Fact check: Viral image is from 2022, not recent Texas tornado
The claim: Image shows Pasadena, Texas, tornado
A Jan. 24 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a massive twister in the background of a residential area and a person walking outside.
"At Walmart Pasadena - Fairmont Pkwy," the post reads.
The image is one of several in the post claiming to be taken in the Texas town. Another compilation of supposed images from the recent storm includes the same photo.
It is also circulating on Twitter and TikTok. The posts accumulated hundreds of shares and likes in a week.
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Our rating: False
This image is from a video that has been circulating since at least May 2022 – long before the Jan. 24 tornado in Pasadena. It shows the 2022 Andover, Kansas tornado and has been turned into a meme.
Video posted May
It is true that a tornado hit Pasadena last week. It caused thousands to lose power and even knocked over a train.
This image is of a different storm, though.
YouTube user Disaster Compilations posted a video with several clips from the April 29 Andover, Kansas, tornado, on May 7, 2022. One clip, which begins at 5:43, matches the image from the post.
The image of the man walking near the tornado also circulated as a meme in June, long before the Pasadena tornado. USA TODAY was not able to identify the source of the video.
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USA TODAY has debunked various other natural disaster-related claims, including false claims about a car stuck after the Buffalo snowstorm and an alligator in a flooded Florida home following Hurricane Ian.
USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the post for comment.
Our fact-check sources:
USA TODAY, Jan. 26, Tornado slams Texas, warnings sweep Florida; tornado forecast updates
Disaster Compilations (YouTube), May 7, 2022, [BEST FOOTAGE] EF-3 Tornado Hits Andover, Kansas
Memedroid, June 22, 2022, Meme by Mdzmemer
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Viral image is from 2022, not recent Texas tornado