1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado

1999 tornado in Oklahoma, US

The 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado was a very violent F5 tornado that hit the Bridge Creek and Moore areas of Oklahoma on the evening of May 3, 1999. It had the highest wind speed ever recorded at 301 miles per hour (484 km/h).[6] It killed at least 36 people and injured 583 others.[5] It caused $1 billion in damage.[7] The tornado's strength led to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Norman issuing the first-ever tornado emergency.[8] In 2013, Moore was again hit by an EF5 tornado, but fewer people were killed even though there was more damage.

1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado
F5 tornado
FormedMay 3, 1999, 6:23 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00)
Duration1 hour, 25 minutes
DissipatedMay 3, 1999, 7:48 pm. CDT (UTC−05:00)
Highest winds
Max. rating1F5 tornado
Casualties36 fatalities (+5 indirect),
583 injuries[5]
Damage$1 billion (1999 USD)
$1.6 billion (2024 USD)
Areas affectedGrady, McClain, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties in Oklahoma; with the worst impacts occurring in the towns/cities of Bridge Creek, Moore, Oklahoma City, Del City, and Midwest City

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
Damage caused by the tornado.
  1. It is officially accepted that the rating for this tornado is F5; however, the ±20 mph (32 km/h) wind speed ambiguity has occasionally led some people to suggest that this tornado may have briefly been an F6 tornado. On the original Fujita Scale, F6 was a theoretical classification for an "inconceivable tornado", with a wind speed in excess of 318 mph (512 km/h), but no tornado ever produced winds officially at or above 319 mph (513 km/h). The United States National Weather Service has officially maintained that the Bridge Creek–Moore tornado is an F5 tornado, and will not be reclassified F6.[2]

References

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  1. "Doppler on Wheels". Center for Severe Weather Research. May 3, 1999. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  2. "Frequently Asked Questions About The May 3, 1999 Bridge Creek/OKC Area Tornado". National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Norman, Oklahoma. April 28, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  3. "DOW Measurements in Tornadoes". Extreme Planet. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  4. Wurman, Joshua; Alexander, Curtis; Robinson, Paul; Richardson, Yvette (2007). "Low-Level Winds in Tornadoes and Potential Catastrophic Tornado Impacts in Urban Areas". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 88 (1): 31–46. Bibcode:2007BAMS...88...31W. doi:10.1175/BAMS-88-1-31.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "The Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of May 3-4, 1999 Storm A Information". National Weather Service Office in Norman, Oklahoma. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 22, 2013.
  6. "Doppler On Wheels". Center for Severe Weather Research. 2010. Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
  7. Storm Prediction Center (2007). "The 10 Costliest U.S. Tornadoes since 1950". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  8. "South Oklahoma Metro Tornado Emergency". National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma. May 3, 1999.

Other websites

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