Severe thunderstorm warning Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall counties
BULLETIN – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
916 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
SOUTHWESTERN ATOKA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA…
NORTHWESTERN BRYAN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA…
SOUTHEASTERN CARTER COUNTY IN SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA…
JOHNSTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA…
NORTHEASTERN LOVE COUNTY IN SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA…
MARSHALL COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA…
* UNTIL 1000 AM CDT
* AT 914 AM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 3 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF REAGAN TO MANNSVILLE TO LAKE MURRAY…MOVING SOUTHEAST
AT 35 MPH.
HAZARDS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE…
LARGE DAMAGING HAIL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE…
DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 65 MPH…
* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
DURANT…MADILL…TISHOMINGO…MARIETTA…KINGSTON…DICKSON…
CADDO…OAKLAND…MANNSVILLE…RAVIA…MILBURN…SILO…KENEFIC…
ARMSTRONG…MEAD…WOODVILLE…FILLMORE…LAKE TEXOMA…LITTLE CITY
AND OVERBROOK.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
MOVE INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
Rainfall totals since midnight, Oklahoma Mesonet
Later today, tonight, tornadoes possible in southwest Oklahoma, that may change, but here’s a forecast map, National Weather Service, Norman
Severe thunderstorm warning for Murray, Marshall, Carter, Johnston counties, National Weather Service, Norman
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
856 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
MURRAY OK-MARSHALL OK-CARTER OK-JOHNSTON OK-
856 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
…A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 930 AM CDT
FOR CENTRAL MURRAY…NORTHERN MARSHALL…CENTRAL CARTER AND WESTERN
JOHNSTON COUNTIES…
AT 851 AM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED TO
DETECT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM MILL
CREEK TO GENE AUTRY TO 3 MILES NORTH OF LONE GROVE…MOVING SOUTH AT
35 MPH.
HAZARDS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE…
LARGE DESTRUCTIVE HAIL UP TO TENNIS BALL SIZE…
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH…
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
ARDMORE…SULPHUR…LONE GROVE…DAVIS…DICKSON…MANNSVILLE…
SPRINGER…RAVIA…MILL CREEK…DOUGHERTY…GENE AUTRY…HICKORY…
LAKE OF THE ARBUCKLES…TURNER FALLS…SCULLIN AND RUSSETT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
LARGE DAMAGING HAIL IS LIKELY. TAKE SHELTER NOW IN A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
Severe thunderstorm warning
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
BULLETIN – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
839 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
CENTRAL CARTER COUNTY IN SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA…
WESTERN JOHNSTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA…
NORTHERN MARSHALL COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA…
CENTRAL MURRAY COUNTY IN SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA…
* UNTIL 930 AM CDT
* AT 833 AM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM LOCATED NEAR DOUGHERTY…MOVING SOUTH AT 25
MPH.
HAZARDS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE…
LARGE DESTRUCTIVE HAIL UP TO TENNIS BALL SIZE…
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH…
* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
ARDMORE…SULPHUR…LONE GROVE…DAVIS…DICKSON…MANNSVILLE…
SPRINGER…RAVIA…MILL CREEK…DOUGHERTY…GENE AUTRY…HICKORY…
LAKE OF THE ARBUCKLES…TURNER FALLS…SCULLIN AND RUSSETT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
LARGE DAMAGING HAIL IS LIKELY. TAKE SHELTER NOW IN A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
8:35 a.m., report to the National Weather Service, Norman of tennis ball size hail in Davis area
How rare are F5/EF5 tornadoes? That story and a list here from the National Weather Service, Norman
Oklahoma tornado: EF5 tornadoes like Monday’s are very rare
This tornado was one of those that got an unstable atmosphere and a high enough wind sheer
But the occurrence of such can be summed up easily: Rare.
Monday marked only the 13th time in 108 years that an F5, before 2007, or EF5 tornado has been recorded in Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service, Norman Forecast Office.
Doug Speheger, a forecaster in that office, noted that “despite what it seems like,” conditions to get tornadoes are uncommon. While there are some long-term records, the official tornadoes statistics date to 1950, he said.
In that data, Oklahoma averages 55 tornadoes a year. And although they are possible in any month, May leads with an average of 21, with April at 12.
“So there are only a handful of days where the weather conditions are correct usually for any tornado,” he said. “So it’s very rare. It’s rare to get the atmosphere unstable and with a high enough wind shear to support an EF5 tornado at all.”
The Newcastle/Moore, south Oklahoma City tornado had a track of 17 miles and packed peak winds estimated at 200 to 210 mph, according to the damage at Briarwood Elementary. And that is part of it. The structural damage factors heavily in the EF rating.
