Tornado on the Ground in Okc & KS

law enforcement is reporting it as such....it is east of Emporia (thank heavens it did not touch down in Emporia!)

141 posted on 05/08/2003 4:55:29 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!)

To: rwfromkansas

Isn't that probably an f5 just based on the size?

142 posted on 05/08/2003 4:56:01 PM PDT by Black Agnes

143 posted on 05/08/2003 4:56:06 PM PDT by sweetliberty ("Having the right to do a thing is not at all the same thing as being right in doing it.")

To: rwfromkansas

It would've wiped out most, if not all, of the town. How terrifying.

144 posted on 05/08/2003 4:57:17 PM PDT by Catspaw

Emporia is big, so it wouldn't do that. But, it would have done significant damage.

145 posted on 05/08/2003 4:57:42 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!)

Isn't that probably an f5 just based on the size?

Nah. There's no direct size-intensity relationship.

As it is, the F scale is horribly abused. It's a DAMAGE measurement, not a wind speed measurement, but the damage is roughly correlated with a wind speed.

The ONLY measure of a tornado on the F scale is by a NWS team examining the damage the next day. You can't even F-rate a tornado at all if it just goes through a cornfield, really. But now news stations and whatnot are trying to instantly guesstimate F ratings (and usually inflating them).

146 posted on 05/08/2003 5:02:53 PM PDT by John H K

147 posted on 05/08/2003 5:04:49 PM PDT by Black Agnes

This weather has just been awful! Yesterday morning I had 3 phone calls around 3:30 AM (one from Budge) saying that there were 2 tornados heading right at us. Totally freaked me out! We have no place to get away from one. Did not start my day off well!

148 posted on 05/08/2003 5:05:08 PM PDT by sweetliberty ("Having the right to do a thing is not at all the same thing as being right in doing it.")

To: Brad's Gramma

Great site, BG. Thanks. I hear thunder rumbling as I type.

149 posted on 05/08/2003 5:06:13 PM PDT by Bahbah

To: sheikdetailfeather

We're looking at about 20 minutes before it hits us in south Broken Arrow. Trying to decide whether we should evacuate. The Big One in '99, when we lived in Norman, missed us by only a couple of miles!

150 posted on 05/08/2003 5:06:16 PM PDT by Tax-chick (If you were me, you'd be like this, too.)

"a MILE wide? Holy moly. That's one heckuva tornado."

That's almost as big as the one in '99.

151 posted on 05/08/2003 5:07:12 PM PDT by sweetliberty ("Having the right to do a thing is not at all the same thing as being right in doing it.")

152 posted on 05/08/2003 5:08:26 PM PDT by Catspaw

Here in Southern Tulsa County...hoping it misses us. Praying for those in the line of this storm, and those already hit.

153 posted on 05/08/2003 5:09:02 PM PDT by I'm ALL Right!

To: Okies love Dubya 2

Have relatives in Tecumseh. Cannot reach anyone. Hope they are okay. Where are you? (You can freepmail me.)

154 posted on 05/08/2003 5:10:41 PM PDT by I'm ALL Right!

Fujita Tornado Damage Scale

Developed in 1971 by T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago

SCALE	WIND ESTIMATE * (MPH)**	TYPICAL DAMAGE
F0	< 73	Light damage. Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged.
F1	73-112	Moderate damage. Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos blown off roads.
F2	113-157	Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.
F3	158-206	Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.
F4	207-260	Devastating damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5	261-318	Incredible damage. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yds); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

*** IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT F-SCALE WINDS: Do not use F-scale winds literally. These precise wind speed numbers are actually guesses and have never been scientifically verified. Different wind speeds may cause similar-looking damage from place to place -- even from building to building. Without a thorough engineering analysis of tornado damage in any event, the actual wind speeds needed to cause that damage are unknown.

155 posted on 05/08/2003 5:10:45 PM PDT by Catspaw

To: I'm ALL Right!

There's a shelter at the hospital on Elm just east of us. We checked it out as soon as we moved here!

156 posted on 05/08/2003 5:10:47 PM PDT by Tax-chick (If you were me, you'd be like this, too.)

Give me the url. Me, my dog, my daughter's dog and the neighbors will register....Do I need an authentic zip code & town?????

Give it to me, first, if so...

157 posted on 05/08/2003 5:12:00 PM PDT by Brad’s Gramma

Saw this damage on TV--wow. Heard people were injured, but no deaths, thank God.

158 posted on 05/08/2003 5:12:32 PM PDT by I'm ALL Right!

To: I'm ALL Right!

Yep, we're all praying for those that were and are in the path of these storms.

159 posted on 05/08/2003 5:13:28 PM PDT by chantal7

"Please don't let it crash, please please, please."
You are obviously reading my mind.

160 posted on 05/08/2003 5:13:58 PM PDT by Bahbah

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