Really KRMG? Really?
"...and in our Channel 420 Weather Center, here's the latest news on the line of storms threatening our area. Meteorologists are concerned about the rotation seen in these rapidly moving storms, but there's another concern, one that seems to be overlooked. Yes, there's rotation in all those t-storms out there, but listen up people - THE WHOLE DAMN PLANET IS ROTATING UNDER YOUR FEET AS YOU READ THIS!!! Now, I ask you, do you ever worry about THAT? Of course not! It's going waaaay faster than any thunderstorm, but you never give it a second thought. If it gets rotating fast enough, you'll just fly off into space where there isn't any air, so you won't have to worry about tornadoes anymore, Mr. Smarty Pants! So there!"
We return you now to our Monday night movie, "Bloodsucking Monkeys from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania."
(Too much coffee today!)
I worry about the earth stopping its rotation. It would probably stop at 30 minutes before I need to wake up. Then I'd be stuck at 5:30 AM.
I just got back from storm chasing in east OKC. I experienced a rain wrapped tornado just east of I-35 in Moore. Was not down to ground level, but it ate a windshield anyway.
The hail was mostly golf ball to baseball size, with one landing about 20 feet away that was the size of a large cantalope. If that don't "pucker you up", nothing will.
There were 3 killed in Tecumseh and 2 at Choctaw. These are east and south of town at I-40. The Love's at Choctaw road is rubble.
There were about a dozen (maybe a few more) tornadoes in just a couple hours from about 5 to 7 pm. I took a picture of one that happened just south of I-40 about 5 minutes after the one that hit the Love's. I only saw two.
I invite everyone to keep the people here affected by this storm in their thoughts and prayers. It is very sad.
Am going to try to spend the rest of the week in Tulsa where it's safer.
If I can figure out the method, I will attach a picture or two in a message.
When you make a post, in the lower left corner, expand the "Additional Options" box. You can attach a file from here.
Looking forward to some photos.
A friend of mine was tarping up softball size holes in his roof in Moore last night. His house is a re-build from the May 1999 monster. Normally when I'm working in the OKC area I ride with a cycling group which meets at Lake Draper on Mondays and Weds. Fortunately, there was plenty of notice and of course the ride was called off (the original forecast of 35 MPH winds out of the south was enough to make me not want to ride :P ). Parts of our ride route got hammered (around SE 89th & Anderson) with the tornado which eventually did all the damage at I-40 & Choctaw Road.
I happen to be working in OKC yesterday and today, so I watched Gary England on Ch. 9 throughout the storms. They had great reporting without hystrionics. They had chasers on the ground with great video and their helicopter in the air. When the pilot spotted the tornado which ripped up the trailer park near Noble, trashed the marina at Lake Thunderbird, etc. he said he was certain another tornado was forming above his helicopter. That dude earned his pay yesterday. The only annoying thing was the wall-to-wall post storm coverage which continued well into the night long after the storms had left the viewing area and it was obvious there was not a constant stream of new information which would have been of any use to people in finding out if their loved ones were okay or not. Just the usual looping of damage, the funnels, and the biggest hill-jacks they can find to put on camera.
"Well, I heard them sireeens goin' off, so I grabbed Linda Claire 'n' my prize Blue Tick, Jake and we hid under a stack of beer cans about the time the winders blowed out."
Quote from: Conan71 on May 11, 2010, 09:20:40 AM
A friend of mine was tarping up softball size holes in his roof in Moore last night. His house is a re-build from the May 1999 monster. Normally when I'm working in the OKC area I ride with a cycling group which meets at Lake Draper on Mondays and Weds. Fortunately, there was plenty of notice and of course the ride was called off (the original forecast of 35 MPH winds out of the south was enough to make me not want to ride :P ). Parts of our ride route got hammered (around SE 89th & Anderson) with the tornado which eventually did all the damage at I-40 & Choctaw Road.
I happen to be working in OKC yesterday and today, so I watched Gary England on Ch. 9 throughout the storms. They had great reporting without hystrionics. They had chasers on the ground with great video and their helicopter in the air. When the pilot spotted the tornado which ripped up the trailer park near Noble, trashed the marina at Lake Thunderbird, etc. he said he was certain another tornado was forming above his helicopter. That dude earned his pay yesterday. The only annoying thing was the wall-to-wall post storm coverage which continued well into the night long after the storms had left the viewing area and it was obvious there was not a constant stream of new information which would have been of any use to people in finding out if their loved ones were okay or not. Just the usual looping of damage, the funnels, and the biggest hill-jacks they can find to put on camera.
