You may have seen this photo on the Internet or in your e-mail box described as the tornado that hit Manhattan and Kansas State University earlier this month. It’s a dramatic image, and it’s a real tornado.
But it didn’t hit Manhattan or K-State.
I typed the words “tornado,” “lightning” and “photo” into Google and the first link offered by the search engine was this very photograph: taken over Lake Okeechobee back in 1991 by a Fred Smith, according to 2006 blog post on a web site called “The Fishin Dog.”
Going one step further, the Manhattan tornado was rain-wrapped, making it impossible to see clearly. If someone sends the shot to you and claims it’s the tornado that hit The Little Apple, e
njoy the image – but don’t buy the story.