Tulsa Airport Damage

[rdale]

http://members.cox.net/radior/NWA_F1.zip

The original poster says it was an F1 tornado, but there's nothing on SPC about a tor and this looks like straightline winds. The first two minutes give you a good idea how things were set up before - the fun starts around 2:30 into the clip.

- Rob

 

[Rick Smith]

WFO Tulsa surveyed this and it was a tornado.

Rick

 

[Kiel Ortega]

I don't know if that is footage from the actual tornado (and I would doubt it), but having worked at an airport (Wichita Mid-Continent) where a thunderstorm has passed, that looks like VERY strong straight line winds. If it had been a tornado passing right over the aircraft, they should have danced around a little more. Instead they whipped around right into the wind. Kudos to the NWA ground crew...they had those planes set up well to avoid them getting thrown into each other or the building (FYI, with some aircraft, you just untie them, release the brake and hope for the best while they dance in the wind)

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Is this the same event (didn't look at the pics/vid)?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("TSA PNS")</div>

AT 1114 PM CST LAST NIGHT /APRIL 1ST/ A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN
IN TULSA...IMMEDIATELY SOUTHWEST OF THE TULSA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

THE TORNADO LASTED APPROXIMATELY 25 SECONDS AND DID F1 DAMAGE TO THE
TULSA INTERNATIONAL AIRPOT RADISON HOTEL. THE TORNADO WAS SPAWNED
IN THE LEADING EDGE OF A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS.[/b]

--> http://www.srh.noaa.gov/printable.php?pil=...=20060402223705

 

[rdale]

"WFO Tulsa surveyed this and it was a tornado."

Rick - does your comment match the report reposted by Jeff? This says the tornado hit southwest of the airport, but clearly this damage was at the airport terminal.

 

[Rick Smith]

Yes - this was the same event. That PNS was issued pretty quickly after the event, and I don't believe TSA had access to the airport video at that time. They have seen the video and will be using the new information to adjust the tornado track.

Rick

 

[rdale]

Thanks for clarifying. I'm surprised it didn't show in SPC's logs after the LSR was issued from Tulsa, I thought that page was updated as new things came in.

 

[Rick Smith]

The way I understand it (and I could be wrong) is that the SPC rough log will only update with LSR's and reports until around noon the day after, so this event missed that window.

 

[Jonathan Racy]

The way I understand it (and I could be wrong) is that the SPC rough log will only update with LSR's and reports until around noon the day after, so this event missed that window.
[/b]

The SPC preliminary storm reports page updates once per day (12Z) between Days 3 and 7 (with respect to the event) with any new *LSR* information. In other words, an outbreak occurs between 12z-12z May 1. The page will update frequently the day of and the day after (May 1-2), but then jumps to a once per day frequency from May 3-7.

If WFO TUL issued an LSR shortly after the event, it should have made it to the SPC site. It would not have made it given the PNS issuance. It is not clear to me if an LSR was issued in conjunction with the PNS, based on the email exchanges so far.

Jon
SPC

 

[rdale]

Thanks for the update Jon - I've been dealing with NWS HQ about the LSR issue.

- Rob

 

[Rick Smith]

Thanks, Jon -- good information!

I don't think they ever LSR'd the report - it was sent in a PNS.

 

[Mike Gauldin]

Does anyone know where there's another copy of this video that can be downloaded?

 

[David Schuttler]

Does anyone know where there's another copy of this video that can be downloaded?

http://tulsaworld.cc/cblog/archives/408-Spinning-Planes.html

 

[Robert Rohloff]

The airplanes spinning were about 1/4 north of the tornado which was very small and quick. The movement may have been straight line wind since the storms were lined out. The tornado spun up between two cells in the line. The F1 damage was to a hotel which had wall and roof collaspe along with around half dozen cars flipped over in the parking lot.

I was about 1 mile south on I-244 when it hit, I was able to go back north behind it and did not observe much more rotation after about 5 minutes. You had to go back and look at the radar data to pick up the brief spin up.

 

[David Schuttler]

I was about 20 minutes behind as I was coming back from western Oklahoma. I got off at Memorial from 244 to go home but went to Admiral instead to shoot some lightning. It wasn't until I noticed the lights headed towards the airport that I turned the scanner back on to hear there was damage.

It really stinks to have driven across the State to chase and end up with a spin up a mile from home

Here's a little bit of video of the Hotel Evacuation at the airport.
http://tulsaworld.cc/cblog/exit.php?url_id=5357&entry_id=389