2/10/09 DISC: OK/AR/TX/MO/KS/LA

[Jim Leonard]

2/10/09 DISC: TX/OK/AR/MO/KS

Just got off the phone with Ray Walker and Michael Ratlif they witnessed a large violent tornado after dark near Lone Grove Oklahoma. They described it as very large long track wedge, many power flashes. They were positioned about 3 miles north of the track of the tornado.

 

[John MacKay]

Even though there is a squall line screaming for Shreveport and a couple of tornado-warned storms in N AR as I post this, I think it is appropriate to start the post-storm discussion and the discussion (and news) on the direct hit Lone Grove took. As we get toward daybreak, we will know how bad the damage is. The entrances to the town being blocked off, this occurring at night, and being a fair-sized town remind me a little bit of the Greenburg experience, when we had to wait until the next morning to reveal what has been destroyed and what is still left behind.

The storms fired a little earlier than anticipated, which may have limited a little bit of the tornadic potential along the dryline. On the initial development, there were, of course, four supercells, but the first one was the winner as far as tornado potential, putting down the only tornado on a LSR.

Much of the development way off to east (SE OK, in the juice) didn't really get going, which may have been a bit of a surprise. This whole day was looking like a few tornadoes early and then the cold front throws a squall line screaming eastward.

But before that happened, a couple of supercells developed ahead of the line, one of which would change the outcome of the day from 'a bit of a bust for chasers' to 'sorry to see that happen.' That was obviously the one starting in N TX, crossing the Red River, and then trucking with a well-pronounced radar signature through Lone Grove and the northern reaches of Ardmore before getting swallowed by the line (almost the worst timing in that line getting to the supercell just after going by Ardmore). That supercell seemed to be the only one to really take in the conditions available and become a monster. Sadly, a town was square in its damage path.

The good news is the visiting basketball team in Lone Grove made it home safely. I'm hoping there are more bright spots in the morning, but at this moment, there are 3 confirmed dead with as many as 9 dead. My heart goes out to those affected.

 

[Connor McCrorey]

I was on the Lone Grove supercell from it's tiny beginnings near Jacksboro. It was such a relief to see something finally develop ahead of the DL, as all of the stuff to the west was linear and outflow-dominant. I can't say this is the way I expected the day to play out initially, but by early afternoon it was obvious what was going to have to happen for any good storms. Fortunately for us but unfortunately for the people of Lone Grove, everything came together just after sunset to produce this monster of a supercell.

 

[Tom Tackett]

My cousin was at that basketball game. He is known as the team's Honary Mascot. I am just glad that he did not try to leave early or drive home with the storm in progress. His wife, also my cousin rode the monster out in their underground storm cellar. No structural damage to their house but plenty of "untied" things blown around and some lost shingles. The main track begins a couple of blocks to the west of their house. They live right off of Brock Road just east of the main business district off of U. S. Hwy. 70. I praise God that they are all o.k. Cousin who was at game has relatives whose homes were obliterated and there are family members unaccounted for as of 12:00 Midnight. The following Photo is of me running for "cover" while in "enemy" OU Territory at this past Thanksgiving in Lone Grove at their home right off Brock Road. This is the cellar that housed several people. They got that cellar after the May 1995 Tornado that came close by and hit the Tire Factory (Uniroyal) now Michelin. That tornado also begin in Texas (north of Mineral Wells) and held together (likely cycled a few times) past Ardmore.
Tom N' Ft. Worth.

 

[Chris Foltz]

Sadly, it appears there were at least 15 fatalities in the community of Lone Grove tonight...

http://www.newsok.com/15-dead-in-lone-grove-tornado/article/3344899?custom_click=breaking_news

 

[Bryce Stone]

I understand that fast-moving, wide, violent, winter, nighttime tornadoes are dangerous, but I'm wondering why the death toll was so high in Lone Grove. Even in Greensburg, where an EF5 destroyed the vast majority of the town, only 11 died. Last year's Butler County, IA EF5 only took 9 lives.

In Oklahoma, our tornado fatalities are typically comparatively low, due most likely to a well-educated public and extensive media coverage. If the number of at least 15 fatalities in Lone Grove is correct, that (if my memory serves me well) will be the most people killed by tornadoes in a single year in Oklahoma since 1999 (almost ten years ago).

