The result was a “nightmare” on the roads, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, exacerbated by some employers letting people off early from work to beat the rush hour on Friday.
Tornadoes and flooding from the Friday storms killed 20 people, the chief Oklahoma medical examiner’s office said on Wednesday in its latest update of fatalities. Fallin said some people were sucked from their cars and some vehicles tossed from the roads.
It was the second wave of deadly tornadoes in the area in two weeks. A monster twister flattened whole sections of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on May 20. One Oklahoma tornado on Friday was the widest ever recorded in the United States at 2.6 miles (4.2 km), the National Weather Service said.
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Greg Carbin, Meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said a car is a more dangerous place to be than a well-constructed home in a tornado.
Mike Morgan, chief meteorologist for Oklahoma City television station KFOR, told viewers during a tornado warning to get in their cars and drive away from a threatened storm.
Some people said they followed his advice and ended up stuck in traffic jams on major central Oklahoma highways as a massive storm bore down on the Oklahoma City area.
But some critics said Morgan then went too far when he told viewers: “If you can leave South Oklahoma City and go south do it now.” He repeated similar advice several times.
Morgan was not the only local forecaster to give such advice as the storm front threatened to hit the major population center of Oklahoma City.
Ernst Kiesling, research professor at Texas Tech’s National Wind Institute, said it was wrong to advise people to get in their cars and try to outrun a
The Joplin Tornado got the record of the most people killed in a single tornado since 1947. The 200 mph winds destructed everything in its path. In all it destroyed 4.1 million cubic yards of land.
The Joplin tornado was the biggest tornado on the record for that year. The Joplin tornado was the most powerful tornado that people have ever seen. After the tornado was over there was no building without debris on or in or by them everything was destroyed. The tornado killed thirty-eight people and over 1,000 people were injured. The cost of everything was about 2.8 billion dollars for stores, houses and even cars. The Joplin tornado was the tornado that caused the most damage that year. Now learning from that I have some tips for you. Some tips for you when there is a tornado in the area: If you see a tornado then run to the lowest area in your house and protect yourself. If you don't have a lower level then go to a room without a window. When the tornado hits keep covering yourself till it
During the Joplin, Missouri Tornado many people did not take shelter because they thought it was a false alarm. So by many people not doing that it cause many more injuries. Tornadoes form from rotating air caused by a thunderstorm. Tornadoes usually have winds less the 160 mph but the Joplin, Missouri Tornado did not. The tornado included many details common to tornados, damage and destruction to property and lives that affected the region, but the area has recovered in the aftermath.
In the articles, “Joplin Tornado: The Evil Swirling Darkness” and “A Storm Chaser’s First-Hand Account of the Joplin Tornado,” they both explain how disastrous the Joplin Tornado was, and how it affected the people who experienced it. The articles detail how the people in Joplin were so panicked. They both explain how, everyone started to panic and find out that it was not a false alarm tornado, they knew the tornado was on the ground. In fact, they both state what people did to prevent getting hurt, by going into different types of shelter. Of course it was a disastrous tornado, but people still helped each other after the disaster, because there were no firemen or police to help everyone trapped in the fallen buildings. Therefore, both articles explain how the Joplin tornado was not only terrifying, but traumatizing.
A tornado watch when issued is just a reminder that the weather does have the potential to produce a tornado and that caution should be used when traveling and doing outdoor activities. However, when a tornado warning is issued this is a warning to take cover in a cellar, basement or other safe places; away from windows and other places where one may be harmed.
After prompting several warnings across the area, storm chaser groups reported that a particularly violent supercell had spawned a funnel just southwest of Greensburg at 9:20 p.m. By 9:38 p.m., the storm had grown to a half-mile wide wedge as it approached the town, with several satellite vortices observed rotating around the main vortex. At 9:41 p.m., the National Weather Service station located in Dodge City, Kan. issued an emergency statement for the town of Greensburg, indicating the extreme peril of the situation.
Each tornado differs, but they do have some common patterns to their travel and types of damage, which allow for a set of general predictions and precautions. In the interest of the preservation of life and property and to reduce the destructive effect of tornado pressures and flying debris, we have developed the following procedure.
