Oklahoma Tornado

[maxpontiac]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/us/severe-weather/index.html?section=money_topstories

Thoughts and prayers go out those affected. Been watching the live streams, what a tragic event.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Hang in there, Oklahomians!

 

[Slash]

I just read that a meteorologist from down there said that this tornado is the worst/most destructive tornado in the history of the world and put the 1999 twister to shame. Clocks in 2 miles wide.

Hopefully the family down there is alright.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Incredibly destructive tornado, It looks as bad as the one that hit Joplin. An elementary school took a direct hit, it's a debris field now. There are kids walking aroudn the ruins.

Damage footage:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...ugh-neighborhoods-south-of-oklahoma-city?lite

Footage of the tornado itself:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/05/20/tornadoes-severe-weather-plains-midwest/2325875/

 

[playnthru]

I just read that a meteorologist from down there said that this tornado is the worst/most destructive tornado in the history of the world and put the 1999 twister to shame. Clocks in 2 miles wide.

Hopefully the family down there is alright.

Yes, well I don't know about the "history of the world" part. Maybe recorded history? But the rest is pretty much what I saw on CNN.

Worse than 1999, up to two miles wide, 45 minutes on the ground and destroyed everything in it's path. Including two schools and countless homes.

@Slashfan I hope your family's ok man.

Thoughts and prayers to all involved.

 

[TJ13]

Incredibly destructive tornado, It looks as bad as the one that hit Joplin. An elementary school took a direct hit, it's a debris field now. There are kids walking aroudn the ruins.

There are 2 schools that took a hit, unknown on the 2nd one though.

Winds were in excess of 200 miles just a few thousand feet above the ground.

 

[Pupik]

After seeing these images on TV, it looks like the the aftermath of a nuclear test site. I'm hoping for the best, but those schools and that neighborhood looks completely flattened.

 

[Dennisch]

St. Louis has been put on tornado watch, as a storm front is rolling that way.

 

[McLaren]

I just read that a meteorologist from down there said that this tornado is the worst/most destructive tornado in the history of the world and put the 1999 twister to shame. Clocks in 2 miles wide.

Hopefully the family down there is alright.

It may be the most destructive (as far as they know at the moment) & twice as big, but it's hard to say it put the 1999 twister to shame; it was just 1 of 70 during that storm.

The specific twister in that event (that also hit Moore) reached F5 3 times & was on the ground for twice as long traveling iirc, 40 miles or so. And like this one, it leveled everything in its path. It's just famous for the being a F5 & costing the most damage; there were still 4 or 5 other F4s with it. This one will definitely go up there with it those, though.

Having just been in Oklahoma this weekend at the beginning of the cell, most of the people knew this was going to produce tornadoes, & that today would be when the cell could produce the most violent examples. Ones like this though, just come out of the blue & grow from smaller ones without warning. I remember Saturday night watching the sky start to turn green & watching a rotation form as it moved out east, thankful nothing touched down. And as I left Sunday afternoon, my family informed me I passed through Norman just an hour before the one struck there. Still grateful the one in Edmond yesterday didn't reach them, but this F4 was just on another level.

Even with my opinion of the city being boring in comparison to Dallas, it's really the storms such as these that make my decision to never actually live there.

 

[Hyped]

They've reportedly changed from a search and rescue mission to a recovery mission.

 

[TJ13]

10 confirmed dead,

24 "students" are still left feared dead, making the unofficial death toll to 34.

 

[Nicksfix]

Thoughts and prayers to those involved in this horrible incident.

Some more pics of the wrath this storm has laid down.

 

[grrlpurple]

I have been following the live feed on KFOR TV and my thoughts are with all those affected. What I am seeing is near unbelievable.

Around 30 square miles levelled by just one tornado from one supercell. And there were more. 7 now confirmed dead in Plaza Towers elementary school, drowned in a pool, and they are searching for the bodies of 20-30 more. 37 confirmed dead, hundreds injured, many more displaced and homeless. I simply cannot conceive of the scale of this.

 

[disinfected]

Checking in. We've got at least 37 dead.

 

[Blitz24]

Checking in. We've got at least 37 dead.

How was OKC affected compared to Moore? I know its very close by.

 

[disinfected]

There is nothing in between south Oklahoma City and Moore. The storm caused damage in Newcastle, Moore, and South OKC.

 

[McLaren]

News just reported 55 confirmed deaths, with still no report on whether the school has 20-30 additional fatalities.

