Tornado emergency

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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, or according to policy of the local National Weather Service office) 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Example 2 Tornado emergencies issued 2.1 1999 2.2 2000 2.3 2002 2.4 2003 2.5 2006 2.6 2007 2.7 2008 3 See also 4 References

[edit] 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]"

[edit] 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.

[edit] Tornado emergencies issued

Since its first use in 1999, the Tornado Emergency text has been used in at least 70 bulletins, sometimes on multiple occasions on the same day. For instance, during the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak, tornado emergencies were mentioned in twelve separate bulletins in Tennessee and Alabama.

[edit] 1999

Main article: 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak

• May 3, 1999: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

[edit] 2000

• March 28, 2000: Fort Worth, Texas^[3]

Main article: Fort Worth Tornado

• June 13, 2000: Perryton, Texas^[4]

[edit] 2002

Main article: Veterans Day Weekend Outbreak

• September 20, 2002: Indianapolis, Indiana area ^[5]
• November 10, 2002: Cullman County, Alabama^[6]

[edit] 2003

Main article: May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence

• May 4, 2003: Northern Kansas City metro area^[7]
• May 6, 2003: Northern Alabama ^[8] (six bulletins)
• May 7, 2003: Central Alabama ^[9] (ten bulletins)
• May 8, 2003: Southeastern Oklahoma City metro area^[10] (four bulletins)
• May 9, 2003: Oklahoma City metro area^[11] (nine bulletins)

[edit] 2006

• March 12, 2006: Western and southwestern Missouri (seven bulletins)^{[12] [13]}

Main article: April 2, 2006 Tornado Outbreak

• April 2, 2006: Caruthersville, Missouri area ^[14]
• April 7, 2006: Huntsville, Alabama area (three bulletins) ^[15]

[edit] 2007

Main article: May 2007 Tornado Outbreak

• May 4, 2007: Greensburg, Kansas^[16]
• May 5, 2007: Great Bend, Kansas^{[17] [18]}

Main article: Mid-October 2007 tornado outbreak

• October 18, 2007: Nappanee, Indiana ^[19] (three bulletins)

[edit] 2008

Main article: January 2008 tornado outbreak sequence

• January 7, 2008: Springfield, Missouri ^[20] (two bulletins)

Main article: 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak

• February 5, 2008: Memphis, Tennessee ^[21] (five bulletins)
• February 5, 2008: Jackson, Tennessee ^[22] (three bulletins)
• February 5, 2008: Cedar Grove, Tennessee ^[23] (two bulletins)
• February 5, 2008: Huntingdon, Tennessee ^[24]
• February 6, 2008: Decatur, Alabama ^[25]

Main article: Tornadoes of 2008#February 16-17

• February 17, 2008: Prattville, Alabama ^[26]

Main article: 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak

• March 15, 2008: Atlanta, Georgia ^[27]

Main article: Tornadoes_of_2008#April_3-4

• April 4, 2008: Ridgeland, Mississippi ^[28] (two bulletins)

Main article: Tornadoes of 2008#April 8-11

• April 9, 2008: Breckenridge, Texas ^{[29] [30]}

[edit] See also

• Tornado warning
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

[edit] References

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