May 3, 1999......Oklahoma Historical Outbreak Part 1

While I did not expect the magnitude of this historical day, severe weather
parameters were coming together over Oklahoma signaling a higher than
usual tornado threat. Threat was probably an understatement of the events
later that day. The questions remaining to be answered late that morning and
early afternoon were where would supercells develop and when would the
supercells finally break the cap. The parameters for a severe weather and
tornado outbreak were starting to become more apparent with time. A strong
mid-level wind max was expected to blast across Oklahoma by evening. A
very strong low-level jet was positioned across Oklahoma during the day. The
flow aloft was very diffluent(splitting) and the low-level winds were becoming
more backed with time. The crossing of low and mid-level jets was projected
to be in the C.Oklahoma area, and this area is typically a region of intense
tornadoes. A deepening surface low was over NE Colorado and a sharp dry
line extended from the low to Dodge City Ks to Childress Tx to near Abilene Tx.
Mid to upper 60 dew points were working northward into Oklahoma and the
airmass was very unstable, particularly over SW and C Oklahoma. A special
afternoon sounding from Norman Ok revealed extreme low level shear, and
the severe storm outlook was immediately upgraded to a high risk. Significant
and very damaging tornadoes were possible over the high risk area, and it
was becoming more apparent that C Oklahoma would be in the highest risk.

I monitored the forecast models and the RUC model always is my model of
choice the day of severe weather. The RUC model progged explosive supercell
development over SW Oklahoma between 3-4pm. This area matched up well
with the extreme instability and favorable surface patterns setting up in that area
by early afternoon. I decided that SW Oklahoma was where I would place my
target zone. One feature which I noticed and Brian Stertz also noticed was the
presence of a secondary boundary/warm front extending across S Oklahoma.
We both felt that this boundary would act to increase low level shear even more
with time, and would probably be the major player in tornadic development by
late afternoon.This was the very same boundary we had chased the day before
in N. Texas.  Deep moisture would also tend to be pooled in the vicinity of this
boundary. It was also apparent that the boundary would lift northward as the
surface low deepened further and the low-level jet roared over the top. Low-level
shear was definitely going to be concentrated today, so the potential for violent
tornadoes was very high. Brian Stertz concurred on my choice of the target area,
and he planned to head that direction after work from Tulsa.

I left Tulsa/Broken Arrow around noon after fininshing my recap of weather data.
SW Oklahoma remained capped; but instability was building up such that in the
next 2-3 hours, explosive supercell development looked to be likely. I passed
through Oklahoma City, and continued on to the southwest on the H.E. Bailey
Turnpike/ I-44 towards the Lawton area. Little did I know, I was passing through
areas that would be devastated by a historical F-5 tornado. By early afternoon,
the RUC model bulls-eyed SW Oklahoma even more, indicating that a supercell
would rapidly develop to the south of Lawton Ok. More and more factors would
come together over the next 3 hours to make this one of Oklahoma's worst and
most damaging outbreaks ever. The cap restrained convective development
tightly early in the afternoon. Meanwhile, extreme instability was building up
over SW Oklahoma and NW Texas. Not a good combination of factors for the
safety and well-being of resident's of this area. By mid-afternoon, surface LI's
were in the -10 to -12 range , and low-level winds started to back over SW and
C Oklahoma. I was very concerned that damaging tornadoes were imminent.
I reached Lawton just after 2pm, and continued on to the southwest to near the
town of Faxon Ok. I decided to pull over and setup my tripod for video. The cap
was fairly strong; I watched several towers bubble up and attempt to break
through the cap without success.

With time, the cumulus clouds started to change appearance. Vertical growth
was increasing, and oddly enough, several of the small towering clouds had a
twist as they developed in the unstable air. Between 3:45pm and 4pm, a small
but organized towering cumulus started to break through the cap. The cloud
struggled for the first few minutes, but erupted with fury shortly before 4pm. I
was almost certain that this was the supercell the RUC model hinted would form
south of Lawton. I was also concerned that this storm would rapidly become
severe and tornadic, given the degree of instability and low-level shear. I called
into the SW Oklahoma repeater to report this to the Norman NWS that a storm
was breaking through the cap. An accessory cloud on the back side of the now
exploding cb showed incredible spin as it was absorbed into the organizing
updraft. Now I will begin with a time line of events on the story, as the supercell
(which would change thousands of peoples lives forever) organized over the
wheat and pasture lands in S Comanche Co. My chase would lead me through
the highs and lows of storm chasing. I prepare myself for months in advance for
the storm chase season, but I was still not fully prepared to deal with what was
about to happen. I would just hope that my reports would make a difference
today. Destruction, devastation, death, and despair are the 4 D's that a chaser
must realize on the sad side of storm chasing. Today was a mixture of extreme
emotions in this seasoned storm chaser!!

