The Doppler on Wheels research radar measured a wind speed of 301 mph about 100 feet above the ground in that tornado, which was up to three-quarters of a mile wide. Moore, Oklahoma At the Emerald Springs Apartments, three more people were killed and a two-story apartment building was mostly flattened. Over 300 homes suffered EF4 or EF5 damage, according to NWS-Norman. Amazingly, two other tornadoes also touched down in Moore that day, both rated EF1. Medical and mortuary teams were also sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. . CDT. Because Oklahoma has historically been climatologically prone to tornadic activity, Oklahoma City-area television stations KFOR-TV (channel 4), KOCO-TV (channel 5) and KWTV (channel 9) each of which provided continuous coverage of the outbreak that spawned the Bridge CreekMoore tornado and its ensuing aftermath from the event's start on the afternoon of May 3 through the evening of May 4 have long relied on state-of-the-art radar technology and visual confirmation from news helicopters and in-house storm chasing fleets to cover severe weather events. Despite the lack of overall lift prevalent in the region, the storm formed out of a contrail-like horizontal area of convective clouds that developed during peak surface heating over southwestern Oklahoma, located well ahead of the dry line that was still positioned farther to the west, which provided enhanced lift and speed shear necessary to develop the supercell. In downtown Oklahoma City, spectators attending sporting events held that evening involving two of the city's minor league teams a regular season Pacific Coast League baseball game between the Oklahoma RedHawks and the Memphis Redbirds (which was suspended during the second inning) and Game 2 of the Ray Miron President's Cup series between the Central Hockey League's Oklahoma City Blazers and Huntsville Channel Cats were also evacuated to shelter in an underground storage area connected to the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark and Myriad Convention Center amid concerns that the storm would jog northward and place Oklahoma City itself in the tornado's path. Many homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed throughout the affected areas and the total damage estimate was $1.2 billion. Since weak tornadoes were not always documented prior to 1950, this number is likely well underestimated, according to NWS. There were several vortices wrapping around the massive circulation of the El Reno tornado. [26], Safety precautions were also enacted elsewhere in and near the storm's path; council members and citizens at Moore City Hall where a council meeting was scheduled to be held that evening sheltered in place in the building's first-floor restrooms, away from the multiple large-pane windows at its facade. AnEF1tornado was confirmed to have tracked 10.4 miles across the southwest Oklahoma City metro, including Will Rogers World Airport. Continuing into the 4 th before a break and additional tornadoes, 114 twisters occurred in this part of a sequence during the week. As that happened, the first thunderstorm cell of the unfolding event had already formed over southwestern Oklahoma. Around 4:00a.m. CDT that morning, Doppler radar and wind profile data indicated a 90-knot (100mph; 170km/h) streak of elevated jet stream winds along the CaliforniaNevada border, though weather balloon soundings sent up the previous evening by National Weather Service (NWS) offices in the western U.S. and numerical computer model data failed to detect the fast-moving air current as it moved ashore from the Pacific Ocean. A total of 56 tornadoes were observed in Oklahoma that afternoon. F-4 (devastating damage): 207-260 mph. Damage. The team's findings also revealed that several homes were obliterated before they experienced the full impact of the vortex's peak wind velocities, with some disintegrating as the external winds surrounding the parent tornado reached speeds of F2 intensity. [26] Numerous industrial buildings were leveled in this area of the city. How May 3, 1999, Kicked Off a Life-Chang Tornado Threat Weakens, but More Thunderstorms, Large Hail Pummel Midwest. The circulation alsoovertook and rolled The Weather Channel's Tornado Hunt vehicle, requiring one chase team member to be hospitalized. The 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado (locally referred to as the May 3rd tornado) was an extraordinarily powerful F5 tornado in which the highest wind speeds ever measured globally were recorded at 301 20 miles per hour (484 32 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar. Tornado swath map on May 10, 2010. 1999 Tornado Outbreaks . Late Week Storm Taking Aim at Derby Events | There were only two tornadoes in central Oklahoma on May 8, 2003. The width of the tornado was given a conservative estimate of 2.6 miles, a new official record for the widest U.S. tornado, beating the previous record of 2.5 miles near Hallam, Nebraska, on May 22, 2004. To help illustrate how widespread the public perception has become in recent years, in the slide above, the two captions below the photograph are actual captions that appeared below this photograph in widely read weekly national news magazines. Here is a rundown of the days with at least one F/EF3 or stronger tornado in the Oklahoma City metro area since May 3, 1999 from the NWS office in Norman, Oklahoma. [46] Assistance for farmers and ranchers who suffered severe losses from the tornadoes was also available by June 3. Isotach analysis (kt) and geopotential height plot for the 250-hPa pressure level, 0000 UTC 2 May 1999, over conventional station plots. (MORE: The Most Extreme Wind Speeds on Earth). [19] Since the record for maximum winds are reported from only non-tornadic events, however, the 253mph (407km/h) wind gust from Cyclone Olivia in 1996 retained the title.