SilentShadow87
Member
Today is the 20 year anniversary of what was probably the closest we'll ever get to the textbook tornado outbreak. There were 71 confirmed tornadoes, including many photogenic and beautiful ones, but also one of the most catastrophic tornadoes in recent history. This outbreak was also important because it was a wake-up call for thousands of people (another reminder that tornadoes can and do hit large cities), and disproved the myth that overpasses are safe places to shelter.
The day had about as classic of a setup as you can get. The weather over most of Oklahoma in the morning was overcast and muggy, with temperatures around 65 to 68 degrees and dew points of 60 and higher. Cloud cover broke ahead of the dry line at about 10:30 am Central Time and sunshine broke through. CAPE values were in the realm of 6,000 J/kg in the late afternoon, and strong directional wind shear was present. The first supercells of the day developed around 3:30 pm over northwest and north-central Texas and soon tracked into Oklahoma.
The first major tornado of the day touched down at 5:20 pm Central Time in Caddo County to the east of Apache and tracked to the north towards Anadarko, where it collapsed the top floor of a house and knocked down first-floor exterior walls. Storm chasers following the Anadarko area tornado captured one of the most famous tornado pictures ever taken (below). The tornado dissipated near Stecker after remaining on the ground for six miles, and was rated F3. The Anadarko tornado was quickly followed by another F3 tornado that touched down to the north of Cement and tracked to the east for around three miles before shifting to a more northeastward path for another six miles, dissipating to the west-northwest of Chickasha. Two houses were mostly demolished by this tornado, with only a couple of interior walls left standing, and wooden power poles were snapped.
At 6:23 pm, the parent supercell of the Anadarko and Verden tornadoes produced one of the most infamous and destructive tornadoes in recent history, which touched down in Grady County to the south-southwest of Amber. The tornado caused light damage over the first several miles of its path, but explosively intensified to F4 strength to the north of Amber, and gradually approached F5 intensity as it closed in on the tiny town of Bridge Creek. Tracking directly through the town, the mile-wide tornado reached peak strength, completely sweeping away well-constructed and anchor-bolted frame homes and reducing mobile homes to splinters. The tornado caused extreme vegetation damage in Bridge Creek, debarking trees and low-growing shrubs, and scouring grass along with up to eight inches of soil from the ground. Additionally, a number of cars and trucks were tossed hundreds of yards and severely mangled, including a pickup truck that was found crumpled like a ball of tissue paper and wrapped around a bent utility pole. As the tornado continued towards the McClain County line, asphalt was scoured from a highway. 12 people were killed in Bridge Creek, by far the highest concentration of fatalities along the tornado's path. It was in this area that the highest wind speeds ever recorded on Earth, 301 ± 20 mph, were recorded by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) team headed by Joshua Wurman. These winds were tied by peak gusts in the infamous El Reno tornado twelve years later, but have never been surpassed.
The tornado narrowed slightly but remained violent as it tracked through McClain County. Crossing a bend in Interstate 44, the tornado tracked over an overpass at F4 strength, where a woman sheltering underneath with her son was blown out by the force of the tornadic winds and killed. Several others sheltering under the overpass were injured as well. As the tornado moved into Cleveland County, it briefly weakened to F2 strength before quickly re-strengthening to F4 intensity, then reaching F5 strength as it tracked through the city of Moore. Several well-built houses were completely swept away, with debris wind-rowed across city blocks and finely granulated, and a two-story brick apartment building was leveled. Trees were again completely debarked and stripped of their branches, a freight car was bounced for three-quarters of a mile, and an airplane wing originating in Grady County was found in the Country Place Estates subdivision of Moore. The tornado tracked into Oklahoma County, affecting southern Oklahoma City and Del City, but damage was considerably lighter (mainly in the F3 to low-end F4 range). The tornado dissipated outside of Midwest City at 7:48 pm, leaving 36 people dead and nearly 600 injured.
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The day had about as classic of a setup as you can get. The weather over most of Oklahoma in the morning was overcast and muggy, with temperatures around 65 to 68 degrees and dew points of 60 and higher. Cloud cover broke ahead of the dry line at about 10:30 am Central Time and sunshine broke through. CAPE values were in the realm of 6,000 J/kg in the late afternoon, and strong directional wind shear was present. The first supercells of the day developed around 3:30 pm over northwest and north-central Texas and soon tracked into Oklahoma.
The first major tornado of the day touched down at 5:20 pm Central Time in Caddo County to the east of Apache and tracked to the north towards Anadarko, where it collapsed the top floor of a house and knocked down first-floor exterior walls. Storm chasers following the Anadarko area tornado captured one of the most famous tornado pictures ever taken (below). The tornado dissipated near Stecker after remaining on the ground for six miles, and was rated F3. The Anadarko tornado was quickly followed by another F3 tornado that touched down to the north of Cement and tracked to the east for around three miles before shifting to a more northeastward path for another six miles, dissipating to the west-northwest of Chickasha. Two houses were mostly demolished by this tornado, with only a couple of interior walls left standing, and wooden power poles were snapped.
At 6:23 pm, the parent supercell of the Anadarko and Verden tornadoes produced one of the most infamous and destructive tornadoes in recent history, which touched down in Grady County to the south-southwest of Amber. The tornado caused light damage over the first several miles of its path, but explosively intensified to F4 strength to the north of Amber, and gradually approached F5 intensity as it closed in on the tiny town of Bridge Creek. Tracking directly through the town, the mile-wide tornado reached peak strength, completely sweeping away well-constructed and anchor-bolted frame homes and reducing mobile homes to splinters. The tornado caused extreme vegetation damage in Bridge Creek, debarking trees and low-growing shrubs, and scouring grass along with up to eight inches of soil from the ground. Additionally, a number of cars and trucks were tossed hundreds of yards and severely mangled, including a pickup truck that was found crumpled like a ball of tissue paper and wrapped around a bent utility pole. As the tornado continued towards the McClain County line, asphalt was scoured from a highway. 12 people were killed in Bridge Creek, by far the highest concentration of fatalities along the tornado's path. It was in this area that the highest wind speeds ever recorded on Earth, 301 ± 20 mph, were recorded by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) team headed by Joshua Wurman. These winds were tied by peak gusts in the infamous El Reno tornado twelve years later, but have never been surpassed.
The tornado narrowed slightly but remained violent as it tracked through McClain County. Crossing a bend in Interstate 44, the tornado tracked over an overpass at F4 strength, where a woman sheltering underneath with her son was blown out by the force of the tornadic winds and killed. Several others sheltering under the overpass were injured as well. As the tornado moved into Cleveland County, it briefly weakened to F2 strength before quickly re-strengthening to F4 intensity, then reaching F5 strength as it tracked through the city of Moore. Several well-built houses were completely swept away, with debris wind-rowed across city blocks and finely granulated, and a two-story brick apartment building was leveled. Trees were again completely debarked and stripped of their branches, a freight car was bounced for three-quarters of a mile, and an airplane wing originating in Grady County was found in the Country Place Estates subdivision of Moore. The tornado tracked into Oklahoma County, affecting southern Oklahoma City and Del City, but damage was considerably lighter (mainly in the F3 to low-end F4 range). The tornado dissipated outside of Midwest City at 7:48 pm, leaving 36 people dead and nearly 600 injured.
(cont. in next post)