Category 4 Tornado in Oklahoma

[DRE]

My condolences to all you members out there in Oklahoma. Some of you might not see this message for awhile until you get your internet and cell service back but I mean it. I've lived near there and have been through my fair share of tornado devastation myself. Truly one of the worst natural disasters you can go through. Makes you realize how short life is and to appreciate your loved ones more for the limited time we have with them.

I didn't know all this was going on until a member on my site who is in Oklahoma started crying and complaining in our site's chatbox. Didn't know what she was talking about, checked the news and my jaw just dropped.

 

[Slavik]

It's been on the news all day here, im quite in awe of how "selective" it was... houses flattened to the ground, yet 10 meters away, a house untouched.

 

[Sheldon]

It's been on the news all day here, im quite in awe of how "selective" it was... houses flattened to the ground, yet 10 meters away, a house untouched.

That's actually why a tornado is so powerful. All the energy is focused in such a small area.

 

[DRE]

It's been on the news all day here, im quite in awe of how "selective" it was... houses flattened to the ground, yet 10 meters away, a house untouched.

Not the same tornado, but one from Oklahoma a couple years past.

 

[BirdOPrey5]

Tornados aren't measured by "Categories" - those are Hurricanes.

The proper term for this is an EF4 Tornado - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Fujita_scale

 

[DRE]

lol I got the category 4 rating from some news article my bad.

 

[Taylor J]

It's been on the news all day here, im quite in awe of how "selective" it was... houses flattened to the ground, yet 10 meters away, a house untouched.

That's how tornadoes usually are. They will hit a few houses, leave the ground and "jump/skip" over a few and then come right back down. Also what stewart said they focus so much energy into one small area.

Granbury, Texas (20 minutes from me) was hit hard by a tornado last week when these huge storms started popping up everywhere.

Just had the sirens blast in my ear drums a few minutes ago (luckily it wasn't serious), most likely just testing them to make sure they still work. The town I live in doesn't do tests I guess.

Lmao, as I was about to post this the sirens went off again.

What a great time to live in Tornado Ally.

 

[Edrondol]

In 1976 the town I am from (Minden, IA) had a tornado. It came during an annual carnival, took out the town's dance hall but left the Ferris wheel standing about 20 feet away. Tornadoes are just nutty-random.

 

[Sheldon]

It has been upgraded to an EF5.

 

[TPerry]

It has been upgraded to an EF5.

When you see the ground scoured like that and just foundations left, it's usually a good bet that it was an EF5. About the only safe place is below ground level or in a VERY well built safe-room. We get a few around here and the wife and I are probably going to keep this house for a "few" more years, so I'm looking at getting my younger brother to bring some of his equipment down and us dig a big hole in the back yard and then lay out a storm cellar (1ft re-enforced concrete) in it and then cover it over and put a gazebo over it.

 

[Dodgeboard]

Tornados everywhere this time of year here in the Midwest. This one in Moore missed me by only a 100 miles or so. Two others came within 45 miles of Dodge City a couple of days ago. We usually get a 100 or so each Spring. One really has to pay attention to the weather and have a storm radio near your bedside so you can hear when they are coming. One several years back wiped out a neighboring town...the WHOLE town. Greensburg, KS is only 47 miles from me. To this day you can drive through and the trees are still noticeably stripped of their small branches. Most of the town has rebuilt. Some are still rebuilding. My cousin was in a shelter and was still speared in the chest with a 2 x 4 and spent 4 months in a hospital. Mother nature is awesome and deadly.

 

[SilverCircle]

When you see the ground scoured like that and just foundations left, it's usually a good bet that it was an EF5.

There isn't much difference between a high-end EF4 and a low-end EF5 - both are extremely dangerous and deadly. In this case, it was just about 10mph wind speed what made it finally upgraded to a EF5. It's just that the categorization requires a line to be drawn at a certain speed.

About the only safe place is below ground level or in a VERY well built safe-room.

Yup, a wind speed of 200mph or more is hardly survivable without some seriously solid protection around you.

The highest wind speed I've ever witnessed was around 100mph while on a hiking/climbing tour and it was already very, very scary even though we were able to take shelter. Twice this speed must be hell on earth.