In an unusually early and strong warning, national weather
forecasters cautioned Friday that conditions are ripe for violent
tornadoes to rip through the nation’s midsection from Texas to
Minnesota this weekend.As states across the middle of the country prepared for the worst,
storms were already kicking off in Norman, Okla., where a twister
whizzed by the nation’s tornado forecasting headquarters but caused
little damage.
It was only the second time in U.S. history that the Storm
Prediction Center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in
advance, said Russ Schneider, director of the center, which is part of
the National Weather Service. The first such warning was issued in
April 2006 before nearly 100 tornadoes tore across a large swathe of
the southeastern U.S.
The latest warning covers portions of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The worst weather is expected
to develop late Saturday afternoon between Oklahoma City and Salina,
Kan., but other areas also could see severe storms with baseball-sized
hail and winds of up to 70 mph, forecasters at the Storm Prediction
Center said Friday.
The 4warm storm Team will be tracking the storms all weekend. We'll have you covered in the event storms sweep through the viewing area. The outbreak could be a “high-end, life threatening event,” the center said.
The strongly worded warning came after the National Weather Service
announced last month that it would start using terms like “mass
devastation,” “unsurvivable” and “catastrophic” in its warnings in an
effort to get more people to take heed. It said it would test the new
warnings in Kansas and Missouri through the late fall before deciding
whether to expand them to other parts of the country.
Forecaster Daryl Williams confirmed Friday that a tornado had touched down about 4 p.m. near the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman. The weather service is housed at the university, and a university spokesman said non-essential personnel there as well as students were ordered to take shelter.
Video from television helicopters show several buildings damaged in
the city of about 100,000 about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City, but
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said
there were no reports of injuries.
Storms were developing as cold air from the west hit low-level
moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. The difference in wind
direction and speed was creating instability in the atmosphere that can
spawn tornadoes, said Scott Curl, a meteorologist at the NWS.
“This is a very powerful weather situation,” Schneider said. “The
environment is extremely favorable for violent, long-track tornadoes.
“The only question is when and where these storms will initially develop.”
With the worst storms expected in Oklahoma and Kansas, emergency
management officials warned residents to stay updated on weather
developments and create a plan for where they and their families would
go if a tornado developed.
“We know it’s a Saturday and that people are going to be out and
about, so stay weather aware,” said Keli Cain, a spokesman for the
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. “Have your cell phone on
you, keep it charged and make sure you’re checking the weather
throughout the day so you don’t get caught off guard.”
People also should put together an emergency preparedness kit that
includes a pair of boots, rain gear, flashlight, battery-operated
radio, first-aid kit and a few days’ supply of food and water.
“It seems like it’s kind of a big deal this time,” said Monte Evans,
a 42-year-old middle school teacher in Wichita, Kan., who said he
planned to keep a close eye on the weather and take shelter in his
basement with his wife and four children, ages six to 11, if tornadoes
hit.
“But they always say it’s coming and then ends up somewhere else. You just do the best you can and get ready if it happens.”
Medical officials in Oklahoma warned residents not to seek shelter
at hospitals or other public buildings, but rather to stay inside their
homes in a basement or interior closet.
During a tornado outbreak last spring, hundreds of residents packed
Oklahoma City hospitals seeking shelter from a violent series of
twisters that killed seven people in Oklahoma and Kansas.
“We had people actually lining the halls,” said Michael Murphy of
the Emergency Medical Services Authority. “Had we experienced a mass
casualty incident, it really could have placed a strain on our
resources.”