A Multi Day Severe Weather Outbreak is possible across the Midwest Through Sunday!

TWNS is currently forecasting a Possible Multi-Day Severe Weather Outbreak for much of the Midwest starting Friday and lasting through Sunday. SPC has already taken the liberty to issue Slight Risks across the Midwest; from the Canadian down to Kansas on Friday, From Minnesota to Northern Oklahoma on Saturday, And Sunday should be centered primarily on Western Wisconsin, South Central Minnesota, Southeastern South Dakota, Northeastern Nebraska, and Northern Iowa. GFS models showing that storms will start around 6 AM on Friday across the Western Third of the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. However storms could dip as far down as Northeastern Kansas. SPC has given a 30% chance of Severe Weather across Southwestern Nebraska and Northwestern Kansas, we may need to keep a close eye on this area on Friday. The storms push eastward on into Saturday. Strong Thunderstorms possible on Saturday from southern Manitoba, Canada all the way down to Kansas according to the GFS Models. Storms push eastward for Sunday with strong to severe storms from Minnesota all the way down to Missouri is possible according to the GFS Models. TWNS will be active throughout these next few days, with live storm reports, storm discussion at our HQ, and Radar updates. Stay tuned to TWNS, we'll keep YOU informed, ahead of the storm.

Storm Reports for 6/16/14

Today was a pretty active day for much of the Midwestern US. A lot of reports of tornadoes on the ground, several of them being violent tornadoes on the ground. The hardest hit being Pilger, NE. There were 24 reports of tornadoes, 108 reports of wind damage, and 127 reports of hail. 1 reported death and 16 reports of injuries. This outbreak may have been as bad or worse than April 27th, 2014.

Moderate Risk Issued for Tomorrow!

SPC issued a MODERATE RISK for Saturday, June 14th across portions of SE Nebraska. It also includes Western Iowa and Northern Kansas as well. Very Large hail, Damaging Winds and even some tornadoes are possible with this round of severe weather. The main round of severe weather will be Saturday Afternoon and Evening. Severe storms are likely to occur across Northeastern Colorado, the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and the eastern Dakotas and into Minnesota. PeterPeter5000 and the rest of the TWNS Extreme Weather Team will be here tomorrow to keep you updated on the severe weather. Stay tuned to TWNS, we'll keep YOU informed, ahead of the storm.

The 16th Anniversary of the June 13th, 1998 Tornadoes!

Today is both Friday the 13th and the anniversary of the June 13th, 1998 Oklahoma tornadoes. There were 9 tornadoes total stretched across 4 counties in Central Oklahoma. The hardest hit ironically was Oklahoma County where 2 F2s hit the area between 8:08-8:23 PM CDT. Luckily there were no reports of Fatalities, however there were 21 relatively minor injuries reported in Oklahoma County. The majority of the injuries were sustained at the Frontier City Theme Park.

Here is a map of Oklahoma City and where the Frontier City Theme Park is located. It's located just west of I-35 in NE Oklahoma City, or in the area I like to call "TV Kingdom" Because that's where all the Oklahoma City TV stations (KWTV-9, KOCO-5, KFOR-4) are located.

 

Earlier that day, several supercells spawned across Central Oklahoma. Supercells spawned near Longdale in Blaine County and 3 miles southwest of Guthrie, OK producing tornadoes. Supercells also spawned across Noble County, and Northern Cleveland County producing large hail and severe winds but no tornadoes. The Blaine County Sheriff reported a brief F0 1 mile west of Longdale, OK. One child was reported to be injured. Several trees damaged from that tornado. Another Tornado touched down 3 miles SW of Guthrie. 2 houses in that area suffered shingle and siding damage. A 3rd house sustained broken windows, a damaged roof, and a broken porch post. A barn was unroofed, an outbuilding was destroyed, numerous fences were broken and a hood was torn off of a old pickup. This tornado was rated an F1. 3 weak tornadoes touched down in open country NW of El Reno near Yukon in Canadian/Oklahoma County. One of the tornadoes touched down briefly touched down in open country 5 miles west-northwest of El Reno, OK. No damage was reported and the tornado was rated F0. The other tornado touched down in open country 4 miles northwest of El Reno, OK. No damage was reported and the tornado was rated F0. The third tornado was observed briefly touching down 2 miles west-northwest of Yukon, OK by a storm chaser. The tornado touched down an open field with no known damage. 