"Well, I heard them sireeens goin' off, so I grabbed Linda Claire 'n' my prize Blue Tick, Jake and we hid under a stack of beer cans about the time the winders blowed out."
My boss is out this morning.
His dad owns a miniature horse farm in Tecumseh. Haven't heard from my boss except to say via email 'be in after lunch'... Tecumseh was evidently hit pretty hard.
Quote from: Hoss on May 11, 2010, 09:31:09 AM
My boss is out this morning.
His dad owns a miniature horse farm in Tecumseh. Haven't heard from my boss except to say via email 'be in after lunch'... Tecumseh was evidently hit pretty hard.
Interesting. They showed some horses running around adjacent to a heavily damaged property somewhere near Shawnee. The first horse or two looked like standard size then there were people in the frame and you could put the horses in context, definitely mini's. Wonder if that was his place...
My GF's parents live in Bethel Acres and got skirted north and south by about 2 miles either way. Their neighbor had insulation in their yard this morning from the Country Boy? IGA that got blown away. They still had no power this morning and no idea when they would. Fortunately, her dad is a retired electrician and put in switch gear to go along with his 8000W generator last year. No real damage there, just some small limbs down in the yard.
I don't know if they showed the video in Tulsa or not, but there's large transmission towers blown over, not just wooden poles. I'm guessing, to my untrained eye, that the Noble/T-Bird/Tecumseh tornado was an EF-4 and the Choctaw Road tornado was a high EF-3.
QuoteListen to our storm coverage OR YOU WILL DIE
But when you consider people actually died...
Quote from: Conan71 on May 11, 2010, 09:41:42 AM
Interesting. They showed some horses running around adjacent to a heavily damaged property somewhere near Shawnee. The first horse or two looked like standard size then there were people in the frame and you could put the horses in context, definitely mini's. Wonder if that was his place...
My GF's parents live in Bethel Acres and got skirted north and south by about 2 miles either way. Their neighbor had insulation in their yard this morning from the Country Boy? IGA that got blown away. They still had no power this morning and no idea when they would. Fortunately, her dad is a retired electrician and put in switch gear to go along with his 8000W generator last year. No real damage there, just some small limbs down in the yard.
I don't know if they showed the video in Tulsa or not, but there's large transmission towers blown over, not just wooden poles. I'm guessing, to my untrained eye, that the Noble/T-Bird/Tecumseh tornado was an EF-4 and the Choctaw Road tornado was a high EF-3.
Possible. He sent me a text message today saying he wouldn't be able to make it back in today; he was helping his dad get a generator set up. Didn't elaborate on any damage. I'm sure I'll find out tonight or tomorrow...
A visiting weatherman from "Good Morning America" gets ugly on air with an Oklahoma City crew while covering the tornado outbreak. Cue Connie Chung...
http://tinyurl.com/24rvq3j
Quote from: patric on May 12, 2010, 10:51:02 AM
A visiting weatherman from "Good Morning America" gets ugly on air with an Oklahoma City crew while covering the tornado outbreak. Cue Connie Chung...
http://tinyurl.com/24rvq3j
Ugly? Really? Didn't look too ugly to me. Especially tame for TMZ.
This, on the other hand, got a little heated (during CNN's coverage of Katrina).
http://www.spike.com/video/cnn-weatherman/2678471
Quote from: Hoss on May 12, 2010, 10:57:38 AM
Ugly? Really? Didn't look too ugly to me. Especially tame for TMZ.
This, on the other hand, got a little heated (during CNN's coverage of Katrina).
http://www.spike.com/video/cnn-weatherman/2678471
Champion was being a dick. They called him a "tool" this morning on KRMG.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 11, 2010, 09:41:42 AM
Interesting. They showed some horses running around adjacent to a heavily damaged property somewhere near Shawnee. The first horse or two looked like standard size then there were people in the frame and you could put the horses in context, definitely mini's. Wonder if that was his place...
My GF's parents live in Bethel Acres and got skirted north and south by about 2 miles either way. Their neighbor had insulation in their yard this morning from the Country Boy? IGA that got blown away. They still had no power this morning and no idea when they would. Fortunately, her dad is a retired electrician and put in switch gear to go along with his 8000W generator last year. No real damage there, just some small limbs down in the yard.
I don't know if they showed the video in Tulsa or not, but there's large transmission towers blown over, not just wooden poles. I'm guessing, to my untrained eye, that the Noble/T-Bird/Tecumseh tornado was an EF-4 and the Choctaw Road tornado was a high EF-3.
I have family in Pink, just east of Lake Thunderbird, and they saw the funnel, and lost power, but no significant damage in that immediate area. The three people who died west of Tecumseh were all in a car apparently. Most of the serious damage was in the Little Axe area along hwy 9, and just north of there where the Love's was taken out.