“On Monday, the dryline was set up just west of Newcastle,” Speheger said. “So you had this air converging at the dryline, it helped form the storm west of Newcastle, which then continued to intensify because of the instability and wind shear into what became that tornado.”
Nationally, the National Weather Service records since 1950 show Monday’s massive tornado as the 59th F5/EF5 in the U.S.
The last F5 tornado recorded in the nation was that of May 3, 1999, which included areas such as Bridge Creek and Moore. The Enhanced Fujita scale was implemented early in 2007. And then about 9:30 p.m. May 4, 2007, an EF5 struck Greensburg, Kan.
Steve Hewitt, now the city manager in Clinton in western Oklahoma, was the Greensburg city administrator at the time.
“It’s like a bomb basically goes off,” Hewitt said. “You see these buildings that have been downtown on a main street for over 100 years that are made really strong, they’re 18 inches thick of concrete and brick and they become rubble. They had stood the test of time, but within a matter of minutes there was nothing.”
Hewitt and his family sought shelter in their basement. After the tornado passed, he walked up the basement stairs and looked straight up to see nothing but the night sky.
“A bomb went off, and there’s no salvaging anything,” he said. “There’s nothing to repair.”
Rick Smith, of the National Weather Service in Norman, said the thing about EF5s that continues to amaze him is the total destruction.
“When you can’t find recognizable pieces of a house, when you can’t tell the make and model of a car,” Smith said, “you just have to think about the energy and the violence that it takes to do that. You can’t put your arms around it.”
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SOURCE: National Weather Service
Monday’s tornado was designated an EF5 by the National Weather Service after the deadly path that ripped through Newcastle, Moore and Oklahoma City, ravaging homes, schools and businesses.
The storm is the second to be rated an EF5 since the Enhanced Fujita scale was adopted by the National Weather Service in 2007.
In all, there have been 13 tornadoes rated F5/EF5.
Following are F5/EF5 tornadoes recorded in Oklahoma (1905-Present). Shown are the date, time, rating, counties and general path of the tornado.
1 — May 10, 1905, 8:05 p.m., F5, Jackson, Kiowa counties; three miles south, southwest of Humphreys — Snyder — three miles northeast of Snyder.
2 — April 14-15, 1939, 11 p.m., F5, Dewey, Major, Woodward, Woods counties in Oklahoma and Barber County, Kan.; Near Vici, near Waynoka, near Hopeton, near Alva, Capron, just inside Kansas.
3 — April 12, 1945, 5:40 p.m., F5, Pushmataha County; Antlers.
4 — April 9, 1947, 7:52 p.m., F5, Hemphill and Lipscomb counties in Texas, Ellis, Woodward, Woods counties in Oklahoma; Near Canadian, Texas, Glazier, Texas, Higgins, Texas, four miles southeast of Shattuck, four miles northwest of Arnett, three miles southeast of Gage, two miles southeast of Fargo, Woodward, 10 miles west of Alva.
5 — May 31, 1947, 7:30 p.m., F5, Roger Mills, Dewey counties; western Roger Mills County, near Leedey.
6 — May 25, 1955, 9:26 p.m., F5, Noble and Kay counties, Sumner County in Kansas; eight miles west of Marland, east of Tonkawa, Blackwell, southeast of South Haven, Kan.
7 — May 25, 1955, 10 p.m., F5, Kay County in Oklahoma, Sumner and Cowley counties in Kansas; south of Ashton, Kan., Udall, Kan., Atlanta, Kan.
8 — May 5, 1960, 5 p.m., F5, Pottawatomie, Lincoln, Okfuskee, Creek counties; south of Shawnee, between Paden and Prague, Iron Post, Sapulpa, northeast of Sapulpa.
9 — March 26, 1976, 3:28 p.m., F5, Le Flore County; four miles east of Bokoshe, Spiro.
10 — April 2, 1982, 3:50 p.m., F5, Choctaw and McCurtain counties; south of Speer, near Messer, Hugo Lake, south edge of Broken Bow, four miles southeast of Eagleton.
11 — May 3, 1999, 5:26 p.m., F5, Grady, McClain, Cleveland, Oklahoma counties; two miles south, southwest of Amber, far north Newcastle, southwest Oklahoma City, north Moore, south Del City, west Midwest City.
12 — May 24, 2011, 3:50 p.m., EF5, (First EF5 in Oklahoma after scale change) Canadian, Kingfisher, Logan counties; four miles west, southwest of Hinton, near Calumet, near El Reno, near Piedmont, near Cashion, four miles northeast of Guthrie.