As suggested by the Department of Commerce in the Joplin, Missouri Service Assessment, the Joplin Tornado has provided them with invaluable information to continue to improve these forecasting, mitigation and preparedness efforts. Each and every storm systems or natural disaster event provides the opportunity for these fields to learn, grow and apply new life saving technology and
A low pressure system was over Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri moving towards the northeast. To the east of the low pressure system there was a warm front advancing north and a cold front trailing to the southwest. The temperatures recorded just before 1 p.m. was over 60o F. We can assume there was a 100-knot upper-level jet max moving from the west/southwest given the speed of the tornado. Wind shear was also present, helping with the rotation (National Weather Service, 2011). With these factors there was everything to make the perfect tornado.
It is vital for the survival of mankind that we respect and understand the severity and danger of natural forces and weather conditions. Although advances have been made in the predictions and warning systems of the National Weather Service, or NWS, we must be vigilant in our efforts to always respect what is coming. It is also imperative that we learn from the mistakes we have made in the past and grow from them. One such piece of literature which can help to do this is "Storm Warnings: The story of the a Killer Tornado", by Nancy Mathis, which depicts an amazingly horrific incident where mankind was not prepared for what was coming. The following is understanding of the events that took place on May 3rd, 1999, which showcased an amazing, and terrible, spectacle of tornadoes in Oklahoma. Furthermore we will delve into what has changed since this to better our understanding of upcoming weather related dangers as well as planning for said forces of nature.
Meanwhile tornadoes are dramatically different from hurricanes. Hurricanes form over vast stretches of water, and the warmer the water the more the potentially deadly the hurricane will be. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 ""¦was responsible for at least 8000 deaths" (Blake, et al, 2011). Hurricanes develop in tropical oceans and move westward in the direction of the southern and eastern United States. Tornadoes also affected by the jet stream form over land, not over water, and although they can be up to a mile wide, they are generally a quarter of a mile wide. Hurricanes are sometimes several hundred miles wide which makes them a far
The article Joplin tornado shows how a tornado can be so dangerous. The reason why it was so dangerous is because it was one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history. Also one hundred fifty-eight people died and more than one thousand people were injured. Another thing is that it was a F-5 tornado. The last reason why it was so dangerous is because it flattened 99 percent of a neighborhood. Finally the Joplin tornado was dangerous and horrible and a lot of people died and were injured, and houses were flattened to in this tornado, Those were some of the reasons why the Joplin tornado was dangerous.
Experts once thought tornado winds exceeded 500 miles per hour. Research in recent years, however, has shown that winds rarely exceed 250 miles per hour and most tornadoes have winds of less 112 miles per hour. An average tornado will be 400 to 500 feet wide and travel four and five miles on the ground, lasting only a few minutes. A mile-wide tornado is extremely large, and tornadoes like these are very rare. Many tornadoes are small, less than 100 feet wide, and last only a few minutes. A few monster tornadoes are a mile wide or larger, and can last for an hour or more. Tornadoes are measured by the Fujita-Pearson Tornado Scale. They range anywhere from a F-0, being the weakest to a F-5 being the strongest.
The damage from tornadoes comes from the strong winds they contain. It is generally believed that tornado wind speeds can be as high as three hundred miles per hour in most violent tornadoes. Wind speeds that high can cause automobiles to become airborne, rip ordinary homes to shreds, and turn broken glass and other debris into lethal missiles. The biggest threat to living creatures, including humans, from tornadoes is from flying debris and from being tossed about in the wind. It used to be believed that the low pressure in a tornado contributed to the damage by making buildings "explode" but this is no longer believed to be true.
Tornadoes are a deadly force of nature. They cause massive destruction and death. “Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms.” (www.nssl.noaa.gov 1) As displayed by this information, there is no doubt that tornadoes are powerful and dangerous. “In a worst case scenario, tornadoes can reach speeds of 300+ mph, can cause incredible damage, level buildings, hurl cars through the sky like missiles, lift trees out of their roots, and rip even the sturdiest buildings to shreds along with taking countless lives.” Tornadoes are no force of nature that should be underestimated. Within a matter of seconds, a tornado can obliterate an entire community, leaving hundreds of families without the basic necessities for life.