My cousin was in Moore for a karate class when softball size hail started crashing through the roof of the metal building they were in. When they went outside afterwards, some cars were so damaged by the hail they were undriveable. Parts of Norman were badly damaged as well.
I heard that the Norman/Noble/Tecumseh/Choctaw tornadoes were all EF-3's.
Conan, did your GF go to Bethel Schools? Many of my cousins went there.
Quote from: azbadpuppy on May 12, 2010, 11:19:58 AM
I have family in Pink, just east of Lake Thunderbird, and they saw the funnel, and lost power, but no significant damage in that immediate area. The three people who died west of Tecumseh were all in a car apparently. Most of the serious damage was in the Little Axe area along hwy 9, and just north of there where the Love's was taken out.
My cousin was in Moore for a karate class when softball size hail started crashing through the roof of the metal building they were in. When they went outside afterwards, some cars were so damaged by the hail they were undriveable. Parts of Norman were badly damaged as well.
I heard that the Norman/Noble/Tecumseh/Choctaw tornadoes were all EF-3's.
Conan, did your GF go to Bethel Schools? Many of my cousins went there.
There's some good news as the death toll was downgraded to two. The three children reported as killed are actually in critical condition in the hospital. The confusion came from the children apparently not arriving at the hospital they were supposed to be going to so the hospital reported them as dead rather than realizing they had been diverted elsewhere. Their mother, though, was killed. We drove our Monday night ride route last night, the eastern part of it was hammered pretty bad along Hiawassee Road. You could see the path of destruction coming from the SW across the Draper Lake area. It was quite fortunate this particular tornado and the one which hit T-Bird didn't hit more populated areas.
I just sent you a PM.
Did anyone watch NOVA last night?
Very interesting report on storm chasers and scientists from OU and the NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman. Apparently a scientist at OU is developing a test system of mini satellites to be set up like a net throughout most of central Oklahoma to better study and predict major tornado outbreaks.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tornado/
Quote from: azbadpuppy on May 12, 2010, 12:23:52 PM
Did anyone watch NOVA last night?
Very interesting report on storm chasers and scientists from OU and the NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman. Apparently a scientist at OU is developing a test system of mini satellites to be set up like a net throughout most of central Oklahoma to better study and predict major tornado outbreaks.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tornado/
I didn't see that, but can you imagine working at the national storms center, walking outside and seeing a tornado touch down just to the east of your building? Talk about a bonanza for a weather geek!
I was looking at some of the NOAA edited time frames and there were many points where windspeeds in the storms were caught on anemometers which is helpful and a direct data point rather than having to be extrapolated from dopper data.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 12, 2010, 12:20:17 PM
There's some good news as the death toll was downgraded to two.
But upped again to three counting a woman who died trying to reach a shelter.
Quote from: patric on May 12, 2010, 01:29:24 PM
But upped again to three counting a woman who died trying to reach a shelter.
I have seen everything from 2 to 7 deaths reported since 9am this morning. So is it officially 3?
Quote from: azbadpuppy on May 12, 2010, 02:47:30 PM
I have seen everything from 2 to 7 deaths reported since 9am this morning. So is it officially 3?
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100512_12_A1_PalBal412998
This morning was fun. I love getting woke up at 5:00am to stuff pounding on the roof and the tornado sirens going off.
Quote from: bmuscotty on May 13, 2010, 12:14:27 PM
This morning was fun. I love getting woke up at 5:00am to stuff pounding on the roof and the tornado sirens going off.
I slept right through it. The bad thing about storms making me sleep well is one of these days I'm going to wake up in Oz
I heard nothing. I looked out in my back yard when I got up before 7 and saw we got pretty good rain and I had a few fresh leaves and twigs out of my trees. My mother called at 7:30 and said her neighborhood near 61st & Harvard looked like a hurricane had gone through. She's either got a tree or big limbs down. I tried to go over there before coming to the office and I couldn't get up Yale. Traffic was backed up apparently from 38th south to 91st. Harvard was not much better. I friend near 87th & 49th W. Ave said he's missing a storage shed from his backyard.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 13, 2010, 12:28:27 PM
I heard nothing. I looked out in my back yard when I got up before 7 and saw we got pretty good rain and I had a few fresh leaves and twigs out of my trees. My mother called at 7:30 and said her neighborhood near 61st & Harvard looked like a hurricane had gone through. She's either got a tree or big limbs down. I tried to go over there before coming to the office and I couldn't get up Yale. Traffic was backed up apparently from 38th south to 91st. Harvard was not much better. I friend near 87th & 49th W. Ave said he's missing a storage shed from his backyard.
