ZCZC OKCPNSOKC
TTAA00 KOUN 052134

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
430 PM CST WED MAY 5 1999

REPORT ON TORNADO DAMAGE IN SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY AND MOORE...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAMS HAVE COMPLETED INITIAL SURVEYS 
OF TORNADO DAMAGE ACROSS MOORE AND SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY.  THIS REPORT 
INCLUDES DETAILS ONLY OF THAT PART OF THE DAMAGE TRACK FROM THE 
SOUTH CANADIAN RIVER... NORTHEAST TO INTERSTATE 240.

NOTE THAT ADDITIONAL SURVEY TEAMS ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON OTHER 
SEGMENTS OF THIS DAMAGE TRACK... WHICH CURRENTLY IS BELIEVED TO BE 
CONTINUOUS FROM WEST OF CHICKASHA TO MIDWEST CITY... OVER 40 MILES. 
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED ON THESE SEGMENTS... AND ON 
OTHER TORNADO TRACKS IN THE STATE... AS THE MASSIVE VOLUME OF 
INFORMATION IS COMPILED. 

THIS UNPRECEDENTED EVENT WILL BE RECORDED AS AN F5 TORNADO - THE 
HIGHEST POSSIBLE RATING ON THE FUJITA SCALE OF TORNADO DAMAGE 
INTENSITY. TORNADOES ARE ASSIGNED A RATING BASED ON THE MAXIMUM 
DAMAGE INTENSITY OBSERVED... BUT ACTUAL DAMAGE OF THAT INTENSITY 
GENERALLY ONLY AFFECTS A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL DAMAGE 
AREA. F5 DAMAGE IN THIS CASE WAS VERY ISOLATED... BUT THE TORNADO 
LEFT A CONTINUOUS 4-MILE TRACK OF F4 DAMAGE ACROSS SOUTH OKLAHOMA 
CITY INTO MOORE. INTERMITTENT F4 DAMAGE CONTINUED NORTHEAST TO 
INTERSTATE 240. THE TOTAL DAMAGE PATH WAS CONTINUOUS AND AT LEAST 
ONE HALF MILE WIDE FROM THE SOUTH CANADIAN RIVER 1 TO 2 MILES EAST 
OF I-44... TO I-240 BETWEEN BRYANT AND SUNNYLANE.

THIS IS THE FIRST F5 TORNADO ON RECORD TO AFFECT THE OKLAHOMA CITY 
METROPOLITAN AREA. 

SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY...

THE TORNADO CROSSED THE RIVER IN THE SECTION BETWEEN PORTLAND AND 
MAY... AND BETWEEN SOUTH 164TH STREET /SOUTH 34TH IN MOORE/ AND 
INDIAN HILLS ROAD. DAMAGE WAS RATED F2 IN THIS AREA... WITH A PATH 
WIDTH OF ABOUT 1/2 MILE. 

THE TORNADO INTENSIFIED TO F3 JUST SOUTHWEST OF 149TH AND MAY 
AVENUE.... MAINTAINING A GENERAL NORTHEASTWARD COURSE. THE TOTAL 
DAMAGE PATH WIDENED TO ABOUT 3/4 MILE NEAR THIS INTERSECTION. THE 
PATH OF SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE /F2 OR GREATER/ WAS OVER 1/2 MILE.

F4 DAMAGE BEGAN IN THE COUNTRY PLACE ESTATES... JUST SOUTHWEST OF 
134TH /OR SOUTH 4TH IN MOORE/ AND PENNSYLVANIA. HOMES WERE TOTALLY 
LEVELLED IN THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THIS ADDITION. OKLAHOMA CITY 
POLICE INDICATED THAT PART OF AN AIRPLANE WING... BELIEVED TO HAVE 
ORIGINATED IN CHICKASHA... LANDED IN THIS AREA. TOTAL PATH WIDTH WAS 
ABOUT 2/3 MILE... MUCH OF IT F2 OR GREATER. 

