Devastating Tornado Strikes Oklahoma

 

 

 

 

 Multi Vortex Tornado near El Reno Oklahoma

A tornado emergency was declared for Oklahoma City on Friday as a large twister touched down, destroyed a Weather Channel vehicle and made a beeline for Oklahoma's largest city, where authorities pleaded with residents to seek shelter immediately.
"We got extremely close to a violent tornadic circulation that produced multiple tornadoes in very close range."... The team was blown by inflow jet winds into the tornado and their vehicle received damage as a  nearby barn was completely destroyed. A hay bale came barreling across the road and was tossed into their car.. The team is very fortunate to live to chase another day... Incredible storm chaser traffic prevented a hasty escape from the tornado
 

The tornado touched down near El Reno, Okla., Friday, May 31, producing a rare display of suction vortices. Parts of Oklahoma City experienced extreme flooding after the multiple tornadoes passed through. Some 8in of rain fell, causing flash flooding. A trailer park in Oklahoma City was among the areas evacuated.

More than 91,000 homes remain without power in the Midwest after the huge storm system blasted the area, killing at least 13 people.  Workers are trying to clear downed lines. Ten people died in Oklahoma City and its suburbs and three more in Missouri. Hundreds of people were injured, many of them on roads as they tried to flee  the multiple tornadoes. Two of those who died, a mother and her baby, were sucked out of their car when the largest tornado of the storm struck near the Oklahoma town of El Reno. The tornado ripped down the highway, overturning cars and trucks.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Centre warned that the severe weather was moving east on Sunday, threatening an area from Virginia to Maine with damaging winds and heavy downpours.

 

 

Meteorologists said the tornadoes were less severe than the one that struck Moore two weeks ago.
That tornado - ranked as an EF5, the most powerful - destroyed some 1,200 homes. About 33,000 people were affected and the damage has been estimated at $2billion . Tornadoes are classified according to the Fujita scale from a F0 to an F5. There is also room for an F6. As yet, scientists have not measured one that destructive.  In all, 51 tornadoes have been officially rated F5: 50 in the United States and 1 in Canada:

Oklahoma is in part of the Midwest known as Tornado Alley. Some 1,200 tornadoes strike each year in this area. Most of them are smaller than the recent tornadoes.