The chase begins at 4:10pm.... I decided that the storm had organized to severe
levels and left my position near Faxon on OK-36. To my north, the storm went
through the usual transition phase of lone t-storm to supercell, only today the
process happened at an accelerated rate!! Almost immediately, the storm had
obvious signs of rotation. The storm tower/updraft was becoming striated in the
lower levels, while up above the updraft knucled back. A clear slot started to
form on the western portion of the storm and it was apparent that a RFD already
was developing. Inflow bands appeared out of nowhere. A supercell was now
becoming full-fledged. The supercell gained intensity as it tracked n-ne towards
Lawton. At 4:28pm, I was approaching the storm from the south as it was very
near Ft.Sill Army base. A pronounced hook echo started to develop on radar as
storm rotation increased rapidly. Also at this time, the flat rain-free base dipped
lower, as a bowl shaped wall cloud enhanced to my west about 3-4 miles. My
laptop computer was showing that low-level shear was rapidly increasing as
well. I knew a tornado was about to happen so I called in my report again to the
Norman NWS. Not more than a minute later, a tornado warning was issued for
Comanche, Caddo, and Grady counties. The developing tornado location was
listed as 3 miles east of Medicine Park in Comanche Co. I was at the intersection
of I-44 and OK-49 at this time(4:50pm). I started to notice rapid condensation
under the wall cloud at this time as well. Between 4:50 and 4:55pm, I watched
a pronounced funnel cloud work down from the wall cloud. The funnel was not
more than 2 miles to my w-nw. The tornado would soon follow!!

The funnel appeared to be very close to touching down as it moved n-ne near
the town of Elgin. I was on US 277 southwest of Elgin when I could see a F1-F2
appearance tornado touch down to my east. My road options hampered my
luck at getting closer to the tornado between 5:00 and 5:15pm. I decided to
head up towards Cyril (SE Caddo Co.) to get into position to view the tornado
which remained on the ground to my east about 8 miles. The tornado remained
small as it passed very near the town of Cyril at 5:20pm. The tornado crossed
OK-19 before I was able to get to Cyril. I pulled over (as numerous other chasers
spotters, and news crews did) to watch the tornado slowly increase in width and
intensity to the nw of Cyril. At this time, I was also watching radar and an even
larger supercell was exploding over the Altus Ok area. For a split second, I had
thoughts of heading west to that very large supercell. Hail to the size of softballs
had been reported over N.Jackson Co. I decided to stick with this storm as it
was tornadic already, and certainly had a favorable environment to grow and
sustain rotation. I watched the tornado slowly weaken at 5:30pm as it moved
northward to near Cement Ok. I did notice that 2 circulations were now starting
to split from the parent updraft. Circulation# 1 was heading n-ne towards the
Cement/Laverty area. Circulation# 2 had an even more northerly course as it
was heading for Anadarko. I decided to follow #2 as my road options were a
little better to stay even with the circulation. At 5:35pm, I followed the rotation
north into Anadarko without much success. However, radar was indicating that
circulation#1 was rapidly intensifying near Laverty (W.Grady Co.). Spotters
soon reported a large multiple vortex tornado in that vicinity. My attention was
now directed solely on that tornado. I plotted an intercept somewhere near or
east of Verden. I left Anadarko on OK-9 to intercept this increasing tornado now
reported to be heading for the large city of Chickasha. I gained quickly on the
tornado following an OHP trooper in escort fashion east of Verden. The time
was now 6:02pm and the storm base was very dark to my east and southeast.