[20][21]. [21] At this time, it had attained a width of one mile (1.6km), having grown to its largest width after crossing the South Canadian River into the southern Oklahoma City limits. That 1999 outbreak was followed by seven more days with at least one F/EF3 or stronger tornado in the Oklahoma City metro area through 2015. Adjusted for inflation, the 1999 storm, an EF-5, caused $1.35 billion in damage. This tornado was preceded by the first tornado warning ever issued. [38] Within the first few days of the disaster declaration, relief funds began being sent to families who requested aid. With over 130 additional tornadoes the following two days, this May 24-26, 2011 outbreak became one of the nation's worst on record, based on the combination of statistics compiled by The Weather Channel severe weather expert, Dr. Greg Forbes. [55] The casualties at the three overpasses are attributed to the Venturi effect, as tornadic winds were accelerated in the confined space of each of the overpasses that the tornadoes passed through, increasing the chances that those riding out the tornado would be blown out at high speeds even if they tried to anchor themselves to the girders. On the evening of Monday, May 3, 1999, a large and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado registered the highest wind speeds ever measured globally; winds were recorded at 30120 miles per hour (48432km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar. The radius to maximum wind speed R max and radial pressure distribution parameter . A wind speed of 301 mph, or 484 km/h, was recorded by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar. Damage then diminished rapidly to F0/F1 strength as the tornado crossed Reno Avenue, before dissipating three blocks north of Reno, between Sooner Road and Air Depot Boulevard (south of the Midwest CityOklahoma City line). . Some of these storms were killers, including the twisters which moved through and/or near Dover, Shawnee, Perry and Bridge Creek, and the Moore and southern Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. The three network-affiliated stations, other local media outlets and the NWS also routinely conduct various tornado preparedness symposiums to ensure residents undertake precautions in the event a tornado or other severe weather affects their area. This wedge tornado, which tracked a 35-mile (56 km) path, was very wide and at times exceeded one mile (1.6 km) in width. Five deaths, 100 injuries and heavy damage were reported from the Wichita, Kansas metro area. After consulting Commanding General of the Oklahoma City Air Material Area, Fred Borum, a forecast for heavy thunderstorms between 5 and 6 p.m. was issued for the base. The fact we can pinpoint dangerous severe weather potential even a couple of days out today can be traced back to this courageous forecast in 1948 and the subsequent development of forecast techniques and Doppler radar by talented research and operational meteorologists. In addition, the dry line was diffused, with surface winds behind and ahead of the boundary moving into the region from a southerly direction. As is the case with tornadoes in the U.S., the small fraction of violent tornadoes (six EF4, EF5 since May 3, 1999) were by far the deadliest and most destructive. Damage consistent with this rating was sustained over the following 6.5 miles (10.5km) of the path before striking Bridge Creek. This single tornado, one of a Sooner State record 61 tornadoes during that May 3 outbreak, was the first F5 tornado on record to hit the Oklahoma City metro area. [7] Seven people were killed as a direct result of the tornado in Del City, and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed. But thin, cooling cirrus clouds began to part and the sun warmed the ground, which sent more warm air aloft. Freeways, including Interstate 35, were jammed with traffic. Traffic on Interstate 35 in south Oklahoma City and north Moore became backed up for several miles, as drivers evacuated from their vehicles to seek shelter under an overpass overlooking South Shields Boulevard. [10][14], The thunderstorm that eventually produced the F5 tornado began developing around 3:20p.m. CDT that afternoon over northeastern Tillman County (southwest of Faxon). Another EF3 tornado tracked from far northeast Oklahoma County into Logan and Lincoln Counties, including the towns of Carney, and Luther. Sadly, while the tornadoes werent directly responsible for any fatalities, record daily rainfall for the month of May claimed the life of a woman seeking shelter from the tornado in an underground storm cellar. Mobile Doppler radars such as the University of Oklahoma's Doppler on Wheels have remotely sensed tornado wind speeds above ground level as high as about 302 mph. On May 3, 1999, multiple supercell thunderstorms produced many large and damaging tornadoes in central Oklahoma during the late afternoon and evening hours. Extensive ground scouring occurred, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards from where they originated, including a mangled pickup truck that was found wrapped around a telephone pole. In all, about 56 tornadoes touched down in four states that day, according to The Weather Channel severe weather expertDr. Greg Forbes. [47] After more than a month of being open, emergency shelters were set to be closed on June 18. [30], Following the destructive and widespread tornado outbreak, President Bill Clinton signed a major disaster declaration for eleven Oklahoma counties (including the four that were affected by the Bridge CreekMoore tornado, Cleveland, McClain, Grady and Oklahoma) on May 4. [9], By 7:00a.m. CDT, CAPE (convective available potential energy) values began exceeding 4,000 J/kg, an extreme value well above the climatological threshold favoring the development of severe thunderstorms. Damage in Bridge