 

[TJ13]

From the NWS in Norman about the track of today's tornado compared to the one back in May 3rd 1999.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

This is incredible, what destruction. I can't help worrying about a future tornado hitting Oklahoma City Directly, or something similart ot his in 10-15 years time. The death toll is unbelieveable, it definitley makes it worse than the 1999 storm in my eyes.

 

[Unibob]

Just hearing confirmed reports from the medical examiner that the death tool is up to 51. It has just been confirmed that 24 of the lives lost were children at the schools. Some are saying that this one might be worse than the May 3rd, 1999 tornado, which was in the same region, holds the record for the strongest tornado with the highest winds recorded on planet Earth. This and the Joplin, MO tornadoes have been the 2 worst tornadoes in modern history, with the most recent before that hitting Flint, Michigan in 1953.

I'm here in Michigan and I'm just in a state of shock. The destruction is so massive and widespread that...I just can't find words for it. My thoughts and prayers will go out to the region for at least the next several days and hope those affected can find the strength to continue.

 

[a6m5]

I see disinfected's alright. 👍 Brett!!!!!!! I hope he's OK. Also my MW buddy Vausgoth. I'll get on PSN right now. He's always on, so I should be able to tell how he & his family's doing right away.

 

[disinfected]

We've got more storms possibly coming Thursday and Friday. Our move to Dallas can't get here soon enough.

 

[a6m5]

We've got more storms possibly coming Thursday and Friday. Our move to Dallas can't get here soon enough.

Geez. Weren't they talking about another twister just yesterday? It's almost boring here in Oregon. Can't even imagine fighting & surviving through storms like that!

 

[disinfected]

There were two or three pretty big ones yesterday to the northeast of OKC that left a few dead and some smaller towns flattened. Also, one yesterday was spotted over Norman.

Aside from Moore, there was another tornado on the ground further south near Paul's Valley.

Apparently another 40 students and 2 janitors are unaccounted for at the school yet.

 

[a6m5]

Well, my Call of Duty buddy from Oklahoma(don't know which city) has been away from PSN for 32 hours........ He's usually on, so I sure hope he & his family's OK.

 

[McLaren]

Geez. Weren't they talking about another twister just yesterday? It's almost boring here in Oregon. Can't even imagine fighting & surviving through storms like that!

Many Oklahomans are incredibly used to it, amazingly. Some I know through family members usually have a good sense as to when the weather is worth suddenly seeking shelter or riding out after years of watching how the climate changes.

And some don't even bat an eye at the first sign of cloud rotation because they know the worst of the storm has yet to hit & the beginning of the storm will just throw down rain & hail.

 

[a6m5]

Where I'm from, it was earthquakes. They never scared me though, a little thrilling maybe. I would be terrified of Tornadoes.

 

[McLaren]

Reports saying by tomorrow morning, severe rain storms could rise back up north into Norman/Moore. Teams are working to go through the rubble as fast as possible before these arrive & push everyone out.

 

[Brett]

I see disinfected's alright. 👍 Brett!!!!!!! I hope he's OK. Also my MW buddy Vausgoth. I'll get on PSN right now. He's always on, so I should be able to tell how he & his family's doing right away.

I am okay. The tornado was around a half mile away from my house. The house is fine, but does not have power at the moment. The lawn and roof are littered with debris. Surprisingly, the fence that is barely standing managed to stay up through the storm.

Geez. Weren't they talking about another twister just yesterday? It's almost boring here in Oregon. Can't even imagine fighting & surviving through storms like that!

Many Oklahomans are incredibly used to it, amazingly. Some I know through family members usually have a good sense as to when the weather is worth suddenly seeking shelter or riding out after years of watching how the climate changes.

And some don't even bat an eye at the first sign of cloud rotation because they know the worst of the storm has yet to hit & the beginning of the storm will just throw down rain & hail.

The storms happen with enough regularity that for the most part I do not worry much about incoming storms, at least not until the nearest major cross street has been called out. The National Weather Service and local TV station weatherman are go all out with the coverage if there is any potential tornado activity. Their coverage can actually get quite annoying because they like to stay on for what many here would consider very minor storms. I did not get to watch any of the second half of the Spurs/Grizzlies Game 1 because the local ABC station decided weather coverage was more important.

 

[a6m5]

Nice to see you on. 👍 Half a mile's pretty close. By the way, if you think your local news teams bad, you should see ours freak out over some snow on the ground!