 

 Here is a map depicting the damage path of the tornadoes in Canadian/Oklahoma Counties.

 

Lake Hefner Tornado (B4)

Time: 802-803 PM CDT

Intensity: F1 (winds 73-112 mph)

Length: 3/4 of a mile. Width: ~50 yards.

Track: Tornado B4 touched down as a waterspout over Lake Hefner and moved east to dissipate between May Avenue and Lake Hefner Parkway. Total path length was approximately 3/4 mile and its width was approximately 50 yards.

Damage: Numerous boats in dry dock suffered damage at the Oklahoma City Boat Club as the tornado passed slightly south of the marina. Boats that were in the water suffered little, if any, damage. Damage to the OKC Boat Club facilities and nearby boats was estimated at $250,000. Traffic signs along the east shore of the lake were bent and a small storage shed was destroyed approximately 1/8 mile south of the OKC Boat Club. Minor roof damage occurred to homes immediately east of Lake Hefner Parkway.

 

Here is some damage pictures at the Oklahoma City Boat Club.

 

 

                             North OKC Tornado (B5)

Time: 807-808 PM CDT

Intensity: F1 (winds 73-112 mph)

Length: 3/4 of a mile. Width: ~50 yards

Track: Tornado B5 formed near NW 84th Street and Walker and traveled northeast until dissipating immediately east of the Broadway Extension 1/4 mile south of Britton Road. Total path length was 3/4 mile. Path width approximately 50 yards. This tornado was rated F1(73-112 mph).

Damage: Along the damage path, a large portion of the roof decking was removed from a home on the southeast corner of 84th and Walker. Street signs also were torn from the ground (not well anchored) at this location. Several vehicles were damaged by flying debris.

Minor roof damage occurred to other homes on 84th, 85th, and 86th Streets. On 87th and 88th Streets near Harvey, several homes suffered major roof damage and the western one-half of the New Life Baptist Church was destroyed. A portion of the church roof was thrown southeastward across 88th causing major damage to a home. Failure of the north, west and south walls of the church occurred as the roof lifted off.

 

 

 

                  NW OKC-Nichols Hills Tornado (B6)

Time: 808-811 PM CDT

Intensity: F2 (winds 113-157 mph)

Length:1.5 miles. Width: 75 yards.

Injuries: 4

Track: Tornado B6 touched down 1 block west of north May Avenue and Pembroke Terrace and moved east to Woods Park in Nichols Hills. Total path length was 1.5 miles and maximum width was 75 yards. This tornado was rated F2 (113-157 mph). Four persons were injured and transported to local hospitals.

Damage: Considerable damage was done to the strip mall in the 7400 block of north May Avenue. Windows were blown out of several businesses, several lost roofs, power lines were downed and large signs were bent. One business on the east side of May Ave. suffered collapse of an exterior south-facing wall. On Pembroke Terrace, an RV was thrown into a house, a car was over-turned, trees were toppled, and shingles and roof decking were partially blown away.

Lesser damage occurred eastward into Nichols Hills. Interestingly, this tornado rotated anticyclonically. Although the over-turned car and major damage to one wood frame house roof suggested the tornado may have reached F2 intensity in a very small area, the majority of the damage was consistent with an F1 rating.

Other information: This tornado was anticyclonic (rotating clockwise).

 

 

 

           NE Oklahoma City/Frontier City Tornado (B7)

Time: 812-823 PM CDT

Intensity: F2 (winds 113-157 mph)

Length: 5.5 miles. Maximum width: 200 yards.

Injuries:17

Track: Tornado B7 was the most intense of the day. Touched down about 1/4 mile southwest of the intersection of Bryant Avenue and Hefner Road. It moved northeast crossing Interstate 35 at the Frontier City Amusement Park parking lot then continued northeast along NE 122nd Street, and finally dissipated 1/4 mile northeast of Interstate 44 and Douglas Blvd.

The total path length was approximately 5 1/2 miles. Maximum width was 200 yards east of Interstate 35 and south of Interstate 44. The tornado was rated F2 (At 122nd Street approximately 1-2 miles east of I-35). Seventeen minor injuries (3 transported to hospital) occurred at Frontier City.