13 — May 20, 2013, 2:45 p.m., EF5, Newcastle, Oklahoma City, Moore; 4.4 miles west of Newcastle; 4.8 miles east of Moore.
Severe thunderstorm warning for Murray, Garvin, Stephens, Carter counties, National Weather Service, Norman
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
824 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
MURRAY OK-GARVIN OK-STEPHENS OK-CARTER OK-
824 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
…A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 845 AM CDT
FOR MURRAY…GARVIN…EASTERN STEPHENS AND NORTHERN CARTER
COUNTIES…
AT 819 AM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED TO
DETECT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM LOCATED NEAR DAVIS…MOVING SOUTH AT 30
MPH.
HAZARDS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE…
LARGE DESTRUCTIVE HAIL UP TO TENNIS BALL SIZE…
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 65 MPH…
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
PAULS VALLEY…SULPHUR…DAVIS…WYNNEWOOD…ELMORE CITY…VELMA…
DOUGHERTY…TATUMS…RATLIFF CITY…FOSTER…LAKE OF THE ARBUCKLES…
TURNER FALLS…POOLEVILLE…ANTIOCH…HENNEPIN…ERIN SPRINGS…
WHITEBEAD…PERNELL AND FOX.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
LARGE DAMAGING HAIL IS LIKELY. TAKE SHELTER NOW IN A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Storm Recovery Update (8 a.m., Thursday)
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Media & Public Relations Division
Thursday, May 23, 2013 ** 8 a.m. update**
_______________________________________________
The projects below are weather permitting:
Motorists please AVOID I-35 through Moore, ramp access NOW OPEN
Emergency and clean-up crews are requesting motorists continue to avoid I-35 in Moore. Heavy traffic in the area has been greatly hindering clean-up operations and ongoing emergency response. All I-35 off-ramps in Moore are now open along with the I-35 frontage roads. Law enforcement crews are still restricting access to neighborhoods with only essential personnel and homeowners allowed access. One of the biggest things the general public can do to help is to avoid I-35 in this area and find an alternate route.
ODOT/OTA Crews mobilized to help with clean-up operations
Beginning Wednesday morning and continuing today, ODOT crews joined with those from other federal, state and local agencies as to assist with debris removal and cleanup. Combined, roughly 400 ODOT and OTA crew members as well as 200 pieces of heavy equipment have been deployed to assist with debris clean-up efforts as requested. While the department’s primary focus will be removal of debris from routes on the state highway system, such as I-35 and SH-37, about 60 maintenance workers have been assigned to assist with clearing all major north/south local streets in Moore and southwest Oklahoma City. As debris removal continues, ODOT is working with city officials to ensure safe removal and disposal of rubble.
Central Oklahoma in Flash Flood Warning, National Weather Service, Norman Forecast Office
FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
819 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
MCCLAIN OK-OKLAHOMA OK-KINGFISHER OK-GRADY OK-CLEVELAND OK-
CANADIAN OK-LOGAN OK-
819 AM CDT THU MAY 23 2013
…THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 945 AM CDT FOR
WESTERN MCCLAIN…OKLAHOMA…CENTRAL KINGFISHER…NORTHEASTERN
GRADY…CLEVELAND…EASTERN CANADIAN AND SOUTHWESTERN LOGAN
COUNTIES…
AT 816 AM CDT…RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES HAVE FALLEN IN THE
WARNING AREA THIS MORNING. THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING PERIODS OF
MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE FROM AROUND KINGFISHER AND
CASHION…SOUTHEASTWARD THROUGH OKLAHOMA CITY AND MOORE FOR THE NEXT
HOUR OR SO. THIS WILL LIKELY RESULT IN ADDITIONAL FLOODING.
SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE…
OKLAHOMA CITY…NORMAN…EDMOND…MIDWEST CITY…MOORE…DEL CITY…
EL RENO…KINGFISHER…STELLA…YUKON…BETHANY…CONCHO…MUSTANG…
THE VILLAGE…WARR ACRES…CHOCTAW…PURCELL…NEWCASTLE…NOBLE…
TUTTLE…NICHOLS HILLS…SPENCER…PIEDMONT…SLAUGHTERVILLE…NICOMA
PARK…LEXINGTON…GOLDSBY…OKARCHE…CASHION AND WASHINGTON.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS…URBAN AREAS…HIGHWAYS…STREETS AND UNDERPASSES
AS WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO
AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. FLOOD WATERS ARE USUALLY
DEEPER THAN THEY APPEAR. JUST ONE FOOT OF FLOWING WATER IS POWERFUL
ENOUGH TO SWEEP VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD. WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED
ROADS MAKE THE SMART CHOICE…TURN AROUND…DONT DROWN.
