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

[mikegeukes]

.PRELIMINARY SURVEY INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TORNADOES IN
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA TUESDAY FEBRUARY 10...

AT LEAST THREE TORNADOES OCCURRED IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

TORNADO THREE: THIS TORNADO REACHED EF4 INTENSITY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF LONE GROVE
IMPLYING WINDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 170 MPH.
http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KOUN/0902112241.nous44.html

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Also now some radar grabs from OUN showing just how strong this couplet really was, ranks up there with some of the more impressive velocity images I have seen...
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/wxevents/20090210/warningpolygons.php

 

[Matt Gingery]

I managed to chase the cell from OKC into Pawnee. Had a massive wall cloud, and insane structure. If anyone chased up near Hominy Ok. area, then you probably ran into the tennis ball size hail. I managed to get video of the wall cloud, and hail. Hail covered the roads 2-3" deep in some areas. Just a massive HP cell.

 

[mikegeukes]

Some Media Links:
-KXII -Newspaper -Ardmore
-KDFW -KTVT -KXAS -WFAA -Dallas
-KFOR -KOCO -KOKH -KWTV -NewsOK -Oklahoma City

 

[Jon Davies]

Ardmore 02z 2/11/09 RUC profile

The ADM RUC analysis profile associated with the Lone Grove supercell (with a little modification to reflect warmer /more moist surface conditions) was pretty darn impressive, particularly for early Feb in the plains. See:

http://davieswx.blogspot.com/

The early Feb time frame probably catching some people off guard, and the event being essentially after dark with mobile homes involved, likely contributed to the death toll. Sad.

Jon Davies

 

[Brian Stertz]

Looked like there was a small tongue of richer theta-e air poking right into that supercell's inflow zone. Saw this on the SPC Mesoscale page. Looked like it hit the best of all worlds there on the Red River and slightly off the dryline.

 

[Michael Ratliff]

Tornado sirens lone grove

Guys it tears me up on this subject. Because lives should not of been lost have had the sirens had gone off. I dont care what news networks say no sirens were sounded. I know i Passed through the very small center of town as the tornado was a half mile to our southwest.I called 911 as it was about 400 yards from the trailer park and the 911 operator acted surprised. I will posting pix and chase account in the proper thread. God bless all the familys and people who lost there lives. A very sad chase day for me .

 

[Bill Tabor]

Man that totally sucks Michael! Those people would have had to flee those trailers and either get out of the path or find substantial shelter. Sounds like many didn't have time. Do they have a siren? Some really small towns don't. At least you gave it a try to make a difference. At that point seems like calling 911 is all you could do.

Perhaps if I had continued to follow the cell to the Red...not sure if earlier warns would have helped as I think they had a warning near Ringgold? I found this cell when it was just a wispy crescent echo...hard to believe I let it go and it went on to do this...

Guess this does remind me though that it's not all fun and games out there. Sometimes what we do or don't do as chasers really can make a difference in other peoples lives.

 

[Brandon Goforth]

Man that totally sucks Michael! Those people would have had to flee those trailers and either get out of the path or find substantial shelter. Sounds like many didn't have time. Do they have a siren?

Yes, they have sirens and are operated by the Carter County Emergency Management...who REALLY screwed up big time. The storm was already tornado warned coming across the Red River, and why they did not take it seriously, I have no idea, especially with the events that took place in OKC just a few hours earlier. These people should have had at least a 15-20 minute warning easy. Ardmore's sirens went off late as well because I was talking to family, who live there, as it was happening. I have no idea what they were doing.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Michael, I can hear something of the pain you feel in your words. As terrible a calamity as the tornado was for the people in those trailers, it was also an awful thing for you to witness. I'm sorry for that that town, and my heart goes out to those who lost loved ones because no sirens were sounded. But I'm also sorry for you. Like Bill said, you did your best. I doubt anyone could have done more than what you've described. If it's any comfort, you don't know but that your efforts may have in fact saved a life or two.

