15 April 2012
Update: (Now 5) Dead As Midnight Twister Hits Woodward, Oklahoma
Posted by Dan Satterfield
Image ctsy. KWTV in Okla. City
The Woodward news paper posted the video of the tornado lit by lightning as it passed into Woodward. A former firefighter who works for KWTV (in Okla. City) as a storm tracker, followed the storm into town. His coverage was among the most riveting and chilling I’ve heard in such a situation. (Woodward is in far NW Oklahoma, and I passed through the city in January coming back from a weather conference in Colorado.)
Click to see the video of the tornado. You will see it only for a second lit by lightning. You will hear it long before you see it.
Hat tip to my friend Stu Ostro at TWC for this.
There was a good 10-15 mins. warning from the NWS on the tornado. I was tracking it and posting on my Facebook page for my friends in Oklahoma ( I’m a native Sooner by the way).
Enid, OK NEXRAD image of the intense rotation approaching Woodward. Green is toward the radar ( off-screen right) and red is wind away. The wind shear was over 90 its. and there was little doubt a tornado was present.
Below is the warning from the Norman, OK NWS:
I still bet I hear some anchor on air say it hit without warning….
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 1200 AM CDT SUN APR 15 2012 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN HARPER COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA... WOODWARD COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA... EXTREME NORTHEASTERN ELLIS COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA... * UNTIL 1230 AM CDT * AT 1159 PM CDT...TRAINED STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GAGE. THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... WOODWARD...FARGO AND TANGIER. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... GET IN...GET DOWN AND COVER UP. TAKE COVER NOW IN A STORM SHELTER OR AN INTERIOR ROOM OF A STURDY BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS. THE TORNADO WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE IN THE DARK. DO NOT WAIT. TAKE COVER NOW.
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.
I used to live and work at the Wayfarer Inn for just over year,whilst there a tornado almost hit us,am glad I knmow longer live in a state where tornadoes are a natural event,I now live in NY!