Damage: Along the track, major structural damage occurred to businesses along Interstate 35 from 122nd Street southward for approximately three-quarters of a mile. The Frontier City theme park was among the hardest hit businesses. The tornado passed through the parking lot damaging numerous vehicles before striking a two-story concrete block building at the northeast corner of the park. This building suffered partial failure of external walls and the entire roof was removed. Damage to adjacent areas of the park was mainly due to strong inflow into the tornado.

On the east side of Interstate 35, a Texaco truck stop was severely damaged. Empty semi-tractor trailers located in the east parking lot of the truck stop were over turned and rolled tens of feet. One trailer was briefly airborne and landed on another empty trailer. A small portable building containing a CB radio shop in the parking area was completely swept away into a grove of trees east of the lot.

Numerous homes suffered major damage to roofs, windows, and garage doors in the Nottingham and Quail Ridge Run subdivisions located along 122nd Street 1-2 miles east of I35. Several homes suffered major or nearly complete roof failure, though most exterior walls remained intact. These homes were of recent construction and were well built with brick exterior facades (some likely in excess of $200K). No means of anchoring the roofs to the exterior walls was noted. The tornado may have approached F3 at times in these neighborhoods.

The most severely damaged home was located atop a small hill with garage doors on the upwind side of the home. Debris patterns suggest the garage doors failed allowing the wind to lift the roof. Without the roof in place, failure of the external garage walls occurred. The most severe damage to trees occurred in these subdivisions and areas immediately adjacent.

Rear Flank Downdraft and Mesocyclone Winds

Track: In addition to the tornadoes, strong thunderstorm winds associated with the mesocyclone and rear flank downdrafts produced extensive straight-line wind damage as the storm tracked across Oklahoma County. The damage occurred from Lake Hefner east across southern sections of The Village and northern sections of Nichols Hills, then northeast across northern Oklahoma City, crossing Interstate 35 in the vicinity of Hefner Rd and 122nd Street.

The damage path then narrowed about 1 mile southwest of I35, from approximately 1-2 miles wide to near 3/4 mile wide. The damage path dissipated over extreme southeast Edmond. Estimated path length was 16 miles. Maximum width was 2 miles at points between Lake Hefner and the Broadway Extension.

Damage: Winds of 105 MPH were measured at Lake Hefner by a media Chaser. Widespread damage to power lines (40,000 customers of OG&E), trees, roofs, antennas, signs, and windows occurred. The WKY broadcast tower, designed to withstand 125 mph winds, was toppled in the area between Kelly and Broadway Ext., and just south of Britton Rd.

 

 Picture of WKY-AM's Tower after the RFD.

Also here is a short clip of KWTV-9's TowerCam capturing the falling of the Radio Tower. This clip also features former Chief Meteorologist and a Beast when it comes to Weather: Gary England-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKj63mt47kU

Also here is a short documentary made by KOCO-5 of the tornado outbreak. It even includes clips of a tornado hitting the TV Station-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_hlWT9l3g

Preliminary Storm Reports for 6/3/14

Today was a very active day for portions of the Midwest. We had a total of 380 Reports of Severe Weather across 15 states from Washington to Massachusetts. There were more hail reports than there were Damaging Winds and Tornado reports combined. There were 226 reports of Hail, 144 reports of damaging winds and 12 reports of tornadoes.

SPC Issues Moderate Risk for Tomorrow/Potentially Devestating Severe Weather OUtbreak in the making

Just today, SPC issued a MODERATE Risk for Severe Weather across the Midwest, particularly Eastern Nebraska, Northeastern Kansas, Northern Missouri, Southern Iowa, and Wewstern Illinois. This could be a devastating outbreak. SPC is already predicting Large Hail, Widespread Damaging winds, and tornadoes, some could be strong (EF3 or higher). Latest GFS/NAM Models showing that this may be a multi day event, starting on Tuesday and ending sometime around Thursday or Friday. Chief Meteorologist PeterPeter5000 is hinting at this becoming a derecho event also. But we'll just have to wait and see. TWNS will be fully staffed tomorrow. We will be doing LIVE coverage on our wall, and we will also have a STORMCENTER:LIVE discussion tomorrow at our HQ. Stay tuned to TWNS, we'll keep YOU informed, ahead of the storm!