Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado

The May 3, 1999 tornado stunned central Oklahoma--but yet, it was not entirely unusual. As I grew up in Norman, Oklahoma (the center of weather research and now home to the National Weather Service), tornadoes were a fact of life. Springtimes in Oklahoma always included the hours spent in front of the television, watching the supercells. Even the non-scientific minds among us learn to grasp the basics of supercells, of the hook echo, of the wall cloud. We are willing to watch the storm on TV until it is within 10 miles of us, and then, and only if it is heading in our direction, will we descend to our storm cellar.Nancy Mathis has captured the feeling of the springtime in Oklahoma; the awe, the fear, and the respect with which tornadoes are regarded. The book weaves together many stories of common people from this area, people just like any other central Oklahoman. And she compellingly tells the story of how lives are shattered, molded--simply changed by the power of the tornadoes.The May 3 tornado (the big one--A9) passed within 15 miles of my house; I had been playing golf that afternoon on a course in Moore that was destroyed--in fact, had we played the back 9, we would have been on the course when the twister hit. But the sky looked ominous, with the clouds at different elevations moving different directions--signaling significant wind shear, a factor in tornado formation that Mathis discusses in this book. It was simple stories like this that Mathis used to create the feel of the book.Mathis captures the history of tornado forecasting and the personalities involved wonderfully. She tells the story of the meteorologists excellently. I believe this book to be the best available at telling the story of the tornado in totality and of the people it impacts. I have just a few quibbles with this book--the occasional instances of strong language (always in quotes) require editing before youngsters can read it. The book is not particularly scientific, and there are no photos or charts explaining the science. That is not the intent of this book. The story is so gripping (and graphic), that some children could have difficulty stomaching it. But this gripping retelling is what makes the book so good--for the story of the tornadoes is so extraordinarily exciting, and the springtime afternoons in Oklahoma so spellbinding, that only a book written in that way can accurately tell the story of the May 3 tornadoes.

Don't start this book unless you have time to finish it in one sitting. I never expected it to be such a good read, so engrossing and emotional. Because I was only a few miles from part of the May 3rd tornado and have a friend who lost a twin brother in the Woodward tornado I expected to find the typical stories of the death and destruction of those storms contained in one book. How surprised and delighted I was that after a short time of deep attention I learned more than I knew was even out there. I've lived in Oklahoma all my life and have seen the weird destruction within my own hometown (the roof blown off my dad's office with one picture on his desk gone and the other still setting there undisturbed!) Those of us living in "tornado alley" are not terrified by tornadoes but have a healthy respect for them because we know if we pay attention that we can save ourselves. Our kids know how to protect themselves before they even start school. Gary England (who's like kinfolk) always speaks directly to the youngsters, instructing them on what to do if they happen to be alone. We suffer extreme property loss but because of the work of the people depicted in this book the loss of life is minimal. We have family living in other parts of the country and realize how blessed we are here to have the weather forecasting that we do. We know within blocks of where the tornado, or even thunderstorms, will hit as well as when. Now I know the nuts and bolts behind this fantastic gift we have where we need it the most. Thanks to Nancy Mathis who did such deep research in every area of this story and brought it together with her great writing talent. If there's one criticism is that there's a lot of technical material that I found hard to understand but my husband loved it! This is a good book and I'm buying several to pass around to family and friends!

This is the story of the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak in Oklahoma. But it's more than that, explaining the F Scale and eventually the EF Scale for tornado intensity, pioneers in tornado research, the formation of the Weather Bureau, etc. It follows the lives of the people impacted by this outbreak, the heroic efforts of meteorologists on tv to save lives through warning after warning to the public. You get to know some of the survivors and some who didn't, due to the severity of this outbreak. The author is very well-written and brings it alive to the reader. If you want a general knowledge of tornadoes this is a good place to start, and especially the May 3, 1999 outbreak. I do agree with another reviewer that the book is somewhat disjointed, like when you're following what happened that day, then you turn the page and the author starts talking about Mr Fujita, for whom the F Scale rating was named, or some other subject related to understanding tornadoes. Maps would also add a lot to this story.

Got this book for my mesoscale meteorology class as a required book. It is very informative about the history of tornado forecasting. The details of the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak in the Great Plains is incredible.For those interested in tornadoes, forecasting, and the history of tornado forecasting, this is a great book to read.

daughter is a wannabe tornado chaser...she loved this book