THE WORST DAMAGE SEEN ALONG THIS ENTIRE PART OF THE PATH WAS IN THE 
EASTLAKE ESTATES... NORTH OF 134TH AND BETWEEN PENN AND WESTERN. 
ENTIRE ROWS OF HOMES WERE VIRTUALLY FLATTENED TO PILES OF RUBBLE. 
FOUR ADJACENT HOMES ON ONE STREET WERE VIRTUALLY CLEANED OFF OF THEIR 
FOUNDATIONS... LEAVING ONLY CONCRETE SLABS.  THESE HOMES EARNED THE 
F5 RATING... BUT THE REMAINING DESTRUCTION IN THIS RESIDENTIAL AREA 
WAS ON THE HIGH SIDE OF F4. THE DAMAGE PATH JOGGED VERY SLIGHTLY TO 
THE RIGHT IN THIS AREA... BUT IT MAINTAINED A NORTHEASTWARD TRACK.

SURVEY TEAMS DID NOT HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO SOME OF THE DESTROYED 
RESIDENTIAL AREAS EAST OF WESTERN AND SOUTH OF 119TH... EAST OF 
WESTMOORE HIGH SCHOOL. BUT EXAMINATION FROM A DISTANCE CONFIRMED THAT
WIDESPREAD F4 DAMAGE CONTINUED THROUGH THIS AREA. LATER EXAMINATION 
MAY CONFIRM ADDITIONAL F5 DAMAGE IN PART OF THIS AREA.

MOORE...

THE SECOND SIGNIFICANT TORNADO TO STRIKE MOORE IN 7 MONTHS ENTERED 
THE CITY LIMITS ALONG SANTA FE NEAR 119TH /12TH STREET IN MOORE/.  
MAXIMUM DAMAGE... RATED STRONG F4... RAN FROM NEAR NW 13TH AND SANTA 
FE TO NEAR NW 18TH AND JANEWAY... AND NORTHEAST TO SOUTH SHIELDS 
JUST NORTH OF THE JUNCTION WITH I-35. TOTAL PATH WIDTH THROUGH NORTH 
MOORE WAS 2/3 TO 3/4 MILE... WITH F2 OR GREATER DAMAGE NEARLY 1/2 
MILE WIDE. SUBSEQUENT REPORTS FROM ENGINEERING SURVEY TEAMS INDICATE 
THAT SOME OF THE DAMAGE IN MOORE MAY BE UPGRADED TO F5. 

BASED ON DAMAGE... THE TORNADO APPEARED TO WEAKEN JUST SLIGHTLY 
AFTER CROSSING I-35. HOWEVER IT REMAINED A FORMIDIBLE STORM WITH 
WIDESPREAD STRONG F3 DAMAGE... AND ISOLATED LOW-F4 DAMAGE IN THE 
RESIDENTIAL AREA SOUTH OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH ON 27TH STREET. 
THE CHURCH APPEARED TO ESCAPE WITH RELATIVELY MINOR DAMAGE. 

THE TOTAL DAMAGE PATH NARROWED BRIEFLY TO LESS THAN 1/2 MILE IN THE 
AREA OF 27TH BETWEEN I-35 AND EASTERN. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO 
BRIEF WEAKENING... BUT MORE LIKELY IS DUE TO A RELATIVE LACK OF 
STRUCTURES IN THE AREA NW OF EASTERN AND 27TH.

THE TORNADO EVENTUALLY REGAINED STRENGTH AND WIDENED TO ABOUT 3/4 
MILE AS IT MOVED TOWARD I-240. SPORADIC F4 DAMAGE WAS FOUND NEAR THE 
CENTER OF THE DAMAGE PATH SOUTHEAST OF 89TH AND EASTERN... AND AGAIN 
NEAR I-240 BETWEEN BRYANT AND SUNNYLANE.

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED ON THE DAMAGE NORTHEAST INTO 
DEL CITY AND MIDWEST CITY... AND FROM NEAR CHICKASHA TO NEAR BRIDGE 
CREEK AND NEWCASTLE... AS SOON AS IT IS RECEIVED AT THE NWS OFFICE. 

24/MLB