My visual observation was severely reduced by the rain/hail on the nw side of
the large hook echo I saw on radar at my location east of Verden. I continued
on knowing a large tornado(reported to be 1/4-1/2 mile wide at 6pm) was just
southeast of me 5 miles!! I broke out of the rain and hail quickly as I approached
Chickasha. There was a very dark area that soon revealed the large tornado that
was tracking almost due north. The width of the tornado looked to be in the 1/4
mile wide range as it approached OK-9 at 30-35mph. I watched the tornado
slowly wind down about 1-2 miles south of OK-9 at 6:10pm. Vortex breakdown
was starting to occur. The solid cone tornado dissipated into weaker multiple
vortices and eventually a weak dust swirl. At 6:12pm, the tornado had dissipated
but there was still strong rotation at cloud base. I decided to head east into town
thinking that the tornado might re-form further north. How wrong I was. My van
was rocked by extreme wind gusts on Ok-9 about 3 miles west of Chickasha. I
knew I was in trouble. The inflow/ouflow couplet had just passed the road prior
to my scary experience. Almost as fast as the tornado dissipated, the tornado
re-formed not more than a 1/2 mile north of me. The time of the new tornado
touchdown was 6:14pm. Rotation became very violent just to the west of town.
The tornado quickly transformed from multiple vortex structure to a very large
condensated cone. I reached town(still shaking from my close call) and reached
US 281. The tornado was going to barely miss the north section of town, but I
could see that the airport was in the direct path. I called my report in and made
my way slowly north about 2-3 miles south of the large and dangerous vortex.

The Chickasha Municipal Airport took a direct hit from the tornado. I crossed the
damage path on US 281 and could confirm F-3 damage in the area as the 1/2
mile wide tornado continued northeast at 6:20pm. The tornado was also joined
by an accessory tornado which travelled in tandem with the larger F-3 tornado.
This smaller tornado(F0-F1 intensity) remained on the ground between 6:20pm
and 6:24pm. The twin tornadoes were an impressive sight as they moved across
open country just to the west of I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike. The tornado remained
very large for much of its track which ended as it approached Amber(Grady Co.)
at 6:28pm. Almost instantly, an even larger(and visually stronger) tornado was
on the ground southeast of Amber, and developed from the same mesocyclone.
The tornado was well over 1/2 mile wide as it passed east of Amber, or 4-5
miles to my east. Numerous chasers formed into a caravan as I took County Rd
E1280 east from Amber. Fortunately, Amber would be spared from the severe
damage which would be soon inflicted on communities further to the northeast
along I-44. At 6:38pm, the tornado was approaching 1 mile in width as it moved
up the turnpike 3 miles northeast of Amber, or 5 miles to my north. The forward
speed seemed to slow between 6:40 and 6:50pm. Unfortunately the tornado
also increased in intensity. The tornado ripped across the unincorporated town
of Bridge Creek, resulting in complete devastation and many fatalities. It is
also in this time frame that the DOW( Doppler on Wheels) measured a 318 mph
wind just above this surface in the maxi tornado. My road options were not good
but I had to continue on to get back even with the now F-5 tornado. My distance
from the tornado did allow me stunning views of the incredible rotation and RFD
on the backside of the wedge tornado (which was now resulting in the strongest wind speeds ever measured).

I knew that the slower movement would allow me a better chance to catch up to
the tornado still moving slowly northeast. The tornado's position at 6:50pm was
near the Grady/McClain Co. line on the nw side of the Newcastle city limits. I
finally reached OK-76 (a paved road) and quickly made my way north towards
the mile wide F-5 tornado. The tornado passed about a mile to my north at 6:54
pm as I approached the intersection of OK-76 and OK-130. I tried to get out on
my cell phone, but all circuits were jammed, and I am almost certain that several
cell towers were wiped out. I followed the tornado along Ok-130 into the town
of Newcastle. The tornado fortunately passed northwest of town about 2-3 miles.
However, the tornado nearly followed I-44 and several motorists were injured or
killed by the advancing 1/2 mile wide tornado. I made my way through town
on US 62/277 and caught up to the tornado once again as it crossed I-44 less
than a mile to my north. The tornado remained very intense, but the structure was
more of a stove-pipe appearance(1/4 mile wide) at 7:08pm. It was now that I
realized that the tornado was tracking right for the city of Moore and possibly the
south sections of Oklahoma City. I had a very sick feeling in my stomach that
this was going to get even worse. I continued video of the tornado as it moved
northeast from I-44 towards Moore.

