The sinuous curl of the Cordell, Okla. tornado is one of the more familiar profiles in the slide collection of the National Severe Storms Laboratory. Note the yellowish-brown color. Tornadoes come in various hues, depending on various factors, such as the viewer's position in relation to the sun. One story has it that, on April 26, 1991, a tornado briefly took on a pinkish cast after it sucked up geraniums from a Kansas nursery.