F5 Oklahoma Tornado May 3rd, 1999 | Violent Tornado Outbreak | Severe Weather Event | Violent Storms in Oklahoma, OK

STORM'S PATH HAS NO PITY

Published: Fri, May 1, 2009 | Comment on this article

From the Archives: May 3rd articles from The Oklahoman

A Personal Account: When You Can't Go Home Updated: Tue, Apr 21, 2009 Editor's note : While covering the aftermath of the tornado that struck Moore on Monday, Oklahoman staff writer Nolan Clay discovered his own house at 324 Cedar Lane had been destroyed. No one was home at the time. MOORE Phillip was crying. "Bye bye , birdie," the 5-year-old said softly while clutching a teddy... Read More

Piedmont Residents Unharmed by Storm Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 PIEDMONT -- A tornado damaged residences but spared residents of this Canadian County community Monday night. Piedmont Fire Chief Rick Lofgren said that he had reports of damage to residences but "we have not had any injuries." Piedmont residents Brad and Robie Coleman and their neighbors took refuge in the... Read More

Man Avoids Flying Truck In Restaurant Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 MIDWEST CITY -- Only 15 seconds separated Mike Pederson from a rental truck in the dining room of the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Midwest City on Monday evening. Pederson, a Cracker Barrel employee, had helped move about 30 people into the restaurant's back kitchen and then went to the front to look at the... Read More

Killer Storm Spared Midwest City Crowd Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Editor's Note: Jim Willis is a former staff writer. He was in Midwest City on Monday to be inducted into the Midwest City High School Wall of Fame and was one of 700 people evacuated to the field house. Willis is a journalism professor at the University of Memphis. By Jim Willis Two signal events provided... Read More

Storm Trackers Examining Deadly Paths Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Monday's tornado outbreak began so quickly and was so long-lasting that National Weather Service meteorologists, still tracking developing violent weather, were unable to give an exact count of the twisters that had hit the state. As tornadoes continued to form, meteorologist Bruce Thoren said weather service... Read More

Utility Crews Try to Assess Damage Toll Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Electric, gas and telephone utility crews were working as fast as possible Monday night trying to assess the extent of damage to their systems in the path of the metro area Oklahoma tornado. The highest priority was given to reducing the risk that downed power lines and gas line leaks pose to the public, utility... Read More

Victims Scurry As Tornado Rakes Homes Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 A half-mile wide tornado slammed into southwestern Oklahoma City about 7:15 p.m. Monday, killing at least one person, injuring numerous others and destroying or damaging as many as 100 homes. Homes were heavily damaged in the Country Place Estates between Pennsylvania and May avenues off SW 134. People, dogs and... Read More

Victims Tell Stories Of Fear, Outreach Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 For residents of one Moore neighborhood, the tornado's approach was too familiar. When the area was hit by a tornado in October, Ronna Johnson and her family took cover in a closet. But when they heard the warnings Monday, they headed for a neighbor's cellar. "And Then I Started Crying. I Said, 'This Is Not... Read More

Victims Urged to Make Applications Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Oklahomans who suffered property damage in the latest siege of tornados were urged Tuesday to begin early in trying to get government help. A toll-free number is available for people needing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Services. It is 1-800-462-9029. James Lee Witt, FEMA director, toured... Read More

Two Moore Schools in Shambles Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 With a grade school in shambles, a high school heavily damaged and a technology center "flattened," Moore schools Superintendent Wayland Bonds wondered late Monday how the 1998-99 school year could be finished. Tornado damage to schools in the Cleveland County system could affect more than 2,400 students. The... Read More

Tornadoes Shred State Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 An evening of terror gripped Oklahoma on Monday as tornado after tornado battered the state with a ferocity that stunned even seasoned storm veterans. The state medical examiner said 31 people were killed in Monday's storms, the largest of which formed about 45 miles southwest of Oklahoma City and cut a path at... Read More

Roaring Monster Leaves Little Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 MOORE -- As the monster roared overhead, sweeping cars from the driveway and churning the house into a swirl of splintered timbers and brick, air was sucked from the basement. Dust fell onto the family and friends huddled there. "I hugged my daughter for dear life," a pregnant Jacqueline Sivard said, still shaking... Read More

Towns Pummeled By Twisters Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Monday's barrage of tornadoes wrecked homes, businesses and lives across the state. A tornado that killed one person in Dover nearly leveled the town of Mulhall, where virtually every structure was damaged. Bank vice president Perry Patterson took refuge inside his bank. "The walls shook like Jell-O,"... Read More

Search Through Rubble Continues Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 The death toll from Monday's murderous tornado outbreak climbed to 38 as authorities continued to comb through the debris of hundreds of homes and businesses damaged and destroyed across Oklahoma. The devastation was widespread and severe, U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts said after touring some of the hardest hit areas.... Read More

Residents Shaken By Twister's Fury Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Charlotte Jeffries' oldest sister planned a trip to Oklahoma City on Wednesday. She was coming from Sacramento, Calif., to help her widowed sister prepared for a neighborhood garage sale next week. But Monday evening, Jeffries' Eastlake Patio home was flattened, and she has nothing for sale. "It's gone. It's all... Read More

Storms, Tornado Threat Stops RedHawks Game Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes suspended play Monday night at Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark, with the Oklahoma RedHawks owning a large lead. The RedHawks led Memphis 7-0 when play was suspended with no outs in the third inning and one Memphis base runner on second base. The game is scheduled to... Read More

Tornado Reports Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 In what may become known as one of the worst outbreaks of tornadoes in state history, Monday's numerous twisters built rapidly. The first instance of severe weather came about 5 p.m., when a tornado was seen near Cyril in southeastern Caddo County. Damage and at least one injury were reported in the Stecker area... Read More

Victims, Volunteers Flood Area Medical Centers Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Outside Hillcrest Medical Center, sirens wailed as ambulances kept arriving Monday night. Frazzled medical workers helped old men and women, heads and knees covered with bandages, into wheelchairs. Nurses and doctors rolled bloodied babies and young children inside on stretchers. As the television boomed with... Read More

Twister's Damage Leaves Moore Without Power Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 MOORE -- As darkness settled in, finding people became more difficult in this blacked-out city, all of which had lost power in the storm. The victims and the volunteers were easy to tell apart. Volunteers were in a hurry. Victims plodded slowly to shelters or sometimes to no place at all. Moore police spokesman... Read More

TORNADOES SHRED STATE At Least 25 Killed; 1,000 Homes Destroyed in City Area Fierce Storms Flatten Entire Subdivisions Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 An evening of terror gripped Oklahoma on Monday as tornado after tornado battered the state with a ferocity that stunned even seasoned storm veterans. Authorities confirmed there were at least 25 Oklahoma deaths and hundreds of injuries, but the vastness of the destruction and seemingly endless barrage of... Read More

Roaring Monster Leaves Little Loved Ones Hold Fast in Basement Refuge Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 MOORE - As the monster roared overhead, sweeping cars from the driveway and churning the house into a swirl of splintered timbers and brick, air was sucked from the basement. Dust fell onto the family and friends huddled there. "I hugged my daughter for dear life," a pregnant Jacqueline Sivard said, still shaking... Read More

'It's Gone. It's All Gone.' Residents Shaken By Twister's Fury Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Charlotte Jeffries' oldest sister planned a trip to Oklahoma City on Wednesday. She was coming from Sacramento, Calif., to help her widowed sister prepared for a neighborhood garage sale next week. But Monday evening, Jeffries' Eastlake Patio home was flattened, and she has nothing for sale. "It's gone. It's all... Read More

'They Were in the House That's Gone' Victims, Volunteers Flood Area Medical Centers Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Outside Hillcrest Medical Center, sirens wailed as ambulances kept arriving Monday night. Frazzled medical workers helped old men and women, heads and knees covered with bandages, into wheelchairs. Nurses and doctors rolled bloodied babies and young children inside on stretchers. As the television boomed with... Read More

Piedmont Residents Unharmed by Storm Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 PIEDMONT - A tornado damaged residences but spared residents of this Canadian County community Monday night. Piedmont Fire Chief Rick Lofgren said that he had reports of damage to residences but "we have not had any injuries." Piedmont residents Brad and Robie Coleman and their neighbors took refuge in the... Read More

Killer Storm Spared Midwest City Crowd Tornado Veered From School Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Editor's Note: Jim Willis is a former staff writer. He was in Midwest City on Monday to be inducted into the Midwest City High School Wall of Fame and was one of 700 people evacuated to the field house. Willis is a journalism professor at the University of Memphis. Two signal events provided the drama in Midwest... Read More

Fujita Scale of Tornado Severity Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 F-0: 40-72 mph winds, chimney damage, tree branches broken F-1: 73-112 mph, mobile homes pushed off foundation or overturned F-2: 113-157 mph, considerable damage, mobile homes F-3: 158-205 mph, roofs and walls torn down, trains overturned, cars thrown F-4: 207-260 mph, well-constructed walls leveled F-5:... Read More

Man Avoids Flying Truck In Restaurant Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 MIDWEST CITY - Only 15 seconds separated Mike Pederson from a rental truck in the dining room of the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Midwest City on Monday evening. Pederson, a Cracker Barrel employee, had helped move about 30 people into the restaurant's back kitchen and then went to the front to look at the... Read More

Storm Trackers Examining Deadly Paths Destruction to Yield Clues to Count of Twisters That Struck State Updated: Tue, May 4, 1999 Monday's tornado outbreak began so quickly and was so long-lasting that National Weather Service meteorologists, still tracking developing violent weather, were unable to give an exact count of the twisters that had hit the state. As tornadoes continued to form, meteorologist Bruce Thoren said weather service... Read More