The Last F5

It was 10 years ago today that a tornado outbreak of Biblical proportions hit Oklahoma, including an F5 that tore into the Oklahoma City suburbs after ravaging several smaller towns along the way. Since I have a lot of family back there, I was watching that day with increasing concern as the storm headed into the OKC metro area.

Here's some video from that day:

You may have noticed a big mistake they made back in their rookie chasing days. They included this warning on their website:

**WARNING!! DO NOT TAKE COVER UNDERNEATH AN OVERPASS WHEN A TORNADO IS APPROACHING!!!*** This video defines the beginning of storm chasing for TornadoVideos.net. We knew very little about storm structure or forecasting back then, but we learned fast on May 3, 1999. This video is a great example of how NOT to safely storm chase. Seeking shelter under an overpass is a HUGE mistake, since the winds actually accelerate there when a tornado approaches.

At least one person was killed that day when they were sucked out from underneath an overpass.