Remembering The Tornado Outbreak of May 3rd, 1999

In the fair State of Oklahoma, there are two dates on the calendar that will stir raw emotion in the hearts and minds of the people you meet here. One of those dates is April 19th and the other is May 3rd.

As you may recall, April 19th, 1995 was the date that Oklahoma City was struck by terrorists with the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City at 9:02 a.m. Then on May 3rd, 1999, Oklahoma was struck again, this time by the raw fury and awesome power of Mother Nature.

On this single day, over 70 tornadoes touched down in North Texas, Central Oklahoma and Southern Kansas. 59 of those tornadoes alone wrecked their havoc in the State of Oklahoma, making the May 3rd outbreak the largest outbreak in Oklahoma history. The largest tornado of the day, "The Big One" rumbled through Central Oklahoma leaving a trail of devastation nearly 40 miles long.

Before finally dying out, this dangerous storm drove its' attack down the western edge of Tinker Air Force Base, finally dying just north of Tinker AFB and 6 miles due east of the former location of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

Though the storm has consistently been referred to as an "F5 tornado", it spent less than 10% of its' life span in the F5 range of the Fujita Scale. A F5 tornado is a tornado that produces wind speeds estimated between 261 and 318 mph. This particular storm actually touched every point from F1 to F5 on the Fujita Scale, but it spent just over 50% of its' life span as a "F4" tornado, which by definition is a tornado that produces estimated wind speeds of between 207 and 260 mph.

There was some discussion as to whether the tornado entered into the realm of the so far unrealized territory of a "F6" tornado, but the F6 status has since been written off. For the analysis of the "F5 or F6 Controversy", go to: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19990503/may3faqs.html

Nearly 80% of all storm related damage in Oklahoma on May 3rd was a direct result of "The Big One", during its track through Cleveland and Oklahoma counties in Central Oklahoma. The damage from the May 3rd outbreak is staggering, $1.2 billion dollars worth of staggering to be exact.

In Cleveland and Oklahoma counties alone, "The Big One" went down in the history books as the most costly tornado in history in terms of the overall dollars and cents of recorded damage. The following figures on damages resulting from the May 3rd outbreak are taken from The Daily Oklahoman on May 14, 1999. http://www.oklahoman.com/

Cleveland and Oklahoma Counties:

Homes destroyed: 1,780. Homes damaged: 6,550.
Apartments destroyed: 473. Apartments damaged: 568.
Businesses destroyed: 85. Businesses damaged: 42.
Churches destroyed: 3. Schools destroyed: 2.

The following figures represent the damage recorded in other counties around the State of Oklahoma on May 3rd, 1999:

Homes destroyed: 534. Homes damaged: 878.
* Businesses destroyed: 79.
(Includes 53 stores at the Tanger Outlet Center in Stroud.)
Businesses damaged: 54. Churches destroyed: 2.
Public buildings destroyed: 4. Public buildings damaged: 7.

With this level of property damage occurring in Oklahoma on May 3rd, 1999, one has to tip their hats to the Storm Prediction Center and the Oklahoma Media Outlets, for preparing Oklahomans for the worst and working to keep the death toll down. Amidst this astonishing level of destruction, only 44 people lost their lives. The names, ages and locations of the 44 people who died on May 3rd can be seen also at The Daily Oklahoman website at: http://www.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/shart?ID=313997&TP=getarticle

Compared to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the death toll from the May 3rd tornado outbreak was really light. 168 people died in the bombing. For the names and stories of those who died in the Alfred P. Murrah bombing, point your browsers to: http://www.oklahoman.com/bombing/bvic/ and to learn more about the bombing, turn to: http://www.oklahoman.com/bombing/index.html

For pictures of the storms and pictures of the aftermath, as well as more information regarding the May 3rd outbreak and information on tornadoes in general, please visit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19990503/

I could spend hours learning more about tornadoes by visiting this one site alone, in fact, I already know how I am going to spend my next free weekend.

On May 3rd, please take a moment to pay your respects to those souls who lost their lives in Oklahoma on that dreadful day. And please, for your own sake, visit the website listed above, or visit the main site for the National Weather Service Forcast Office in Norman, Oklahoma at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/ to learn about what to do and what not to do in the event of a tornado in your area. Through proper education, the life that you save may be your own.

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