NWS says that the storm that hit near US 75 and 71st to 81st was an EF0 to EF1 tornado. The rest of the city, not so sure yet. That likely explains your friend's loss of storage shed. The only thing that happened to me is the door to my storage shed blew open. Not uncommon for storms for me anyway. Probably helps that I live in somewhat of a valley south of the Vegas Club.
I think all of the weather men should have scary Halloween masks, and when the sirens come on at 5am in the morning, they should quickly put on their masks, so when we flip on the TV we take them more seriously than we currently do.
This morning. . . ME- "Honey, wake up, the siren is going off." HER- "Screw the siren, turn off the light, it's 5am" ME- "But the weather man says their is wind!" HER- "I sleep with you, there is always wind."
I live near 71st and Riverside in the path of whatever it was. Found some small tree limbs and branches and a few shingles and pieces of insulation in my yard. My roof is ok so who knows where it came from.
I woke up to the sirens and turned on channel 6. They seemed awfully calm and didn't seem to know why the sirens were even going off for a minute or two. I guess downtown missed the worst of it, but it looked like a pretty standard spring storm from here. I was surprised to see all the damage reports from other parts of town.
Quote from: TheTed on May 13, 2010, 02:24:31 PM
I woke up to the sirens and turned on channel 6. They seemed awfully calm and didn't seem to know why the sirens were even going off for a minute or two. I guess downtown missed the worst of it, but it looked like a pretty standard spring storm from here. I was surprised to see all the damage reports from other parts of town.
Few people watch TV at 5am. There isn't a grab for ratings like there is in the evenings.
The sirens woke me up too, though, it took me a minute to even realize what it was. by the time I got out of bed and turned on the TV, the storm had basically passed our location.
I've never heard such a wussy high pitched storm siren. That thing needs to be replaced. They need to put in that style of siren some of the ambulances have, where you almost feel it in your body, that low-pitched sort of weird noise.
Quote from: TheTed on May 13, 2010, 02:24:31 PM
I woke up to the sirens and turned on channel 6. They seemed awfully calm and didn't seem to know why the sirens were even going off for a minute or two. I guess downtown missed the worst of it, but it looked like a pretty standard spring storm from here. I was surprised to see all the damage reports from other parts of town.
Wouldn't it have been better if they were wearing zombie masks and chasing each other around the studio groaning "Doppler 6000. . .Doppler 60000. . .must have Doppler 60000!"
Or perhaps they could just make odd remarks like "If you are naked, and outside of your house, you may want to take cover now."
I remember the days of the old Doppler 2. It was black and white, and you had to wind it. ;D
I think it's time for some regulation here. The weather stations just go nuts and that is putting lives in harms way should the real thing hit. They have weather all the time on channel 2.2 and channel 6.2 but they still repeat the same crap on channel 2.1 & channel 6.1.. They even ran the weather over the popular TV show "Deal or No Deal" >:(
I was not even aware the sirens had gone off until I read it here. I guess that's one drawback to Thermal Windows: "The quality shines through, but you can't hear a tornado siren through them".
I seldom ever hear the trash truck on my block and they typically run about 6 to 6:15 am. I'd definitely be a great advocate for their sound deadening abilities.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 13, 2010, 03:08:44 PM
I was not even aware the sirens had gone off until I read it here. I guess that's one drawback to Thermal Windows: "The quality shines through, but you can't hear a tornado siren through them".
I seldom ever hear the trash truck on my block and they typically run about 6 to 6:15 am. I'd definitely be a great advocate for their sound deadening abilities.
I'll PM you the next time they go off. . . or zap you a quick email.
Quote from: sauerkraut on May 13, 2010, 03:04:02 PM
I think it's time for some regulation here. The weather stations just go nuts and that is putting lives in harms way should the real thing hit. They have weather all the time on channel 2.2 and channel 6.2 but they still repeat the same crap on channel 2.1 & channel 6.1.. They even ran the weather over the popular TV show "Deal or No Deal" >:(
Nonsense. I wasn't watching TV overnight...but if the TV mets were on continuously...then I believe it was the right call.
And that was the absolute correct call by the city to sound the sirens. I easily had 80 mph winds at my house...and talking to my buddies at work...they said radar velocity signatures suggested winds up to 100 mph. Loads of tree damage in my neighborhood...and just now got power back after being out for 10 hours. Kudos to the city for the quick response.
Quote from: PepePeru on May 13, 2010, 02:50:59 PM
The sirens woke me up too, though, it took me a minute to even realize what it was. by the time I got out of bed and turned on the TV, the storm had basically passed our location.
