Tornado on the Ground in Okc & KS

Channel 5 Oklahoma ^ | 05/08/03 | Me

[rwfromkansas]

Tornado still a mile wide and on the ground in Osage county as of 7:07....it has been on the ground for 20 minutes at that size!

[Brad’s Gramma]

Good grief! I can't even fathom that.

[chantal7]

You have freepmail

[Catspaw]

Tornado still a mile wide and on the ground in Osage county as of 7:07....it has been on the ground for 20 minutes at that size!

My God! Pray for the safety for all in its path.

[chantal7]

The area hospitals are reporting about 116 injured and treated so far with about 11 of those in critical condition

[I'm ALL Right!]

Just heard storms coming over Tulsa/Bixby area have weakened, no prediction of Tornados at this point.

P.S. I like your tag!

[kcvl]

Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2003

Tornado sweeps across parts of Oklahoma City; at least 25 injured
JENNIFER L. BROWN
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY - A tornado swept across Oklahoma City as the afternoon rush hour began Thursday, flattening dozens of homes, scattering cars and knocking out power to thousands of homes. At least 25 people were injured, one critically.

The storm ripped roofs off homes and businesses, and left automobiles and mobile homes strewn across the landscape. Damage was also reported at nearby Tinker Air Force Base and a General Motors plant.

Paul O'Leary, spokesman for the city's ambulance service, reported 25 injuries, one critical. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

Truck driver David Waller was on Interstate 40 when he saw the tornado coming his way. He parked his 18-wheeler and ran for a clump of bushes. He and two other men clung to a tree as the tornado passed near them.

"I'm scared to death," said Waller, who was shaking, his clothes covered with mud. His semi was picked up by the tornado and dropped on its side.

The sky was filled with litter as the tornado passed.

"All I saw was a bunch of trash," Waller said.

Tornado sirens sounded just before 5 p.m. and the twister touched down in suburban Moore at about 5:15 p.m. Shrouded by rain, it moved over Interstate 35 and a mall before moving to the northeast and into two more suburbs, Midwest City and Del City.

I-40 east of Oklahoma City was littered with boards, trees, twisted metal and insulation. Authorities closed parts of I-240 after heavy wind damaged industrial buildings, a mobile home sales lots, a bank and a fast-food restaurant.

Some 37,000 customers in the area were without power, Oklahoma Gas and Electric said.

The storm was an eerie reminder of May 3, 1999, when 44 people were killed by tornadoes that hit the state, including parts of Oklahoma City.

Since Sunday, tornado-packed storms have killed at least 42 people - 18 in Missouri, 15 in Tennessee, seven in Kansas and two in Illinois. Officials have estimated damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

President Bush declared disaster areas in 20 Tennessee counties Thursday, clearing the way for federal emergency assistance. On Tuesday, Bush did the same for parts of Kansas and Missouri.

[listenhillary]

AT 712 PM CDT...OSAGE COUNTY LAW ENFORECMENT INDICATED A 1 MILE WIDE POTENTIALLY DEADLY TORNADO NEAR POMOMA LAKE OR 15 MILES WESTNORTHWEST OF OTTAWA...MOVING EASTNORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS INDICATE DAMAGE WEST OF LYNDON FROM THIS TORNADO. THIS TORNADO SHOULD MOVE INTO NORTHWESTERN FRANKLIN SHORTLY AND INTO SOUTHERN DOUGLAS COUNTY BY 710 PM.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO AND ALL PERSONS IN NORTHWEST FRANKLIN AND SOUTHERN DOUGLAS COUNTIES SHOULD SEEK SHELTER NOW!

[CedarDave]

Thanks. Here it is. It's pretty slow right now, probably for obvious reasons:
NewsOK.com Registration
I'll be off line for a while, but interested in following this later.

[kcvl]

annoying

annoying

is now registered (make sure you use all small letters)

[sheikdetailfeather]

Don't take any chances!!! Evacuate to a safe place. A basement would be best. And..check back in with us.

[rwfromkansas]

Lyndon has reported damage from the 1-mile wide tornado.

[Tax-chick]

It looks like this will miss us, but I'm worried about the people in the storm up north.

p.s., Thanks!

