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CHAOTIC CHRONICLES
Created by Christophe Asselin
MAY 20th, 2013
We were driving towards Oklahoma City
even if our initial target was located
about 50 miles south from the metropolis.
But we realized by looking at the satellite image and weather plots
that moisture and winds were better near Shawnee
which is a bit more to the north, next to Oklahoma City.
So we decided to go with this option
despite the fact that some cells were looking interesting more to the south.
It was a kind of a rerun from the day before
We would end up chasing in a populated area which is not convenient
but we had to be where the risk was the greatest.
To get closer to Oklahoma City, we drove through Shawnee
which suffered from an EF-4 tornado the day before.
We had an insight on damages it can cause.
Houses down...
trees with only the trunk left...
It was the first time I had ever seen this so it was really impressive.
It began in the south-west of Oklahoma City
where the cumulus became cumulonimbus.
On the radar it was immediately pointed out as a severe thunderstorm.
We headed mindlessly toward this cell
We were a bit late anyway and everything blew up very fast.
... or there is the road 77 near Moore.
A few minutes later, we began to see some spinning clues on the radar
a "hook echo" as we call it.
which implies a strong rotation
or even a tornado already on the ground.
From Shawnee, we decided to drive to the south of Oklahoma City
according to the storm's motion.
We knew we had to be quickly under that cell
because this was the kind of storm that doesn't wait to drop a tornado.
We should get to Moore before the tornado.
Try to do the best you can!
How far away are we?
I mean, from Moore.
I think 6 or 7 miles.
Siren!
- The tornado is already on the ground! Sure thing! - Yeah, for sure !
What worries me is to find a point of view.
Maybe we're going to be good there. Look!
We had to get to a good spot
to be both near the spinning zone and safe
especially since we were entering the Oklahoma City suburb.
A lot of traffic
and a fairly wooded area so we had not a good visibility.
It's going straight for Moore! Dangerous situation!
I have to take south on 77th.
No, go straight!
No no, it's spinning a lot there!
Keep straight! Trust me!
I didn't really know how to feel.
I was a bit excited about the possible tornado
but I was worried about where we would be regarding its path.
Drive to the hill there and we'll stop.
The tornado should be nearby.
- Here seems ok. - Stop here! Stop here!
We managed to find a relatively clear view
There were a few houses but we had a bit of an overlook on the landscape
which provided us a good view on what was going on.
We were a bit skeptical though...
Considering the velocity radar
there should be a tornado already on the ground.
We were wondering why we couldn't see it.
We already had some mixed feelings at this time
We were a bit scared about what would happen next.
It's there! It's there!
Can you see it Chris?
Yes! Power flash!
Debris!
The sound is crazy!
It's a monster!
It's destroying Moore guys...
We're going to help people as soon as it's gone
because there are most likely significant damages.
We'll immediately go there for rescue!
Let's go!
We saw the tornado going away so we decided to drive in parallel.
We saw people coming out of their shelters.
We asked them if everything was alright and reassured them about the fact that the tornado was gone.
You take the same road in reverse.
If I go left there, wouldn't it be a good idea?
Keep going straight!
We're good.
Otherwise we're going to be stuck by debris.
We have to get in front of it
and try to warn people in front of it.
Do your best!
It got thinner.
It becomes rope.
It's probably gonna weaken now.
It's finished. It's gone.
The velocity couplet is incredible.
It really brought us back on earth at that time
as we knew it passed over southern Oklahoma City.
We knew that a populated area had took a direct hit
so we decided to go and help people.
We carefully got closer to the area
but we came into big traffic jams as a lot of roads were closed by the police.
We decided to park and go by foot.
We began to see a lot of debris on the ground
At first there were only light debris, like personnal effects, family portraits, book pages...
At some point, a man who was also there to help came to us
and offered to carry us to the main area on a cart.
We arrived on the true path of the tornado
and found a ravaged place with only foundations left from some houses.
We asked to a police officer what we could do to help.
and the policeman, while thanking us for coming
explained us we couldn't do anything,
because people were trying to collect stuff from their houses
but we couldn't be of any help at that time.
Sadly, we were just witnesses of what nature did.
We felt really bad looking these families who had lost everything.
We were stunned and speechless.
We left the area as it didn't feel right to stay there anymore.
We had to see that at least once
to keep consciousness and stay humble while chasing powerful nature every day in the Great Plains.
We experienced an historical tornado.
Kind of a remake of the 1999 tornado which was a big shock at the time.
It wasn't easy to film or even live this event.
In a way, we had what we came for (a tornado)
but that's certainly not the way we wanted it.
We like tornadoes when they're in open fields, where they don't destroy anything.
THE MOORE TORNADO STAYED ON THE GROUND FOR 40 MINUTES.
IT HAS BEEN RATED EF-5 WITH 340KM/H+ (210MPH) WINDS.
24 PEOPLE WERE KILLED ON ITS PATH.
It seems to us that Americans are well prepared to this kind of phenomenon.
Considering that an EF-5 tornado went through a very populated area like Oklahoma City
and in the end there were ""only"" 24 deaths, so to speak...
The same event in any other country,
France or anywhere else,
would lead to hundreds or thousands of victims.
We're quite "hungover"...
We're the day after the Moore tornado.
It's about 8 am.
We had a rough night for several reasons.
At first, because of the memories of yesterday
which was a very unique day.
It leaves a lot of mental images.
It's not easy for our brains to deal with it.
The second reason is that we've had violent storms all night long
between 2 and 6AM.
We barely slept 3 hours and an other "moderate risk" is announced for Texas
with 10% probability of tornadoes, like yesterday.
So we have to get back on the road.
But it won't be easy.
We all feel exhausted.
We would almost wish a quiet day tomorrow
to finally have some rest.
IN MEMORY OF THE MOORE TORNADO VICTIMS.