As for those who think it looks too clam, it is absolutely possible to be really close to a tornado and have it be really, really calm. I've been in quite a few, including this one. It was an F4, and I didn't even know it was there. I was outside playing basketball. It was calm as can be. My neighbor and I stepped to the side of the garage and there it was. It took a bit before the wind really picked up. Here is a photo of it.
no subject
You can see the shadow exposures in the stop sign, railroad crossing and especially the flag, which probably was moving.
You can also see spots and it isn't as horribly compressed or cropped like the paper did in its snope entry: http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/iowatornado.asp
As for those who think it looks too clam, it is absolutely possible to be really close to a tornado and have it be really, really calm. I've been in quite a few, including this one. It was an F4, and I didn't even know it was there. I was outside playing basketball. It was calm as can be. My neighbor and I stepped to the side of the garage and there it was. It took a bit before the wind really picked up. Here is a photo of it.