Tornado emergency
A tornado emergency is issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) when a large, violent tornado is expected to impact a populated area. The term was first used during the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak that spawned the Moore F5 tornado just south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A Tornado Emergency is simply enhanced wording added, (at the discretion of the forecasters working the event), to a standard tornado warning, mainly a headline containing the phrase "Tornado Emergency for..." and specific information about areas in the path. Since information about the tornado and its exact path are often ascertained after the initial tornado warning is issued, this designation is usually added to the Severe Weather Statement (SVS) that is used to follow-up a tornado warning.
History
Between 530 p.m. and 630 p.m. on May 3, 1999, David Andra, the Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service Norman office watched as the most powerful tornado ever recorded by radar, with winds of 301 +/- 20 miles per hour, approached Oklahoma City. This led to the issuance of the first tornado emergency.[1]
"As the large tornado approached western sections of the OKC metro area, we asked ourselves more than once, 'Are we doing all we can do to provide the best warnings and information?'" It became apparent that unique and eye-catching phrases needed to be included in the products. "At one point we used the phrase 'Tornado Emergency' to paint the picture that a rare and deadly tornado was imminent in the metro area. We hoped that such dire phrases would prompt action from anyone that still had any questions about what was about to happen.[2]"
Example
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 657 PM CDT MON MAY 3 1999 ...TORNADO EMERGENCY IN SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY METRO AREA... AT 657 PM CDT...A LARGE TORNADO WAS MOVING ALONG INTERSTATE 44 WEST OF NEWCASTLE. ON ITS PRESENT PATH...THIS LARGE DAMAGING TORNADO WILL ENTER SOUTHWEST SECTIONS OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY METRO AREA BETWEEN 715 PM AND 730 PM. PERSONS IN MOORE AND SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE TORNADO PRECAUTIONS! THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THIS STORM MAY CONTAIN DESTRUCTIVE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS...OR LARGER.
Tornado emergencies issued
Since its first use in 1999, the Tornado Emergency text has been used in at least 63 bulletins, sometimes on multiple occasions on the same day. For instance, during the February 2008 tornado outbreak, four tornado emergencies were issued in Tennessee and one tornado emergency was issued in Alabama.
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
1999
2000
2002
2003
- May 4, 2003: Northern Kansas City metro area[4]
- May 6, 2003: Northern Alabama [5] (six products)
- May 7, 2003: Central Alabama [6] (ten products)
- May 8, 2003: Southeastern Oklahoma City metro area[7] (four products)
- May 9, 2003: Oklahoma City metro area[8] (nine products)
2006
- March 12, 2006: Western and southwestern Missouri (seven products)
- April 2, 2006: Caruthersville, Missouri area
- April 7, 2006: Huntsville, Alabama area (two products)
2007
2008
- January 7, 2008: Springfield, Missouri (two products)
- February 5, 2008: Memphis, Tennessee (five products)
- February 5, 2008: Jackson, Tennessee (three products)
- February 5, 2008: Cedar Grove, Tennessee (two products)
- February 5, 2008: Huntingdon, Tennessee
- February 6, 2008: Decatur, Alabama
See also
References
- ^ "TORNADO EMERGENCY IN SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY METRO AREA". NWS - Norman, Oklahoma. May 3, 1999. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The Southern Plains Cyclone". Spring 2007. 2 (2). National Weather Service. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ http://www.bamaweather.com/storm/111002-saragossa-goodhope.html
- ^ [1], pg 14
- ^ "Text Products Issued on May 6, 2003". http://www.bamaweather.com/storm/stmts050603.txt.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|publisher=|url=(help) - ^ "Text Products Issued on May 7, 2003". http://www.bamaweather.com/storm/stmts050703.txt.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|publisher=|url=(help) - ^ "Text Products Issued on [[May 8]], [[2003]]". National Weather Service, Norman. May 8, 2003. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ "Text Products Issued on [[May 9]], [[2003]]". National Weather Service, Norman. May 9, 2003. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ Murray, Bill (May 5, 2007). "Tornado Emergency Great Bend, Kansas". National Weather Service, Wichita, Kansas. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)