The tornado outbreak of 3 May 1999 was the most destructive in Oklahoma history, and one of the deadliest. The Chickasha tornado was the fourth spawned by this classic supercell. In this wide-angle view, shot on 200-speed Sensia slide film, the tornado churns along almost perfectly centered under the large, smooth and nearly circular supercell base. Looming ominously over the darkened countryside, the storm looked like the infamous Hesston KS tornado of 13 March 1990, but welded to the bottom of an alien mother ship from Independence Day. Visibly powerful, persistent, and well-organized after an early multiple-vortex phase, this tornado would do “only” F3 damage on a path which, fortunately, avoided most of the town of Chickasha.
2 SSE Norge OK (3 May 99) Looking NW
34.9544, -97.9878
RADARSpace Ship Storm
The tornado outbreak of 3 May 1999 was the most destructive in Oklahoma history, and one of the deadliest. The Chickasha tornado was the fourth spawned by this classic supercell. In this wide-angle view, shot on 200-speed Sensia slide film, the tornado churns along almost perfectly centered under the large, smooth and nearly circular supercell base. Looming ominously over the darkened countryside, the storm looked like the infamous Hesston KS tornado of 13 March 1990, but welded to the bottom of an alien mother ship from Independence Day. Visibly powerful, persistent, and well-organized after an early multiple-vortex phase, this tornado would do “only” F3 damage on a path which, fortunately, avoided most of the town of Chickasha.
2 SSE Norge OK (3 May 99) Looking NW
34.9544, -97.9878
RADAR