Central Oklahoma Tornadoes – Preliminary Damage Assessment

 Preliminary Tornado Survey Results by NWS

Other Details:

• Total number of buildings destroyed or damaged: Not known/undisclosed, as of posting.
• Number of fatalities: VNV
• Injuries: More than 100, according to media reports.
• The violent storms triggered widespread flooding.
• The first tornado developed around 5:55 pm CDT near El Reno. This storm then moved east to southeast into western and central portions of Oklahoma City, producing other tornadoes. (NWS)
• Other storms developed to the west and moved over the same areas as the first storm. This produced significant flooding in the Oklahoma City metro. (NWS)

Missouri Tornado

Missouri Gov. Nixon declared a state of emergency due to severe storm damage and widespread flooding. An EF-3 tornado caused extensive damage leaving behind a 22-mile path of destruction from St. Charles County into St. Louis County on Friday.

Illinois Tornado

An EF-2 tornado hit Madison County in southwestern Illinois, causing damage to buildings.

A second tornado, also an EF-2, touched down in neighboring Macoupin County, causing damage to dozens of buildings buildings, said an emergency management official.

• “We had houses twisted off foundations, houses with roofs taken off,” he said.

Tornado Tallies

• A total of 20 tornadoes struck 7 states (OK, ND, KS, MO, IA, IN and IL) on Friday May 31, SPC reported.
• At least 109 tornadoes struck 16 states (AR, NE, TX, NY, WI, WY, PA, MI, CO, OK, ND, KS, MO, IA, IN and IL) starting May 27 through May 31.

Related Links

• Deadly Tornadoes Attack Oklahoma Again June 1, 2013
• Tornado Emergency Issued in Oklahoma City June 1, 2013
• Severe Weather Plagues the North, South, Midwest May 30, 2013
• Active or Extremely Active 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season: NOAA May 24, 2013
• DISASTER Diary – 23 May 2013 May 23, 2013
• OKC Mega Tornado: Fact and Fiction May 21, 2013
• DISASTER Diary – 21 May 2013 May 21, 2013
• Massive Deadly Tornado Rips Across Oklahoma City Suburbs May 20, 2013
• Powerful Tornadoes Strike in Six U.S. States May 20, 2013
• Rising Temperatures, Red Flag Warnings and Erupting Volcanoes May 18, 2013

DISASTER Diary – 23 May 2013

OKC Mega Tornado Destroyed or Damaged 13,000 Homes

The mega tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs on Monday has   destroyed or damaged as many as 13,000 homes and caused about $2 billion in damage, officials have  said.

• FIRE-EARTH models show that about 50,000 people have been displaced as a result of the twister.

The deadly Moore tornado was EF5, according to NWS:

• Rating: EF5
• Peak Winds: 200 – 210 mph (338 km/h)
• Path Length: 17 miles
• Maximum Width: 1.3 miles
• Begin Time: 2:45pm CDT
• Begin Location: 4.4 miles west of Newcastle
• End Time: 3:35 pm CDT
• End Location: 4.8 miles east of Moore

-oOo-

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Rioting Spreads in Stockholm, Sweden

Rioting in Swedish capital continued for a fourth night, with at least one large building, reported to be a a restaurant, and 4 dozen cars torched by the rioters described by police as  a “mixture of every kind of people.”

• The rioting began in the deprived suburb of Husby on Sunday, several days after  police shot dead an elderly man for allegedly threatening to kill them with a machete.

-oOo-

Montreal Residents Told to Boil Drinking Water

Up to 1.4 million Montrealers have been told by the City Council to boil their drinking water.

An urgent message posted on the official City portal read:

Boil water advisory

“You must boil your tap water (bringing it to a bubbling boil) for at lea[s]t one minute be[f]ore drinking it, or use bottled water instead, if you live in many boroughs or related cities.”

-oOo-

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 23, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,024 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,024 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

OKC Mega Tornado: Fact and Fiction

 Moore Tornado Upgraded to EF5

NWS damage teams have upgraded the deadly tornado that struck Moore to EF5.

• Rating: EF5
• Peak Winds: 200 – 210 mph (338 km/h)
• Path Length: 17 miles
• Maximum Width: 1.3 miles
• Begin Time: 2:45pm CDT
• Begin Location: 4.4 miles west of Newcastle
• End Time: 3:35 pm CDT
• End Location: 4.8 miles east of Moore

This is a preliminary track outline of the powerful EF-5 tornado that struck Newcastle and Moore during the afternoon of May 20, 2013. This path may change as we continue to survey the damage. Notice how the tornado path contracts toward the right side of the image. Source: NWS

Tornado Damage and Casualties

• Preliminary estimate for the damage is put at $3 billion.
• The tornado has left thousands of people homeless.
• Most of the 91 or so people killed by the tornado were resurrected within hours, thanks to the political will. Current death toll stands at only 24.  (See also the ‘Joplin Syndrome’).
• About 240 others were injured.

The Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale – Quick Chart

EF0: 65 TO 85 MPH
EF1: 86 TO 110 MPH
EF2: 111 TO 135 MPH
EF3: 136 TO 165 MPH
EF4: 166 TO 200 MPH
EF5: Wind speeds greater than 200 MPH

DISASTER Diary – 21 May 2013

Major Disaster Declared in Oklahoma after Mega Tornado Kills Dozens

The Disaster President has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Oklahoma in the area affected by severe storms and tornadoes beginning on May 18, 2013, and continuing.

The areas worst affected are the counties of Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie.

At least 91 people, many of them children, are feared to have been killed and about 240 others injured after a mega tornado ripped through Oklahoma City suburbs, leveling numerous blocks in the city of Moore (pop: ~ 55,000),  Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

The death toll included 51 confirmed deaths and an additional 40 bodies on their way to the Medical Examiner’s office. (See also the ‘Joplin Syndrome’).

• The tornado was rated as at least an EF4, with winds of up to 200mph, according to NWS preliminary damage ratings.
• The tornadic event began at 2.56pm CDT on Monday and lasted for 40 minutes.
• Moore twister was as much as two miles wide, and carved a 20-mile path of destruction.
• The tornado left obliterated many hundreds of homes and other buildings in Moore.

This is a preliminary tornado track for the tornado that affected Newcastle, Moore, and Oklahoma City on May 20, 2013. The tornado touchdown at around 2:56 pm in Newcastle, OK and moved through Moore and south OKC before lifting at around 3:36 pm. The path length is estimated to be about 20 miles long with a preliminary damage rating of at least EF4. —NWS

“Our hearts are broken,” Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said. “This is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s absolutely huge. It’s horrific.”

More Severe Weather Expected from Great Lakes to Central Texas on Tuesday

More severe weather is expected on Tuesday from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi River Valley and into central Texas. Primary threats will be very large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes. Some of the storms could also produce heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding concerns, especially in the Ark-La-Tex region. —NWS

-oOo-

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Average CO₂ at Mauna Loa Observatory: Last 5 days of preliminary daily average CO2

• May 20 – 400.15 ppm
• May 19 – 400.06 ppm
• May 18 – 399.77 ppm
• May 17 – 399.87 ppm
• May 16 – 399.74 ppm

-oOo-

Groundwater depletion in the U.S. has accelerated

Groundwater depletion in the United States during 1900–2008 was about 1,000 cubic kilometers (km³), according to a new study released by USGS.

• The rate of groundwater depletion has increased significantly since about 1950, with maximum rates occurring during the most recent period (2000–2008), said the report.
• The average depletion rate climbed to about 25 km³ [6.6 trillion gallons] per year during 2000–2008, compared to 9.2 km³ per year averaged over the 1900–2008 period.

Map of the United States (excluding Alaska) showing cumulative groundwater depletion, 1900 through 2008, in 40 assessed aquifer systems or subareas. Colors are hatched in the Dakota aquifer (area 39) where the aquifer overlaps with other aquifers having different values of depletion. [Konikow, L.F., 2013, Groundwater depletion in the United States (1900−2008): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2013−5079. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079.(Available only online.)]

-oOo-

Kamchatka, Russia

At least 2 dozen significant quakes, measuring between 5.0 and 6.0Mw, have struck off the east coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia since Monday May 20, 2013. 

-oOo-

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 21, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,026 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,026 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Massive Deadly Tornado Rips Across Oklahoma City Suburbs

At least 37 killed, many injured in OKC gigantic twister attack

The massive tornado first touched down in Newcastle and barreled toward Interstate 44, Moore and South Oklahoma City, killing at least 37 people, as of posting, injuring scores of others, destroying hundreds of buildings and  leaving a path of destruction behind.

The deadly twister was at least an EF4 tornado packing winds of about 200mph (320km/h) and was reportedly as much as ‘two-miles’ wide.

It struck about 15:00 CDT (UTC -5hrs) on Monday in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb south of Oklahoma City, and remained on the ground for at least 40 minutes.

Massive tornado hits Okla. Screen grab of damage in Moore, Oklahoma from massive tornado that swept through on Monday afternoon. Credit: CBS News

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who had already declared a state of emergency in 16 counties after the previous round of tornado attack, told CBS: “Well, we know we’ve had a massive tornado that has come through a major metropolitan area in Moore, Okla. It was a very wide tornado, a very strong tornado. It has damaged lots of neighborhoods, it’s hit two schools that possibly had school children in them. It’s also it a hospital and a big movie theater and a commercial area.”

Latest SPC Filtered Storm Reports for May 19 – 20

Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley

The Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale – Quick Chart

EF0: 65 TO 85 MPH
EF1: 86 TO 110 MPH
EF2: 111 TO 135 MPH
EF3: 136 TO 165 MPH
EF4: 166 TO 200 MPH
EF5: Wind speeds greater than 200 MPH