At 7:10pm, the tornado weakened slightly as it crossed the S.Canadian River
in rural sections of extreme northwest sections of Cleveland Co. Once again
an accessory tornado formed north of the main tornado. This small tornado
soon rotated around to the southwest side of the larger tornado. Eventually, it
became absorbed into main tornado. At 7:12pm, I reached OK-37(SW 134th)
and the road which goes into the city of Moore from I-44. The intensity of the
tornado weakened to strong F2- weakF3 as it approached OK-37. I was hoping
that the weakening trend would continue. One bad thing I noticed right away,
today's tornadoes never went to a rope stage. They either dissipated completely
or re-generated into an even worse tornado. The tornado did the latter as it
moved towards SW 134th. At the intersection of SW 134th and May Ave., the
tornado started to max out again in intensity. I had managed to get ahead of the
now 1/2 mile wide tornado as it crossed SW 134th. I was on the ne side of the
tornado looking sw from a subdivision area(Meadow Ridge Estates). I called in
my report to the Norman NWS to give them a detailed acct of streets and sub-
divisions in the path of the intensifying tornado. I was on Penn just south of SW
119th when major debris, power flashes/explosions, and a load roar were
observed. I had a real hard time trying to keep composed as I knew hundreds
of homes were about to be levelled. My winds bordered on the extreme to scary
side as the tornado passed just to my west. Tons of debris started falling from
the sky around me so I moved east on 119th. A thud on my roof (either from 
debris or one huge hailstone) signaled a time to move. Swirling debris, mud,and
80-100mph winds blasted me at the intersection of 119th and Western at 7:22
pm. I knew there was no chance to intercept the tornado from the south because
of massive debris. I continued on 119th to I-35 as the tornado was passing to
the northwest about a mile. Reports were now coming across that many houses
in northwest and north sections of Moore had been either levelled or destroyed. 
I watched in shock/amazement as the 1/2 mile wide tornado approached I-35.
There was tremendous debris swirling around/in the tornado. Millions of pieces
of debris!! A horizontal vortex tube also formed on the southeast side as the
large and very damaging tornado neared I-35. This will mark the second time I
have seen an accessory tornado along I-35. The last time was on April 26, 1991
and it was over Noble Co. Oklahoma. I am convinced this tornado was of much
stronger intensity than the April 26 F-4 tornado near Billings Ok. The roar that the
tornado made as it moved through Moore will forever not be forgotten!!

The rain curtains swirled around the south side of the tornado as it crossed I-35.
My view was blocked so I headed east into the northeast section of Moore. The
tornado continued but was partially oscured from view by the wrapping rain
curtains. I reached Eastern Ave. at 7:30 pm  and headed north. The tornado was
approaching the intersection of Eastern and NE 23rd. I made my way cautiously
north on Eastern. I pulled over at the intersection (Eastern/NE 23rd) and watched
the tornado pass just 1/4 of a mile to my north. I was in almost continuous contact
with the Norman NWS ever since the tornado moved into the west section of the
city of Moore. I gave them detailed location information as my positions never
varied past 1-2 miles of the devastating tornado. While  pulled over, power
poles quickly were taken down like dominoes by the tornado. I had to move!!!
The power pole 100 feet from my van broke off, and the edge of 100 mph+
winds was that far from my vehicle!!! The time was now 7:33pm.

The tornado's appearance was becoming even more shrouded in rain as it
moved towards I-240 and Del City. I moved over to Bryant Rd to head north
since there was likely major debris/power poles across Eastern. At 7:38pm, the
1/4-1/2 mile wide tornado continued to head northeast towards Sunnylane and
I-240. The tornado was about 1-2 miles to my north-northwest at this time. Very
intense damage was still being reported as it was now moving into Del City. I
wanted to avoid damage on Sunnylane so I headed over to Sooner Rd near
I-240. The tornado actually started it's northerly track as I headed north on Sooner
Rd, immediately behind the tornado. Between 7:40 and 7:48pm, the tornado
struck the western portion of Tinker AFB along Sooner Rd, and then continued
along and just east of Sooner Rd. F3-F4 damage continued at this time . I saw
a horse on the road that was wandering around dazed and injured. Several
vehicles and a tractor trailer were badly damaged on the side of the road. I
called in for emergency vehicles to respond to this area at Sooner Rd and NE
29th. I had several incredibly horrifying views of the damage path. For several
miles I looked up the 1/4-1/2 mile path and very little was left standing. The
tornado approached I-40 and Sooner Rd at 7:46pm. Midwest City was next in
line for the tornado's path. As the tornado continued north, it started to weaken
and narrow shortly before 8pm. I could see yet another circulation developing
well east of the occluding/dissipating tornado. This new circulation was going
to be very near Choctaw. I stopped at exit 157 on I-40 and saw numerous cars
that were ripped apart and rolled. I decided to stop my first part of the chase at
this very nasty scene.  I had to regain my composure and reflect on the scope
of what just happened. Yet another tornadic supercell was near Yukon to the
west of Oklahoma City. This storm also had a very large hook echo on radar. I started west to continue my chase of more extremely violent tornadoes in NE Canadian and Logan Counties.......

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