I've never heard such a wussy high pitched storm siren. That thing needs to be replaced. They need to put in that style of siren some of the ambulances have, where you almost feel it in your body, that low-pitched sort of weird noise.
They woke me up around 5, but it took a while to discern it from other sounds because of all the white noise of the driving rain. When they are tested, it's always a clear day and they come through distinctly, but in an actual storm not so much. Also, if all you hear is the steady tone (and not the rise/fall) it's not immediately apparent what it is.
Tulsa has been phasing out the discontinued Whelen WS-3016 sirens for smaller, more powerful ones that have the four trumpets and a lower tone.
The older style is here:
Newer Whelen style:
Quote from: patric on May 13, 2010, 06:11:13 PM
They woke me up around 5, but it took a while to discern it from other sounds because of all the white noise of the driving rain. When they are tested, it's always a clear day and they come through distinctly, but in an actual storm not so much. Also, if all you hear is the steady tone (and not the rise/fall) it's not immediately apparent what it is.
Tulsa has been phasing out the discontinued Whelen WS-3016 sirens for smaller, more powerful ones that have the four trumpets and a lower tone.
The older style is here:
Newer Whelen style:
And actually, Tulsa has some of the only dual-tone 3016s left (what they have left)
Here's what one sounds like...I think they're ominous sounding and have an old video somewhere where I recorded it.
Here's another from south Tulsa...these dual tone Whelen's are spooky sounding.
Quote from: Hoss on May 13, 2010, 10:33:50 PM
And actually, Tulsa has some of the only dual-tone 3016s left (what they have left)
...I think they're ominous sounding
It's the high note of the older model that gives it that ominous wailing quality. You can hear a mix of the old and new around midtown.
Before the Whelan sirens, Tulsa had dual-tone Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000T's, a very old-school mechanical siren with a big rotating yellow trumpet to hail the coming of nuclear Armageddon. Now those were ominous sounding, rich in harmonics, but they were power-line dependent and high-maintenance.
Quote from: patric on May 13, 2010, 11:59:01 PM
It's the high note of the older model that gives it that ominous wailing quality. You can hear a mix of the old and new around midtown.
Before the Whelan sirens, Tulsa had dual-tone Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000T's, a very old-school mechanical siren with a big rotating yellow trumpet to hail the coming of nuclear Armageddon. Now those were ominous sounding, rich in harmonics, but they were power-line dependent and high-maintenance.
Like this?:
The Federal Q Siren is pretty awesome on a firetruck.
Quote from: Hoss on May 14, 2010, 01:09:30 AM
Like this?:
Boy, there's a scary memory from my youth. The ramp up and ramp down were especially spooky to me on the Federal Signal. As I recall, they had the old Civil Defense decals on them. I also remember Tulsa adding more and more of these during the 1970's. They added one at Barnard Elem. when I was still there and some other elementary schools as well.
(http://rlv.zcache.com/civil_defense_circle_sticker-p217369113637416262tdcj_210.jpg)
Here's a restored one:
(http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/mosslake/northsiren.jpg)
I can still remember folding the Tulsa Tribune outside Steve's Sundry when the Dec. 1975 tornado hit. We could see the dark clouds off to the east and it looked menacing. Scared the living crap out of me when those sirens went off. That all hit well to the east (21st & Garnett to 129th corridor as I recall), but to a 10 year old (I split a route with my older brother who was "old enough" to carry for NPC) who knew nothing about tornadoes, and how they travel even being within five or six miles was pretty scary. Sorry for the pre-senility ramble ;)
Just a random question, what is the expected "reach" of each storm alert siren?
Quote from: Conan71 on May 14, 2010, 09:18:16 AM
(reduced quote for brevity)
Just a random question, what is the expected "reach" of each storm alert siren?
I think it depends on Make/model. Each one is designed differently, but I believe the 'standard' is 1 mile. Don't quote me on that though.
Most sirens (especially the old Federals) are rated at about 130 dB @ 100 feet.
Growing up 4 blocks from and going to MacAurthur, Whitney, and Nathan Hale this is the type that was next to MacAurthur.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/fed_2t22geek.jpg)
I wish someone would make or maybe already has made a map of the locations of each of the sirens in Tulsa. I remember seeing one of the old 1000Ts when I went to elementary school (it was actually located on the property line between Lindbergh Elementary and Eastwood Church) but don't see one there anymore.
Nice article on coverage in Tulsa World:
"Area outdoor warning sirens have varying audible ranges. Sand Springs' 19 sirens, for example, reach 70 decibels up to a half-mile away, said Greg Fisher, the city's emergency management director.
