A twister struck eastern India in the state of Orissa on Tuesday. Thetornado battered 11 villages in the area of Kendrapada, leaving at least 15people dead with 300 homes being wrecked. The thunderstorms that spawned thetornado also unleashed large hail.Severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes are not unknown to India. In thegathering heat of March and April, a time two to three months ahead of therainy summer monsoon, severe thunderstorms do occasionally spread over theplains of northern and eastern India along with nearby Bangladesh. Kendrapada,the site of this twister, lies on a flat plain in the delta of the MahanadiRIver.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews
