1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak

From May 2–8, 1999, a significant tornado outbreak took place across much of the Central and parts of the Eastern United States. During this week-long event, 152 tornadoes touched down (including one in Canada), more than half of them on May 3 and 4 when activity reached its peak over Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Arkansas.

The most significant tornado first touched down southwest of Chickasha, Oklahoma, and became an F5 before dissipating near Midwest City. The tornado tore through southern and eastern parts of Oklahoma City and its suburbs of Bridge Creek, Moore, Del City, Tinker Air Force Base and Midwest City, causing $1 billion in damage. With a total of between 66 and 74 tornadoes, it was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history, although not the deadliest.

Meteorological synopsis

The outbreak was caused by a vigorous upper-level trough that moved into the Central and Southern Plains states on the morning of May 3. That morning, low stratus clouds overspread much of Oklahoma, with clear skies along and west of a dry line located from Gage to Childress, Texas. Air temperatures at 7:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time ranged in the mid to upper 60s °F (upper 10s to near 20 °C) across the region, while dew point values ranged in the low to mid 60s °F (mid to upper 10s °C). The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma, a division of the National Weather Service, initially issued a slight risk of severe thunderstorms early that morning stretching from the Kansas-Nebraska border to parts of southern Texas, with an intended threat of large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.

Oklahoma tornado outbreak

There have been many tornado outbreaks in Oklahoma, some more notable than others. See Category:Tornadoes in Oklahoma for a list.

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April 27–29, 1912 tornado outbreak

The April 27–28, 1912 tornado outbreak was a major tornado outbreak. At least six violent tornadoes touched down throughout Oklahoma, with near constant activity until early the next day. At least 15 cities were affected. 40 people died, and 120 injured.

Meteorological synopsis

Limited weather data was collected and recorded at that time in Oklahoma. Predating upper atmospheric measurements, most data collection was of human observations, along with temperature, pressure, wind speed and direction, and rainfall.

A cold front moved south through Oklahoma into Texas on April 26, before stalling in central Texas, leaving a southwest/northeast stationary front. Early on the 28th, it pushed back northward against a warm front to the east. The warm front was noted to have moved from the southeast on the 27th to the northeast on the 28th; it was this movement of warm air against the cold front over that that fueled the storms that provided the tornado activity.

Tornadoes

Tornado outbreak

A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten.

The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the same region. Most definitions allow for a break in tornado activity (time elapsed from the end of last tornado to the beginning of next tornado) of six hours. If tornado activity indeed resumes after such a lull, many definitions consider the event to be a new outbreak. A series of continuous or nearly continuous tornado outbreak days is a tornado outbreak sequence. Tornado outbreaks usually occur from March through June in the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, the Midwestern United States, and the Southeastern United States in an area colloquially referred to as Tornado Alley. Tornado outbreaks do occur during other times of the year and in other parts of the world, however. A secondary less active and annually inconsistent tornado "season" in the U.S. occurs in late autumn.

Tornado Outbreak

Tornado Outbreak (formerly known as Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals) is an action video game published by Konami and developed by Loose Cannon Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. This game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 2009. "Harness the power of a raging tornado as you tear through open environments, chewing up the landscape and spitting out everything in your path. Tornado Outbreak's revolutionary new game mechanic puts some of the Earth's most powerful elements in your hands. The game has 10 levels. Co-op mode lets the player take control of Zephyr and a Wind Warrior and each player gets their own tornado. Mike Vaughn is the voice of Zephyr and Lev Liberman is the voice of Stone Smasher, Nimbus and the Wind Warriors.

Reception

The game got moderate to good reviews. Gamespot gave it 6.5 out of 10,GameInformer game it 6.75 out of 10, and IGN gave it 8.1 out of 10.

References

Oklahoma

Oklahoma ⁱ/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ (Cherokee: Asgaya gigageyi / ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎩᎦᎨᏱ; or translated ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ (òɡàlàhoma), Pawnee: Uukuhuúwa,Cayuga: Gahnawiyoˀgeh) is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th most extensive and the 28th most populous of the 50 United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State, in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on the choicest pieces of land prior to the official opening date, and the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which opened the door for white settlement in America's Indian Territory. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged and Indian was dropped from the name. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally "Okies", and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.

The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. It was a box-office smash and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, later enjoying award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Academy Award-winning 1955 film adaptation. It has long been a popular choice for school and community productions. Rodgers and Hammerstein won a special Pulitzer Prize for Oklahoma! in 1944.

This musical, building on the innovations of the earlier Show Boat, epitomized the development of the "book musical", a musical play where the songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals that are able to evoke genuine emotions other than laughter. In addition, Oklahoma! features musical themes, or motifs, that recur throughout the work to connect the music and story. A fifteen-minute "dream ballet" reflects Laurey's struggle with her feelings about two men, Curley and Jud.