[kcvl]

Tornado sweeps across parts of Oklahoma City; at least 25 injured
2003-05-08
By Jennifer L. Brown
Associated Press Writer


A large tornado moved through southern Oklahoma City late Thursday afternoon, flattening homes in a scene eerily similar to a devastating twister that hit in the same area four years earlier.
Previous story: Tornado touches down in OKC

At least 25 people were injured, including one critically, although there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

Television footage showed damage to the General Motors plant in southeast Oklahoma County and to Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, and showed dozens of homes destroyed.

Interstate 40 east of Oklahoma City was littered with boards, trees, twisted metal and insulation.

David Waller was driving an 18-wheeler on I-40 when he saw the tornado coming his way. He said he parked his rig and ran for a clump of bushes and a tree. He and two other men who had jumped out of their vehicles clung to a tree as the tornado passed near them.

"I'm scared to death," said Waller, shaking, his clothes covered with mud. His semi was picked up by the tornado and dropped on its side. He said the sky was filled with litter as the tornado passed by.

"All I saw was a bunch of trash."

Martin Perez jumped out of his Ford Taurus and clung to the vegetation.

"It looked like trash and dirty and all black like that," he said.

His car was picked up over the highway and dropped in the median.

Paul O'Leary, spokesman for Oklahoma City's ambulance service, reported 25 injuries, one critical.

Spokesman for Southwest Medical Center and the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City said their hospitals had each received a handful of patients and that more were expected.

There were reports of injuries at the GM plant, but that could not be immediately confirmed. Officials at sprawling Tinker Air Force Base did not have any immediate information about damage or injuries.

Traffic was backed up on the interstate for miles after the storm moved through. In Del City, just east of Oklahoma City, emergency sirens blared and stop lights were out.

The storm left more than 37,000 customers without electricity in south Oklahoma City, Moore and Choctaw, according to Oklahoma Gas and Electric.

The storm ran parallel to Interstate 240, destroying metal industrial buildings, a mobile home sales lots, a bank, a fast-food restaurant and tossing 18-wheelers.

Structures were stripped of roofs, automobiles and mobile homes were strewn across the landscape. Power lines and large trees were toppled.

Cars clogged the streets in southern Oklahoma City as tornado sirens sounded. At a Wal-Mart, some customers stopped to watch as a dozen more ran to their cars with their shopping baskets.

One motorist at a stoplight rolled down her window with one hand to get a better look at the tornado while urgently dialing her cell phone with the other.

Once the mass of cars made it onto the interstate, scores of emergency vehicles passed heading toward the tornado and its damage.

The twister was shrouded in rain as it moved near Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, at about 5:15 p.m. It then tracked over I-35 and over a shopping mall and went east-southeast toward Midwest City and Del City.

On May 3, 1999, 44 people were killed when tornadoes moved through the state, including a huge funnel that hit central Oklahoma. That twister was rated an F5 on the Fujita scale, the most powerful rating. Television forecasters estimated Thursday's storm at an F3.

[CedarDave]

Doppler Radar from Wichita:

[kcvl]

Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2003

Tornado Hits Pringles Snack Chips Plant
Associated Press

CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble Co. said Thursday that tornado damage at its Jackson, Tenn., Pringles snacks manufacturing plant could trim quarterly revenue by as much as 1 percent, although the facility suffered no major structural damage.

Critical production equipment was not damaged, but there was roof and water damage and the plant was shut down by the Monday tornado, the company said. Electricity was still out Thursday.

Until production resumes, there may be disruptions on delivery of Pringles and Torengos snacks to stores, the company said. Pringles chips is one of the Cincinnati-based company's major brands.

"We are doing everything possible to take care of our people, our customers and our consumers," said A.G. Lafley, president and chairman. "We will get the Jackson plant up and running as soon as we can."

The company said it doesn't expect fiscal fourth quarter earnings to be materially hurt, but "it is too early to fully assess the sales and earnings impacts on the company from this event."

P&G is covered by both asset and business-interruption insurance, it said.

P&G shares fell 73 cents Thursday to close at $89.12 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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[Tax-chick]

It's faded away in the last 1/2 hour. Just a few drops of rain falling, won't even hurt the garden.

Thanks for your concern. FReepers are the best!

[Brad’s Gramma]

Ya still there?????

[kcvl]

I can't find anything on the tornado in Kansas... I'm still looking.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Did you sign up for any of the updates? I don't know if that's what Cedar Dave wants....

I'll wait before finishing old Ethel's application. Let me know, OK?