A radar image of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado that prompted a tornado emergency
A Tornado Emergency is issued by the National Weather Service when a large, violent tornado is expected to impact a densely populated area. The term was first used during the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak that spawned the Moore F5 tornado just south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 723 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (903 × 749 pixel, file size: 866 KB, MIME type: image/gif) Animation of tornado on radar in Greensburg, KS. I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 723 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (903 × 749 pixel, file size: 866 KB, MIME type: image/gif) Animation of tornado on radar in Greensburg, KS. I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The National Weather Service (NWS) is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States government. ... Nickname: Capital of the New Century, O-K-C, O-City, O-C, Renaissance City Location in Oklahoma County and the state of Oklahoma. ...
Tornado Emergencies Issued
Between 530pm and 630pm on May 3rd, 1999 National Weather Service Science and Operations Officer David Andra watched as the most powerful tornado ever recorded approached Oklahoma City. This lead to the issuing of the first tornado emergency.
"As the large tornado approached western sections of the OKC metro area, we asked ourselves more than once, 'Are we doing all we can do to provide the best warnings and information?'" It became apparent that unique and eye-catching phrases needed to be included in the products. "At one point we used the phrase 'Tornado Emergency' to paint the picture that a rare and deadly tornado was imminent in the metro area. We hoped that such dire phrases would prompt action from anyone that still had any questions about what was about to happen." [1]
On May 4th, 2007 a tornado emergency was issued for Greensburg, Kansas just prior to the devastating EF5 tornado that destroyed 95% of the city.
…A TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR GREENSBURG…. AT 937 PM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS AND STORM SPOTTERS WERE TRACKING A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTH OF GREENSBURG…MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH. A VIOLENT TORNADO WAS ON A DIRECT PATH FOR PORTIONS OF GREENSBURG… ESPECIALLY THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF TOWN. TAKE IMMEDIATE TORNADO PRECATIONS…THIS IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION FOR GREENSBURG!![2] Greensburg is a city in Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. ...
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