A series of tornadoes and powerful storms from a massive weather system struck on or near the Route 66 corridor in Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois on Friday, including a swarm of twisters in the Oklahoma City region that killed five people and injured more than 85.
I’ll try to summarize what happened during that eventful day:
From The Oklahoman:
Major flooding overwhelmed the metro area, stranding people in vehicles throughout the city. Baseball-sized hail pounded El Reno, breaking windows and destroying roofs.
More than 86,000 Oklahoma homes and businesses lost power.
Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner’s office, confirmed that at least five people were killed in the storm, including a mother and child.
Canadian County Sheriff Randall Edwards said deputies were searching for a missing person, as well.
At least 87 people were treated for injuries at area hospitals.
The report went on to say that power poles were down all over El Reno, and on Route 66 from that city to Yukon.
According to the Tulsa World, that city avoided much of the damaging weather there.
A tornado warning was issued in Joplin, Mo., but no damage was reported, according to the Joplin Globe. Joplin was the site of a massive tornado that killed 160 people two years ago. No damage also was reported in Galena and Baxter Springs in Kansas.
Springfield, Mo., also was spared much damage, except for some flooding after 2-4 inches of rain, reported the Springfield News-Leader.
A tornado reportedly touched down in the north side of St. Louis, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Despite widespread reports of damage, no deaths or serious injuries were reported.
The Alton Telegraph reported widespread damage from wind in the Route 66 town of Edwardsville, Ill.
In Gillespie, Ill., which is part of an older alignment of Route 66, a storm severely damaged its high school. The Coal Country Times posted several photos of the damage.
Strong winds and some flooding was reported in Springfield, Ill., but no damage.
Storm damage also was reported in the Bloomington-Normal area.
UPDATE: A couple of videos from El Reno tornado:
We had quite a bit of damage in Pontiac, IL on the 29th. There were areas of flooding and some pretty significant tree damage all over town. A tree fell on a car and it was a total loss. I don t think there were any injuries but Pontiac has ever seen a tornado I’ve been told. Most people were awakened around 1:30am because of the wind. I sleep in our basement and didn’t hear a thing. I put photos on my Facebook page for Three Roses B&B.
Just got back from El Reno. The tornado went south of the city and hit down by the airport. Then angled sharply north to I-40. It tracked down I-40 and Rt 66 for a couple of miles and ended at Banner. It is a mess in that area. Power poles down and buildings messed up. Lots of roofs and trees damaged. There was some flooding last night. We got over 9″ of rain in some areas.
Rt 66 is open. Damage for about 2 – 3 miles on both sides and some power lines across the road. Lots of crews at work on the poles and lines. Flooding nearby but not on 66. I-40 has a lot of debris in the center and on both sides but the lanes are clear.
We feel very blessed. The tornado was 1 mile wide at Banner and headed directly for us in Yukon. It sort of stalled out and then lifted. About 6 miles later it touched back down past the east side of Yukon so we had only minor tree and fence damage in the city.
Thanks for the field report, Rick.
Ron–AP and Reuters are up to 9 dead as of 1130a CT quoting the OK Medical Examiners Office.
A fascinating discussion of how timely and accurate storm predictions can lead to WRONG behavior is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/ including many dramatic examples from last night.
It would be interesting to know how many people remained inside Pops on a Friday night, literally surrounded by glass, when the confirmed and massive El Reno twister was (briefly) headed in their direction.
Unfortunately what that article shows is that a reporter without accurate information can jump to wrong conclusions. The mother and child who died were not attempting to flee the tornado. They were from Montana and seem to have been unaware that a tornado was nearby. The same was true of the trucks overturned on I-40. They were not fleeing but simply trying to get to their next destination. Wrong place at the wrong time. Even with up to date reports there can be surprises. The storm chase team from KFOR was not prepared for the sudden and untypical turn to the north that the tornado made. These teams with eyes on the ground are essential for us to know exactly what is going on. Radar cannot tell if a tornado is on the ground. We knew the size and status of this monster because spotters were following it and giving up to the second reports.
In some cases you have no choice. With an EF5 tornado 1 mile wide you have 2 choices; 1. Get below ground in a shelter or; 2. Get out of its way. If you have no shelter then you have no choice.
I have at least 4 people that I know that left early and drove about 40 miles south of OKC and returned after the storm was over. My oldest son was one of them. He and his boss drove to Purcell and waited it out there. Others went as far as Pauls Valley.
The real issue is to be very aware of weather conditions, be prepared and take proper actions. That is why we lose as few people as we do in these storms.
Sorry for the soapbox lecture but that reporter needs to stick to something they understand.
In response to Rick Martin, in Comment #5:
1) “That reporter” is the Washington Post Weather Editor, and a Meteorologist.
2) While some people took to cars and escaped, others were trapped in them. Here’s a Tweet (reproduced in the article) from the National Weather Service in Norman OK at 710PM with the twister bearing down: “KWTV helicopter shows that I-35 is a parking lot. Horrible.”
3) NWS advisories hours-in-advance were both specific and accurate. Real-time warnings were excellent. Yet nine people died. The key IS to “be aware” and “be prepared” and yet I wonder, with the entire OKC area under the gun, how many people still lingered at Pops…surrounded by all that pretty glass.
CBC is reporting an overweight 52-foot trailer loaded with donated food and supplies from Leamington (about thirty miles east-southeast of Detroit on Lake Erie) is unable to get to Moore, Oklahoma because federal authorities won’t let it through customs for want of paperwork itemising place of manufacture of each donated item.
Unfortunate that government would make a bad situation worse in this manner.
The reporters first line was:
“Vehicle deaths in Friday’s Oklahoma tornadoes should squash the idea that trying to flee a tornado in a car is a good idea. And storm chasers – who pursued the storms much too closely need to re-examine their priorities.”
Yes I-35 was a mess at 7pm. That was much too late. Businesses all over OKC were closing and telling employees to get to a safe location by 4 and 5 pm. We knew the day before this was going to be bad. We knew by 5 it was bad and headed for us. Getting into a car at that point may have been the only safe option many people had. He directly links “fleeing” with “vehicle deaths” when not all of those who died were fleeing the storm.
Regarding the storm chasers; most of our rural roads are “section lines”. They divide land into sections of one sq mile. Your choice in tracking a storm like this is in one mile increments running beside or just in front of it. It is not possible to follow from behind because the damage will block the roads. These storm spotters are also meteorologists. One of the KFOR team, Reed Timmer has a PhD and was so close because he was trying to get inside the vortex.
https://kfor.com/2013/05/20/reed-timmer-takes-dominator-4-inside-violent-tornado/
So, this reporter may know weather, but he does not know Oklahoma weather and both of his statements have errors.
Again, in reply to Rick Martin:
I posted the link because everyone along Route 66 east of Tucumcari is potentially at risk. (So, of course, are many of us who do NOT live along the road.) The article is compelling reading for your own personal safety.
Since the original publication, new material has been added. According to the author, three storm chasers died. And a map linked inside the article appears to show that, incredibly, 100 storm chasers were clustered around the twister in El Reno before it moved east.
Conclusions of Meteorologist Jason Samenow (who is not merely a “reporter”) are backed up by the National Weather Service and Marshall Shepherd, President of the American Meteorological Society–quoted in the article.
The has drawn 277 comments on the Washington Post site, and some reflect Rick Martin’s viewpoints. Many others do not. I think the bottom line is to study the evidence for yourself and determine a plan of action in advance.
Mine does not involve trying to flee in my car…unless I’m at Pops and 66 is wide-open.