Seventy decibels is equivalent to the noise generated by average street traffic.
Tulsa's warning system is made up of 84 sirens with a one-mile range, while Owasso's 15 sirens reach 70 decibels up to two miles away."
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2009/tonados/1.aspx
(http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2009/tonados/images/tornadosirenmap.jpg)
Interesting that 31st and Peoria is a "dead zone".
Quote from: carltonplace on May 14, 2010, 11:18:32 AM
Interesting that 31st and Peoria is a "dead zone".
Especially considering that one of the June 8, 1974 tornados tore up Brookside pretty good. An interesting note from the article for those who have not had time to read it: One of the people quoted from our local emergency management team said storm alert sirens are not designed to warn people inside their homes or buildings, rather that sounds like more of a bonus. They are to alert people who are outside. He said everyone should spend $25 and get a weather alert radio unless they are on really hard times. I'd never heard that about the sirens before.
I was awakened by the wind and rain when it came through this morning.
I was sitting in the old Pagoda restaurant the evening of the June 8 storm, eating dinner - anniversary dinner. And yes, it was an omen of things to come. They closed the big heavy curtains over all the windows about 1 1/2 minutes before the tornado hit and blew them all out. Every power pole from south of I-44 about 3 blocks to about 3/4 mile north of I-44 was blown over.
Didn't even get a free dinner out of it! No particular reason I should have, but hey, what the heck...why not?
Anyway, still can't post a picture. They are too big (3meg) and I can't figure out how to decimate them yet. Will keep trying, even though they are rapidly becoming obsolete.
The June 8th '74 and the December 5 1975 are in my mind forever. The June 8th my dad was the person in charge of the Pony/Colt games at Reed Park. The weather was getting bad and they cancelled the games for late Saturday afternoon. He came home with a player from one of the teams that did not have a ride at that time. About 7:15 channel 2 went off the air which was about the time that area was hit. I remember the sirens going off and looking out our backyard and seeing that god awful pea green color in the clouds, we were just west of the old MA-HU mansion and the tornados had lifted from Brookside and then touched down again around 21st and Garnett. The Dec 5th storm I saw the funnel come down on the Plaza 3 center area from the field of the old mansion. I remember the fact that it was white until it touched down. That day was bad to begin with, IIRC it was cold in the morning, but buy the late afternoon it was spring like.
We used to play around MA-HU a lot. Back when they were still alive and living there. Hugh kept longhorn cattle and we would make a game out of going into the pasture as far as possible, then running when the cow came towards us. Of course, the biggest idiot (who got closest to the cow) was the winner.
There was a little pond at the southwest corner with a concrete building (pump house??) nearby. The urban myth was that alligators lived in the pond.
I attended the fire when the old barn burned, singeing a couple of those houses just north. That was impressive, but sad.
They used to give out silver dollars at Halloween there.
Shame they wasted that wonderful tract of land with that sorry little housing addition...
This is some funny crap right here!...LOL!
Busting into a TV show for weather hype is uncalled for and dangerous, the steady crying wolf by TV weathermen every time a dark cloud passes by will make people tune out. Here's my idea- Break into a show for 15-30 seconds and anounce the weather problem and then tell the viewers go to station 2.2, or 6.2 or 8.2 for more info & details if you wish. There is no call to keep crying wolf and telling people run to their tornado shelters if you live at such & such a place, or keep showing weather maps and radar all night long. This goes not for tornados, but for spring rain clouds, spring thunderstorms and winter snow or snow storms. They did alot of hype for a coming 6" of snow and Tulsa only ot a dusting one weekend in January... 30 years ago we did not have have all this weather hype about storms and we got along fine and lived thru it. In Cincinatti Ohio it got so bad that people started to call snow "white death" because the weathermen went so bonkers- and it's even on google, "white death cincinatti Ohio"- It's out of control.
Quote from: sauerkraut on May 22, 2010, 10:14:44 AM
Busting into a TV show for weather hype is uncalled for and dangerous, the steady crying wolf by TV weathermen every time a dark cloud passes by will make people tune out. Here's my idea- Break into a show for 15-30 seconds and anounce the weather problem and then tell the viewers go to station 2.2, or 6.2 or 8.2 for more info & details if you wish. There is no call to keep crying wolf and telling people run to their tornado shelters if you live at such & such a place, or keep showing weather maps and radar all night long. This goes not for tornados, but for spring rain clouds, spring thunderstorms and winter snow or snow storms. They did alot of hype for a coming 6" of snow and Tulsa only ot a dusting one weekend in January... 30 years ago we did not have have all this weather hype about storms and we got along fine and lived thru it. In Cincinatti Ohio it got so bad that people started to call snow "white death" because the weathermen went so bonkers- and it's even on google, "white death cincinatti Ohio"- It's out of control.
