Monster tornado tears through Oklahoma City, over 90 killed

Houston/Washington: Over 90 people, including 20 children, were killed after a monstrous tornado ripped through the US city of Oklahoma, flattening entire neighbourhoods, crushing two elementary schools and turning the area into a war-zone. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology, in a wider sense, to name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but they are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), are about 250 feet (76 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (483 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3.2 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).

Various types of tornadoes include the landspout, multiple vortex tornado, and waterspout. Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting to a large cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud. They are generally classified as non-supercellular tornadoes that develop over bodies of water, but there is disagreement over whether to classify them as true tornadoes. These spiraling columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to the equator, and are less common at high latitudes. Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, and steam devil.Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. However, the vast majority of tornadoes occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America
The tornado, over a mile wide, ripped through the area on Monday with winds of up to 320 km/h.

Worst hit was Moore, south of the city, where neighbourhoods were flattened and two elementary schools destroyed.

The Oklahoma City Medical Examiner said at least 91 people died, including children, in the tornado and that they expect the death toll to climb.

Two hospitals confirmed they were treating a total of 145 injured, including about 70 children.

Storm clouds approach South Haven, Kansas, May 19, 2013. (Gene Blevins/Reuters)

Less than a week after a string of tornadoes killed six people in north Texas, a massive storm system that tore through the center of the country on Sunday spawned at least a dozen tornadoes, killed two people, injured dozens more and caused extensive damage from Georgia to Minnesota.
According to the Oklahoma state medical examiner, the two victims in Sunday's storms—Glen Irish, 79, and Billy Hutchinson, 76—were from hard-hit Shawnee. At least 39 other people were injured on Sunday, Oklahoma emergency management director Albert Ashwood said.
James Hoke, a resident of Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park in Shawnee, told the Associated Press his neighborhood "took a dead hit."
"My father-in-law was buried under the house," he said. "We had to pull Sheetrock off of him."

A tornado at least a half-mile wide was spotted near Pink, Okla., outside Oklahoma City, prompting the National Weather Service in Norman to issue an unusually dire warning:

You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter. Complete destruction of neighborhoods, businesses and vehicles will occur. Flying debris will be deadly to people and animals.

"Large tornado west of Pink!" a tweet from the Norman office read. "Take cover RIGHT NOW in Pink! DO NOT WAIT!"
"Overpasses are NOT tornado shelters!" read another. "Do not park under them! You are keeping others from getting to safety!"
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared states of emergency in 16 counties. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said hailstones as large as baseballs were seen throughout the region.
According to the National Weather Service, more severe weather is expected in Oklahoma on Monday, "with very large hail, damaging winds and perhaps tornadoes impacting the region."

We are very concerned that we could be dealing with dangerous storms—possibly including tornadoes—around school dismissal time today, and certainly during afternoon rush hour. Please stay very alert today and think about how you might need to change your plans this afternoon. Please share this with your family and friends.

Videos of several tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri were posted to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fJYCYqnpJo&feature=player_embedded

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/tornadoes-oklahoma-video-132831345.html