Creek was extreme, as many homes were swept away completely, leaving only concrete slabs where the structures once stood. A flipped church van sits in the backyard of a home in Moore, Okla. on May 9, 2003. The El Reno tornado claimed eight lives, all in vehicles,including renowned storm chaser/researcher Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and his chase partner Carl Young. Three months later, as homes were being built in the damage path, Marshall found their construction to be scarcely superior to that of the homes destroyed in the May 3 storm. J Emerg Med (1999) National Weather Service; . [16], At 6:23p.m. CDT, a ninth tornado associated with supercell "A" touched down about two miles (3.2km) south-southwest of Amber. This photo of Tornado A9 was taken near the Bridge Creek, OK area on May 3, 1999 by NWS Norman general forecaster Erin Maxwell. . One of those took a four-mile path in the east side of the city of Moore. The tornado proceeded through additional densely populated areas of Moore shortly thereafter, where several large groups of homes were flattened in residential areas, with a mixture of high-end F4 and low-end F5 damage noted in the survey. May 3, 2019 Katie Wheatley On May 3, 1999 a generational tornado outbreak impacted the Plains with a focus on Oklahoma. A man who helped the mother and son up the overpass suffered severe injuries to his leg, which was partially sliced by a highway sign thrown by the winds. A freight railroad car, weighing 36,000lb (16,000kg) was thrown 0.75mi (1.21km). It quickly became a wedge tornado, varying between one-quarter and one mile (0.40 and 1.61km) in width at various points throughout the track. It was a pair of Oklahoma City metro tornadoes that helped launch the very severe weather forecasts that we depend on today. One survivor was uninjured but died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an apparent reaction to losing his home in the tornado. This video is from Oklahoma City TV station KFOR.Several times the people in this video recommend seeking shelter under an overpass. At the time, it was the costliest tornado in state history. . Crossing Southeast 44th Street into Del City, the tornado moved through the highly populated Del Aire housing addition, killing six people and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes, with many sustaining F3 to F4 damage. Amazingly, two other tornadoes also touched down in Moore that day, both rated EF1. In fact, both the 2013 and 2003 events featured two tornadoes tracking from roughly the Edmond area to near Luther, as well as a Moore-to-Norman track. Initially rated anEF5tornado based on these measurements, NOAA then downgraded the rating toEF3in late August 2013, since the Enhanced-Fujita is a tornado damage scale, and no damage higher thanEF3was found. Warm, well-fitting, supportive cotton shoes. One of roughly 51 tornadoes that day in the Plains, an EF4 tornado in Grady and McClain Counties thankfully weakened substantially before moving into the southwest side of the Oklahoma City metro area, with only minor tree and power line damage, according to the National Weather Service. Thanks to considerable effort from the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman, Oklahoma, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center and historical tornado guru Tom Grazulis, this long history has been documented as best as records allow. On March 20, 1948, an F3 tornado demolished 52 aircraft at Tinker Air Force Base on Oklahoma City's southeast side. Since weak tornadoes were not always documented prior to 1950, this number is likely well underestimated, according to NWS. Just after 6 p.m., a tornado had, in fact, touched down at Tinker AFB. Destructive tornadoes on back-to-back days raked through parts of central Oklahoma in mid-late May 2013. Maps of SPC Day-1 categorical convective outlook risk areas with ending valid times at 12 UTC 4 May 1999. I agree that the 450 mph wind speed sounds somewhat unsubstantiated and erronious, but most sources have stated that the portable doppler radar detected a windspeed of 318 mph within the tornado. For nearly twenty years, meteorologists had questioned the safety of these structures; however, they lacked incidents involving loss of life. 6 Sponsored by Saltyfel A very nice pair of cotton shoes. Some of these storms were killers, including the twisters which moved through and/or near Dover, Shawnee, Perry and Bridge Creek, and the Moore and southern Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. It quickly intensified into a violent F4, and gradually reached F5 status after traveling 6.5 miles (10.5km), at which time it struck the town of Bridge Creek. With a total of 72 tornadoes, it was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history, although not the deadliest. [48] On June 21, an educational road show made by FEMA visited the hardest hit areas in Oklahoma to urge residents to build storm cellars. As residents were sifting through the debris from these tornadoes the following day, a lone supercell thunderstorm spawned a massive EF5 tornado up to 1.3 miles wide through Newcastle and Moore, Oklahoma,claiming 24 lives. Interstate 40 is depicted by the yellow line roughly west-to-east near the center of the images. F-2 (considerable damage): 113-157 mph. "[32] The American Red Cross opened ten shelters overnight across central Oklahoma, housing 1,600 people immediately following the disaster. From 1890-2016, at least 162 tornadoes were documented in the Oklahoma City metro area, an average of just over one each year. Five deaths, 100 injuries and heavy damage were reported from the Wichita, Kansas metro area. A few locations in Moore and southeast Oklahoma City had also been hit by an F5 tornado that moved through the area on May 3, 1999. 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