Tornadoes generate thunderstorms by mixing masses of air. These air masses come from the east, surging eastward from the Rocky Mountains, and from the southwest, with warmer air blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico. They collide in Iowa, moving eastward through Nebraska and Kansas. The corridor extends from northern Texas through the Sooner State, and most tornadoes occur in this “tornado alley.” On average, the United States reports around eight hundred tornadoes annually. Perhaps no other weather-related phenomenon has caused more consternation and dread than tornadoes. Since the opening of the Lands Unassigned in central Oklahoma in 1889, the tornado has been a hot topic of conversation due to the severity and unpredictability of Oklahoma’s weather.
The study conducted at the National Severe Storm Laboratory in Norman by meteorologists analyzed historical data from 1921 to 1995 and created computer models of the probability of tornadoes striking areas across the nation, with southeastern Oklahoma’s Pontotoc County identified as the most likely spot for a tornado in the United States. In the unique geographical location known as the “eye” of the tornado alley, tornadoes can occur most frequently between April and June, with more than ten thousand tornadoes causing damage and severe weather.
Several hundred others were severely injured and fourteen were killed. Unfortunately, Chandler had not been lucky as Chandler had many times before. One of the customers crawled out from under the debris and asked, “Elmer, who started the fight?” The collapse of the walls and roof of the establishment was caused by the storm winds that dislodged the debris. At the peak of the storm, when the tornado suddenly swooped down on the small community of Chandler in Lincoln County, Oklahoma Territory in March 1897, a ferocious tornado twisted its path over the wooden structure of Elmer’s Saloon. For example, on that morning, without any warning, the tornado hit the area, causing havoc. Early settlers of Oklahoma often had little warning if any, and if a funnel cloud was spotted, church officials would ring the bell to alert the residents to seek shelter from the incoming “cyclones.”
Released at Tinker for the air base on March 25, 1948, their efforts led to the initial publicly transmitted tornado prediction and alert. Maj. Ernest J. Fawbush and Capt. Robert C. Miller, two U.S. Air Force meteorologists at the base, were instructed by military authorities after a tornado devastated Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City on March 20, 1948, to investigate the possibility of forecasting tornadoes. Interestingly, the warning system in 1947 had barely progressed since the 1890s. Each storm claimed the lives of over one hundred individuals. The two most fatal tornadoes to hit Oklahoma occurred on April 9, 1947, in Woodward and on May 10, 1905, in Snyder in the present southwestern Oklahoma.
Norman is the location of the National Weather Service’s Regional Forecast Center, along with the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Storm Prediction Center. Oklahoma was chosen as the headquarters for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Doppler radar, NEXRAD, satellite imaging, and storm tracking have replaced the traditional use of school or church bells as warning devices. This remarkable scientific achievement has set the foundation for future warning systems.
According to officials at the National Weather Service, a giant tornado blazed through the metropolitan area of Oklahoma City, causing a much higher death toll than in previous decades. The storms resulted in the destruction or damage of around eight thousand buildings and the injury of almost eight hundred people, with forty-four fatalities. These were the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded, with winds reaching near 320 miles per hour and being rated as an F-5 on the Fujita scale, the largest category. In May 3, 1999, a massive supercell storm produced twenty-one devastating tornadoes in areas of the state, from Lawton in the south to near Tulsa in the northeast. Unfortunately, technology can only do so much to prevent casualties from tornadoes.