Since storm chasing was established back in 1960’s, Only 7 storm chasers have died during the chase and only three were actually caused by the tornado they were chasing. Even though storm chasing can be deadly, the risks storm chasers and meteorologists take are not high if handled responsibly and are justified by the lives they save.
Oklahoma is considered one of the prime spots for storm chasers to find tornados. Oklahoma is part of what is known as Tornado Valley which includes Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Kansas and a couple other states depending on who you ask. It is called Tornado Valley for a very simple reason; it has a large amount of storms that produce tornados consistently. Storms happen all over the country, but it takes more than just a normal storm to create a tornado. Corey Binns in his article “Killer Storms” writes:
A tornado requires some basic ingredients to come together. First, energy in the form of warm, moist air must exist to feed thunder storms. Second, there must be a top layer of hot, dry air called a cap. This air acts like a lid on a simmering pot, holding in the warm air that’s accumulating in the atmosphere below until the storm’s ready to burst. Last, there has to be rotating winds speeding in oppositedirections at two different levels in the atmosphere, a phenomenon called wind shear, can cause the storms to rotate. Tornado alley is perfectly situated to meet these requirements. (1)
Most tornados produced from these storms are relatively weak, don’t enter inhabited areas, and cause little to no damage. The problem is that Oklahoma gets 55.1 tornados annually. With all of these tornados, a couple of them are bound to go through populated areas and cause damage. The damage the tornado causes incre...
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...oma (1950-Present). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
"Sapulpa Man, Strom Chaser Die in Crash." The Oklahoman [Edmond] 7 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Print.
"Storm Chaser Killed in Turnpike Collision." The Oklahoman 5 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Print.
"Storm Chasing, Extreme Weather and St. Louis Photography by Dan Robinson." Stormhighwaycom Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"Storm Chasing: Science, Thrill-seeking or Tourism?" CNN Wire 4 June 2013: n. pag. Web.
"Storm Chasing Tours - Visit: StormTours.com." Storm Chasing Tours in Tornado Alley. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
"THRILL OF THE HUNT DRAWS STORM CHASERS TO STATE." The Oklahoman 29 June 2010: n. pag. Print.
"Tornado Victim Upset over Storm Chasing Company." United Press International. 10 June 2013: n. pag. Print.
Tyree, James S. "TV Promo on Storm Chasing Filmed at Norman Locations." The Oklahoman n.d.: n. pag. Print.
The history-making documentary footage made available by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has been subjected to careful analysis. As noted by Grazulis (1993; pp. 879-880), the tornado in question was part of an outbreak in Kansas on that day, including a violent killer tornado near Clyde, Kansas, and a "barn shifting" F1 tornado in Rooks county. It seems that shifting human structures was a common feature of tornadoes on that
I have chosen the scene when the tornado actually hits during this scene there are two main characters Dexter and famous storm chaser Dr. Norman Gage. Dexter is eleven years old and loves to study the weather he says when he grows up he wants to be a storm chaser just like Dr. Norman Gage. The other main character is Dr. Norman Gage he has his own T.V. series showing him chase storms but in the scene he makes a terrible mistake of getting out of his car and trying to get some good footage of the tornado and gets swept away. Dexter’s mom and dad allowed him to go storm chasing while they left the town.
On May 22nd, 2011 a massive tornado hit Joplin, Missouri killing 162 people and injuring 1150. With wind speeds of 322km/h, the tornado made a total cost of over $2 billion for the city. 8000 structures were destroyed, 2000 of which were homes. Many people were left homeless. The tornado held an incredible EF5 rating on the Fujita scale, measured from the amount of destruction. The tragic event lasted 38 minutes, from 5:34 pm to 6:12pm. Cool wind from the Rockies in Canada and warm wind from the gulf of Mexico formed into a supercell thunderstorm creating a tornado in Kansas. The tornado rapidly moved into Joplin and continued on its 35 km path.
A tornado struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011 at around 5:40 pm. With a population around 50,559, it killed 161 people and injured approximately 1,100 people. The cost was an estimated $2.8 billion in damage. The American taxpayers had to give about $500 million in recovery money. This made it the deadliest tornado since 1950, which was when modern recordkeeping began. Since it was an EF5 tornado, it destroyed everything in its path. The city was ruined with only piles of debris left. It was a half-mile wide when it hit Joplin and grew to three-quarters of a mile wide. It destroyed nearly 7,000 homes in Joplin and damaged hundreds more. It covered over 1,800 acres of land. The warnings that the Joplin residents received were through three different ways. The tornado warning that was sent out for Joplin’s county was from Jasper County Emergency Operations Center (JCEOC) and they claim that the first siren went off at 5:11 pm. Two other warnings for the Joplin residents was they saw the tornado heading their direction, and the media coverage which was all local electronic media switched to wall-to-wall coverage seeing live footage of the tornado.
Edelstein, David. "'Trouble The Water' Captures Katrina On Camcorder." NPR. NPR, 29 Aug. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Xenia, Ohio was home to the worst damage caused by the tornado outbreak of 1974. As school children in Xenia, Ohio waited for their ride home and workers watched the clock tick slowly towards quitting time, a monstrous tornado whipped wildly towards their small town. In just minutes, the small peaceful city of Xenia became ground zero for the nation's worst tornado outbreak.