 

[Jeff Passner]

I know this may seem weird to people, but even if they did sound the sirens it does NOT mean all the lives would be saved and injuries prevented. It does not mean every single person would have reacted and gone to a safer place. It is hopeful that they would have but who knows what difference it would have made.

Personally, this was the WORST possible case.. February tornadoes at night probably result in more deaths than any other tornado. It's just human nature to let your guard down in Februray... It gets dark early and even with warning, you just don't have the same focus or emphasis as you would in April or May when almost everyone in Oklahoma takes these things seriously.

I've never seen a study done but I would guess the highest rate of fatalities would be nighttime tornadoes in the "early" season. Yes, we get more deaths in April because there are more tornadoes, but I think Tuesday night was a worst-case situation.

 

[Jay McCoy]

I know this may seem weird to people, but even if they did sound the sirens it does NOT mean all the lives would be saved and injuries prevented. It does not mean every single person would have reacted and gone to a safer place. It is hopeful that they would have but who knows what difference it would have made.

It may not have saved all the lives but it could have saved a few. Even if sounding the sirens would have saved 1 life it would have been worth it. This storm was tornado warned for a long time. There is NO excuse for the county EM to not have known or not sounding the sirens.

I know here our OEM has specific guidelines. If there is a tornado warning for amarillo (potter/randall counties) the sirens are activated...period. Why evn bother to have sirens of your not going to sound them when a tornado has been confirmed.. And at night you take even fewer chances. They dropped the ball big time and should be held accountable to their citizens.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

These people should have had at least a 15-20 minute warning easy.

FWIW, they did have 30-40 minutes of warning! The first tornado warning for Carter County issued by the OUN NWSFO for that storm came out at 6:50 pm. At 7:15 pm, a new tornado warning was issued that specifically mentioned Lone Grove:

* AT 715 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTH OF WILSON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE ARDMORE...LONE GROVE...NORTHERN[FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier] LAKE MURRAY...OVERBROOK AND WILSON.

[/FONT]I think the tornado came into Lone Grove near 7:28 pm, and a 7:31 pm Severe Weather Statement noted "AT 731 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM SPOTTERS OBSERVED A TORNADO [FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier]NEAR LONE GROVE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.[/FONT]"

Now, it is a problem if the outdoor warning sirens did not go off. However, the residents did have warning if they had means to receive the warning. The OUN NWSFO did a good job with the warnings it seems, and Lone Grove was in the polygon for at least 10-13 minutes before the tornado hit (I don't think the town was in the first warning polygon issued at 6:50, but I'm not sure). Those who had weather radios or were tuned in to local media (TV, battery-operated radio, etc), or those that generally had a means by which to receive such a warning without a dependence on outdoor warning sirens, should have received ample warning. Nobody should *rely* on outdoor sirens to warn them, particularly since many are on AC power only (AFAIK - not as many have battery backup), which means that you are toast if power is cut to the siren and you rely solely on that siren to warn you of impending hazardous weather.

EDIT: I don't mean this to sound cold or not compassionate! I really am pained to hear that 7+ people died, and many more were injured. The sirens certainly SHOULD have sounded if they didn't, and the county emergency management officials should have been plenty prepared given the SPC outlook and tornado watch. However, it IS important to take your own safety into your own hands by making sure that you have a reliable and alternate/secondary means by which to receive a severe weather warning.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

It's entirely possible that there was some kind of malfunction that prevented the sirens from sounding. Maybe power was cut off, like Jeff mentioned. Many siren systems are activated by TELCO lines. If the phones were out, they couldn't be sounded. Let's not speculate or point finger until we know exactly what happened.

 

[Bryce Stone]

In this interview with KTEN news, Carter County Emergency Manager Ed Reed says that the tornado sirens did sound. I'm interested in hearing from a third source, since one person (eyewitness Ratliff) says they did not sound, and one person (Emergency Manager Reed) says they did. We need a tiebreaker here, although I do tend to put more stock in eyewitness accounts.

http://tinyurl.com/bxt6v7