Good thing you're not providing that service, non-res...
Oh, and thirty years ago, we didn't have the technology for meteorology we do now.
Oh, but I am talking to a dude who is perfectly content on watching the news on his 13" portable Zenith TV...
::)
Quote from: Hoss on May 22, 2010, 10:29:29 AM
Good thing you're not providing that service, non-res...
Oh, and thirty years ago, we didn't have the technology for meteorology we do now.
Oh, but I am talking to a dude who is perfectly content on watching the news on his 13" portable Zenith TV...
::)
Black and White no less..... ;D
Quote from: Breadburner on May 22, 2010, 11:33:41 AM
Black and White no less..... ;D
No, I'll give him the color part, BB.
He does 'claim' to live in Tulsa, dontcha know..
Living in Arizona for the last twelve years it's interesting the number of people that I have met that have never heard the storm siren let alone the attack siren, and the fact that as I have traveled all over the state in the last 12 years, the only place that I have seen a CD Siren was at the Titan Missile Museum and the only time it would sound was if they were going to launch.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/Tombstone085.jpg)
Quote from: dbacks fan on May 25, 2010, 03:39:29 AM
Living in Arizona for the last twelve years it's interesting the number of people that I have met that have never heard the storm siren let alone the attack siren, and the fact that as I have traveled all over the state in the last 12 years, the only place that I have seen a CD Siren was at the Titan Missile Museum and the only time it would sound was if they were going to launch.
They use them to call in volunteer firefighters in rural parts of Pennsylvania. I was at an antique motorcycle show in Oley, Pa (near Reading) about 9-10 years ago and it was a pretty dark, coudy day. I heard the sirens go off and started looking in every direction. I was talking to a local at the time and he asked what was wrong, I told him I was trying to see where the wall cloud was, he just laughed and said someone probably had a lame cow on the road or trash can fire and they were calling in the VFD.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 25, 2010, 09:13:31 AM
They use them to call in volunteer firefighters in rural parts of Pennsylvania. I was at an antique motorcycle show in Oley, Pa (near Reading) about 9-10 years ago and it was a pretty dark, coudy day. I heard the sirens go off and started looking in every direction. I was talking to a local at the time and he asked what was wrong, I told him I was trying to see where the wall cloud was, he just laughed and said someone probably had a lame cow on the road or trash can fire and they were calling in the VFD.
Would much rather hear them for a storm, or your description then what was possible to come out of Little Rock or Kansas in the 70's and 80's.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/Tombstone111.jpg)
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/Tombstone117.jpg)
The second pic is the former Mrs. Dback and myself standing infront of a deactivated warhead from a Titan II. The kid in the background, no idea who he is.
Quote from: dbacks fan on May 25, 2010, 10:05:09 AM
The kid in the background, no idea who he is.
Little ratbastard is a nuclear photo-bomber
Quote from: Hoss on May 14, 2010, 10:40:00 AM
I wish someone would make or maybe already has made a map of the locations of each of the sirens in Tulsa. I remember seeing one of the old 1000Ts when I went to elementary school (it was actually located on the property line between Lindbergh Elementary and Eastwood Church) but don't see one there anymore.
The city's map. You can look up the number of the malfunctioning siren and call it into the MAC.
Quote from: patric on May 25, 2010, 12:13:29 PM
The city's map. You can look up the number of the malfunctioning siren and call it into the MAC.
I found it...KTUL did a story and had this map. The sirens at Mitchell and Lindbergh (which they moved from when they had the old 1000 which used to be situated in the eave between Lindbergh property and Eastwood property) are the closest and both look to be Whelen 3016. The one at McClure died of a lightning strike evidently, and it's one of the new 2910s that cost an arm and a leg.
Quote from: dbacks fan on May 25, 2010, 03:39:29 AM
Living in Arizona for the last twelve years it's interesting the number of people that I have met that have never heard the storm siren let alone the attack siren, and the fact that as I have traveled all over the state in the last 12 years, the only place that I have seen a CD Siren was at the Titan Missile Museum and the only time it would sound was if they were going to launch.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/Tombstone085.jpg)
Interesting you brought that up, Anthony Bourdain had a segment on his show last night from that museum.