At sometime between 4:45 p.m. (Regina: The Early Years, 2014) to 5:00 p.m. (Saskatchewan Archives Board, 2011) local time on Dominion Day, June 30, 1912, a funnel cloud, and possibly a second funnel cloud which dissipated early on, touched down 18 km to the south of Regina, Saskatchewan, near 50.4547° N, 104.6067° W (see Figure 1), and travelled north along the ground (see Figure 2). The tornado, popularly called the Regina Cyclone, first cut through several farmlands, then Wascana Lake, before hitting downtown Regina (Heidorn, K.C., 2008), and continued to travel 12 km north past the city of Regina until it subsided (Saskatchewan Archives Board, 2011). The tornado was three blocks wide (Heidorn, K.C., 2008), and managed to demolish farms, residential areas, the downtown core, and the warehouse and railway districts (CBC, 2013). It traversed the city in about three minutes (Regina Public Library, 2007).
In this paper, I will discuss what tornadoes are and how they form, what different forms of tornadoes there are, what tornado watches and warning are and give examples of tornadoes in Oklahoma and what destruction they caused, also while providing information about the Doppler radar.
A.S.A. & Co. “Hurricane History Facts.” New York Times, New York Times. 17 Jan. 2008. The 'Standard' Web.
Erik Larson wrote a gripping account of the Galveston hurricane in a 1999 book called “Isaac’s Storm.” The protagonist is Texas’s chief weatherman Isaac Monroe Cline, who led the Galveston observation office of the United States Weather Bureau when the storm hit and lost his wife to the storm surge. For a full decade leading up to the devastation, Cline insisted publicly that the idea Galveston could ever be “seriously damaged” by a hurricane was “simply an absurd delusion.”
Protests pay off March 17th, 1952, when “tornado” is the first term they unban (alabamawx.com) . The disaster protec-tion systems bloom where other cities blunder. In 2005, the Red Cross comes to the aid of an off-guard New Orleans, who, like Galveston, gets a surprise visit. In an ironic twist, Menlo Park floods as Sandy terrorizes New York City. Larson names how some “…believe that technology had stripped hurricanes of their power to kill” can show modern society. “No hurricane expert endorsed this view (Larson, pg. 272).” Humanity’s vanity is what leads to many disasters in the past, the present, and will continue into the future. For this, the fountains of education must flow, to stall the next devastation, and to keep account of the past. With the last survivor, Lor-raine Hofeller, passing in 2002 (lubbockonline.com), history fades. After all, the Weather Bureau would become the National Weather Service (weather.gov). The smarter citizens are, the more that stand taking action against regrettable decisions. Al’s films wanting relief efforts see forces of 10,000 nukes (howstuffworks.com) as more than storm clouds. Be it a publicity stunt or legit-imate care, lightning in storms shall remind of the inventor whose actions fund thousands of
Thunder rolled intensely outside, my aunt, mother, sister and I were sat calmly in the basement. We had been through this many times before; I mean afterall, Kansas was part of Tornado Alley. 2. My sister and I were young when this happened, her probably four or five, me about eight. 3. Before we had even started driving to my aunt’s house; since she’s the only one with a basement; my sister and I were complaining about being hungry. 4. Mom said she would get us something to eat soon, but then the sirens started blaring. 5. She called my aunt and told her we would be over in about ten minutes. 6. Me and my sister continued to complain about being hungry because, we always had to get what we wanted. 7. So my mom stopped at McDonald’s and got us some food. 8. After we were almost five minutes later than we said we would be my aunt panicked. 9. Jenny, my aunt, was calling like crazy. 10. When we finally got to her house she lectured my mom about how it wasn’t safe to have us out there like that with a tornado in the area. 11.Afterwards, we all sat on the porch and watched the storm. 12. That’s my favorite memory with my family, and it’s one I’ll never forget.
Tornadoes are one of the deadliest and most unpredictable villains mankind will ever face. There is no rhyme or reason, no rhythm to it’s madness. Tornados are one of the most terrifying natural events that occur, destroying homes and ending lives every year. April 29th, 1995, a calm, muggy, spring night I may never forget. Jason, a buddy I grew up with, just agreed to travel across state with me so we could visit a friend in Lubbock. Jason and I were admiring the beautiful blue bonnets, which traveled for miles like little blue birds flying close to the ground. The warm breeze brushed across the tips of the blue bonnets and allowed them to dance under the perfectly clear blue sky. In the distance, however, we could see darkness. A rumbling sky was quickly approaching.
C. Credibility: I grew up in the heart of tornado alley and have been interested in this weather phenomenon for a very long time. Also, I am a trained weather spotter for the Bloomington/Normal civil defense agency.
The places that are most often hit with tornados are: Antigua, Bermuda, Central America, Charleston, SC, Galveston, TX, Miami, Providence, RI, Santo Domingo, Asia, Honduras, Oceania, United States, and the West Indies.