Oklahoma is no stranger to deadly tornadoes and one of the most devastating in history is the 1999 Bridge Creek- Moore F5 tornado. It was part of an outbreak that spanned from Oklahoma to Kansas with a total of 74 tornadoes touching down in 21 hours. Keep scrolling to view photos of this massive tornado and the damage it caused.
On May 3, 1999, a tornado outbreak occurred in Oklahoma and Kansas and out of it came an F5 tornado with the highest wind speeds ever recorded globally.
Erin D Maxwell/Wikipedia
Wind speeds were recorded at 301 mph from this twister that took a path through Bridge Creek and Moore.
nssl.noaa.gov
It was the strongest tornado ever recorded in a metropolitan area. It leveled neighborhoods and businesses and caused over 1 billion dollars in damage.
NOAA Staffl/Wikipedia
It claimed the lives of 36 people that day and lasted 85-minutes before dissipating.
Andrea Booher/Wikipedia
Over 8,000 homes were damaged, not including all the businesses, apartments, and churches that were a total loss.
Jim Ladue/Wikipedia
The southern OKC suburbs looked like a war zone. It was completely heartbreaking to see all the loss this violent tornado caused.
nssl.noaa.gov
Many things were unrecognizable after this tornado came through town.
nssl.noaa.gov
Large-scale rescue operations began immediately and saved a lot of lives that day. Sadly, this same area saw another violent EF5 tornado in 2013. All of these photos are a good reminder when the tornado sirens sounds, take cover and don’t ignore the warnings.
Andrea Booher/Wikipedia
Watch the video below to view real footage from the May 3rd tornado:
Erin D Maxwell/Wikipedia
nssl.noaa.gov
NOAA Staffl/Wikipedia
Andrea Booher/Wikipedia
Jim Ladue/Wikipedia
Can you imagine a third of your town being destroyed within a matter of minutes? That’s what happened to the small, close-knit community of Pryor, Oklahoma on April 27, 1942. At approximately 5:00 p.m. local time, an EF4 tornado swept through the main business district of town and the residential section, demolishing 500 buildings, killing 52 people and injuring 350 others. As if the tornado wasn’t bad enough, the town was hit with torrential rains that left knee-deep water in town – halting rescue and cleanup efforts. You can read more about this tornado here.
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