This Day in Weather History: TORNADO EMERGENCY (May 3, 1999)

MS Weather Network

May 3, 20202 min read

On this date 21 years ago in 1999 the phrase "TORNADO EMERGENCY" was born. Forecasters and spotters were watching a very large and damaging tornado that was headed directly for the large Oklahoma city of Moore, they knew this storm had the ability to be quite deadly. Due to the seriousness of the situation, the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma created a term that had never been used to emphasize just how serious and dire the situation was to ensure the public took the situation with utmost seriousness. This storm was rated an F5 tornado with wind speeds in excess of 300 MPH, it remained on the ground for an hour and 25 minutes as it caused multiple fatalities across the Oklahoma City, OK metropolitan area.

The first "TORNADO EMERGENCY" ever issued in the U.S.

Today, the term "TORNADO EMERGENCY" is still used across the country to help us show how serious a situation in. There is no exact parameters on when forecasters issue a "TORNADO EMERGENCY", rather it is at the discretion of the local National Weather Service forecast office based on a few specific criteria.

The criteria for a "TORNADO EMERGENCY" from the National Weather Service is the following:

•Severe threat to human life is imminent or ongoing.

•Catastrophic damage is imminent or ongoing.

•Reliable sources confirm tornado (either 1 or 2):

1. Visual confirmation of tornado

2. Radar imagery strongly suggests the existence of a damaging tornado (a debris ball signature, for example).

TWO concurrent *RARE* "Tornado Emergencies* on April 12, 2020 Easter Sunday in South MS

In 2020 alone we have seen 2 tornado emergencies, both of which were issued during the April 20th Easter Sunday tornado outbreak our state saw. The issuance of a tornado emergency is very rare, with only a very few issued per year across the whole country. Since the creation of the "TORNADO EMERGENCY" guidelines and wording, there have been 22 separate emergencies issued for the State of Mississippi. Mississippi Weather Network firmly believes that this word alone increases the public's awareness of the situation at hand and makes them to better safety measures if inside the path of these major storms. If you would like to view a list of all the tornado emergencies that have occurred across the nation, the volunteers of Wikipedia maintain a great open source located at here.