Deadly Oklahoma Tornado

They're now calling it an EF5, top of the scale.

210mph wind speed, with the mind-boggling power of 6-800 Hiroshima atomic bombs (with more experts at the high end)...

Terry- you out there, buddy?

A great video of the storm forming from someone who appears to not know about the pause button and manual focus...

 
I'm fine. Thanks for checking on me. I live about 20 miles north of the hardest hit area of Moore. A couple of friends lost their homes but, thankfully, not their lives.

The area is like a war zone; 17 miles of destruction surrounded by the National Guard and law enforcement.
 
Terry_Lasater said:
I'm fine. Thanks for checking on me. I live about 20 miles north of the hardest hit area of Moore. A couple of friends lost their homes but, thankfully, not their lives.
Click to expand...

Good to hear Terry. It's terrible our hearts go out to the families. A teacher in tears saying parents gave her their kids this morning and now she can't give them back.

We've got 2 wonderful daughters and 3 great grandkids, I can't begin to tell you.

------
 
Horrible that so many people died. Is OK a frequent target of hurricanes? I understand that in areas where there's frequent hurricanes, people have special shelter basements in their houses and the like - I assume if you have enough warning time, you'd hurry into one; of course, if you are in an apartment, you're out of luck, I guess.
 
No hurricanes here but plenty of tornados.

For years, there has been a misconception that basements couldn't (or shouldn't) be made in Oklahoma because of the high groundwater level and moist clay just a few feet below the surface. As a result, very few homes here have them. Several have cellars or safe rooms but, I'd dare say, not enough.

Most 'newer' schools have storm shelters. Unfortunately, the two elementary schools that were hit, were older (approx. 50 years) and did not have them.
 
That's very sad, Terry; I hope they've changed their safety ideas now. And I'm glad you are safe. This shook me up quite a bit - I'm in Cali, and it seems unbelievable that wind can do so much damage... I mean, I know theoretically, but it's hard to feel the usual wind and think "if you increase this enough, it would toss you in the air and pull up a house". Crazy.
 
The strongest wind ever recorded on the face of the Earth was 318 MPH from the May 3, 1999 tornado in... Moore, OK. That tornado made the weather service adjust the Fujita scale to the new EF (Enhanced Fujita) scale. I believe the data is still being evaluated on this latest tornado in Moore so they haven't declared the official wind speed; just that it was in excess of 250 MPH.


Video from storm shelter as tornado passes.
 
Every school should have shelters or safe rooms, no questions.
Just build them.

As far as houses:

Construction standards in Moore have been studied extensively. In a 2002 study published in the journal of the American Meteorological Society, Timothy P. Marshal, an engineer in Dallas, suggested that “the quality of new home construction generally was no better than homes built prior to the tornado” in 1999.

Few homes built in the town after the storm were secured to their foundations with bolted plates, which greatly increase resistance to storms; instead, most were secured with the same kinds of nails and pins that failed in 1999. Just 6 of 40 new homes had closet-size safe rooms.
Click to expand...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/us/shelter-requirements-resisted-in-tornado-alley.html?_r=0
 
If you're not going to pay to protect children's lives, then what are you going to pay for?

They live in Tornado Alley, I live in the Hurricane Zone (but not a flood zone)...
I have an interior reinforced room that my equipment goes into for hurricanes- common sense preparation.
 
Last edited:
Pretty sure he was agreeing with you and clarifying that it wasn't a smart assed remark.
 
Since I live in Germany, and we don't have hurricanes here, there is one question that always baffles me.
When you see that beast coming, you know, your house is probably lost anyway and there is nothing you can do.
My first reaction would be to jump in my car and get the f.. away, so I save at least my life and my car.

But when I look at those clips and pictures, it seems that most people leave their cars next to their houses and loose both.

Do I miss something?
 
All good! This topic can get people pretty riled up (and for good reason).

I also agree that paying to save children's lives certainly takes precedence.
 
What's worse is that this town has been hit by four F4 or greater tornadoes since 1999, and yet the same lax construction has continued. Hopefully this is the last straw.
 
Batutta said:
What's worse is that this town has been hit by four F4 or greater tornadoes since 1999, and yet the same lax construction has continued. Hopefully this is the last straw.
Click to expand...

No such thing as lax construction in this area.

There isnt a normal house made, not of wood, stone, or brick that can withstand a direct hit from an F5.

Think Atom bomb.
 
Assumptions abound.

Many cars were in garages until the garages were completely blown away.

Moore is not a small town. Thousands of people jumping in their car at the point they know their neighborhood is actually in the path of an F5 tornado would only result in a traffic jam of sitting ducks.
The path of such a tornado is erratic; you can't predict its exact trajectory or know how powerful or wide it is by the time it gets to your neighborhood. Such info only becomes clear afterwards. People have died trying to outrun a tornado in a vehicle.

If you look, you'll find photos showing nothing but foundations where homes once stood. No little piggy could build a house that could withstand this big, bad wolf.

MOST schools in that area have some form of a storm shelter - even the ones destroyed; just not as well-designed/built as others (ie below ground level).

I'm sure better-built shelters will become necessity as a result.

Don't believe everything you Google.

I'll be helping victims sort through the rubble looking for personal belongings tomorrow and Saturday.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top