent River beyond the right side of the image. The stripe is the result of the vegetation flattened by the storm. The flattened vegetation reflects more light.