Of course, only last February 57 people died in a 12-hour timespan during multiple tornadoes in several states, so there is recent precedent for this type of event . . . but in Oklahoma? That is what makes this event unusual to me.

Of course I don't know the circumstances in Lone Grove yet, but I still think the death toll is unusually high for an Oklahoma tornado. I'm interested in finding out what factors (other than those I listed at the beginning of the post) led to such a high fatality count.

 

[Kiel Ortega]

I understand that fast-moving, wide, violent, winter, nighttime tornadoes are dangerous, but I'm wondering why the death toll was so high in Lone Grove. Even in Greensburg, where an EF5 destroyed the vast majority of the town, only 11 died. Last year's Butler County, IA EF5 only took 9 lives.

In Oklahoma, our tornado fatalities are typically comparatively low, due most likely to a well-educated public and extensive media coverage. If the number of at least 15 fatalities in Lone Grove is correct, that (if my memory serves me well) will be the most people killed by tornadoes in a single year in Oklahoma since 1999 (almost ten years ago).

Of course, only last February 57 people died in a 12-hour timespan during multiple tornadoes in several states, so there is recent precedent for this type of event . . . but in Oklahoma? That is what makes this event unusual to me.

Of course I don't know the circumstances in Lone Grove yet, but I still think the death toll is unusually high for an Oklahoma tornado. I'm interested in finding out what factors (other than those I listed at the beginning of the post) led to such a high fatality count.

A couple of online news stories I read said something about the sirens not sounding. One even saying some people were caught outside in a UPS Store parking lot during the tornado. I even saw one guy (who was affected by the OKC-Edmond tornado) on a TV news story saying he wasn't really expecting a tornado since it was Feb! I would be willing to bet a combination of a breakdown in the IWS and just a normalcy bias led to the fatalities. I don't know what the TV is like down in Lone Grove (I'm guessing they have OKC stations), but there were not many break-ins on the station I was watching. I flipped a couple of times to other stations and didn't see any BIG live coverage (of at least radar and the warnings) of the storm down near Lone Grove--which is really unfortunate since I've seen more coverage on crap-vection that goes over OKC.

 

[Chris C Sanner]

Ardmore-Lone Grove area is in the Sherman-Denison market, so KXII and KTEN are their primary sources of info, although they do get OKC stations too. KOCO was wall to wall while the storm went through the area too FWIW.

OHP reporting 8 people dead, 43 injured...

 

[Stephen Locke]

I understand that fast-moving, wide, violent, winter, nighttime tornadoes are dangerous, but I'm wondering why the death toll was so high in Lone Grove. Even in Greensburg, where an EF5 destroyed the vast majority of the town, only 11 died. Last year's Butler County, IA EF5 only took 9 lives.

My guess is that Kansas and Iowa homes are usually built with basements.
I've noticed that many Oklahoma and Texas homes do not have basements.

 

[Angie Norris]

I also heard that the sirens didn't go off. I think the big factor here is that many of the victims lived in trailers. The news story reported that two trailer parks were hit.

 

[Heather Moser]

KOCO was wall-to-wall up until the Lone Grove circulation was into Johnston County. They didn't have very good radar coverage of that area, but I think they did a great job. Having lived in rural Kansas most of my life I appreciate when tv stations pay attention to dangerous storms outside of the immediate metro area.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

Does anyone have any info about NWS damage surveys and the EF-rating of this tornado yet? From the looks of some of the pics on the news, it looks like solid structure homes (not trailers) were knocked down to their foundations. Not solid slabs where the remaining debris of the house gets blown off the slab, but all the main walls collapsed into a big pile of rubble.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Hard to tell, but looking at the first pictures I have seen of the tornado (Lone Grove), it appears this was likely close to 1/2 mile wide at is largest, and had classic structure with a MASSIVE RFD wrapping around the tornado. Also appears as though the tornado was not at all shielded by rain, and took on a variety of shapes; given the tornado was clearly visible, hopefully some more detailed pictures surface...

OUN now has a Survey page, still no damage survey's however...
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/wxevents/20090210/

 

[Verne Carlson]

I grabbed the reflectivity and velocity GR3 screen as the tornado was leaving the area. The couplet is striking.

 

[mikegeukes]

[FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier]PRELIMINARY SURVEY INFORMATION / PAWNEE COUNTY OKLAHOMA[/FONT]
http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KTSA/0902112214.nous44.html