Here's interesting background on a missile silo once owned by Todd Skinner of Tulsa in Wamego, Ks. The story got the attention of Rolling Stone Mag. He was the self-proclaimed king of LSD.
http://cjonline.com/indepth/missilesilos/
Quote from: Hoss on May 25, 2010, 12:20:03 PM
I found it...KTUL did a story and had this map. The sirens at Mitchell and Lindbergh (which they moved from when they had the old 1000 which used to be situated in the eave between Lindbergh property and Eastwood property) are the closest and both look to be Whelen 3016. The one at McClure died of a lightning strike evidently, and it's one of the new 2910s that cost an arm and a leg.
It's unfortunate that we are moving from the rotating sirens to the omni-directional sirens. The rotating sirens had the advantage of greater range for less power, and the distinction of rising/falling amplitude when the siren was pointed at you then away from you helped you distinguish it from other background noises.
That stack of ten cells (platters?) on the new WPS2910 looks like it wouldnt withstand Oklahoma's straightwinds.
The tone is the low, building-penetrating tone like the "newer" 4-trumpet Whelen 4000's (that I last heard we were converting everything to, what happened to that?)
;D And it's bilingual for our non-English speaking guests ;D
Quote from: patric on May 25, 2010, 03:04:03 PM
It's unfortunate that we are moving from the rotating sirens to the omni-directional sirens. The rotating sirens had the advantage of greater range for less power, and the distinction of rising/falling amplitude when the siren was pointed at you then away from you helped you distinguish it from other background noises.
That stack of ten cells (platters?) on the new WPS2910 looks like it wouldnt withstand Oklahoma's straightwinds.
Wonder what the tone is, higher like the early Whelen 3016's or lower, building-penetrating tones like the much smaller 4-trumpet 4000's (which I last heard we were converting everything to) ?
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x40/bloo96/091106-F-4321F-303.jpg)
All the Whelens regardless of model though have different modes. When I get home I'll post links to videos of a guy who owns (yes owns) a 3016 horn with the rotator and controller. He set it off in his garage. I bet the neighbors liked him that day (although I think he reduced the power so it wouldn't be so loud). Some of the modes actually do the rise/fall sound and could emulate the ones that rotate.
And the sound? It's lower, like the 4000s. Do a search on youtube for whelen 2900; you'll find a few.
Most of the 3016s here in town are set on dual-tone. That's why they sound so creepy when they're active.
(Please do not adjust your set, I was updating my post while Hoss was replying...)
Looking forward to your garage test link. I, on the other hand, would almost kill for a Thunderbolt 1000T chopper assembly...
Sorry for geeking out, folks.
Quote from: patric on May 25, 2010, 03:19:29 PM
(Please do not adjust your set, I was updating my post while Hoss was replying...)
Looking forward to your garage test link. I, on the other hand, would almost kill for a Thunderbolt 1000T chopper assembly...
Sorry for geeking out, folks.
I've seen that video, the funny thing is you never realise how big the thing is until you see it in his garage.
For an interesting comparison here is the siren map of Dallas from 1974. The thing that I noticed most was how much smaller Dallas was then as compared to now. Belt Line look to be the outer reaches.
http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/dallas/eopscans/SirenMap1.jpg (http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/dallas/eopscans/SirenMap1.jpg)
Quote from: patric on May 25, 2010, 03:19:29 PM
(Please do not adjust your set, I was updating my post while Hoss was replying...)
Looking forward to your garage test link. I, on the other hand, would almost kill for a Thunderbolt 1000T chopper assembly...
Sorry for geeking out, folks.
OK, here goes..this first set is the assembly, but most of Tulsa's 3016s are dual tone. I'll post another set in another post.
Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren Rotation outside my garage
Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Whoop Signal
Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Air Horn Signal
Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute High-Low Signal (our flood warning alert)
Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Attack Signal
Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Alert Signal (this one is more familiar, except this guy has a single-tone, not a dual tone).
Now, just the sounds with the cells and not the horn (and only the sounds that Tulsa hears):
This is from a 3002 (essentially a 3016):
Alert tone (for tornadoes):
High-low (for floods):
I thought you were talking about this one.
My computer did not like it when I played them all at once.....
Quote from: Breadburner on May 25, 2010, 07:17:08 PM
My computer did not like it when I played them all at once.....
Lol my dog liked it even less. And I thought I would be the only one brilliant (stupid) enough to do that.
Quote from: dbacks fan on May 25, 2010, 06:22:57 PM
I thought you were talking about this one.
A blanket in the siren????
Quote from: Conan71 on May 25, 2010, 09:13:31 AM
They use them to call in volunteer firefighters in rural parts of Pennsylvania.
Many places did use the sirens to call the firemen. The town where I grew up (no snide remarks) and was a volunteer fireman used air horns located about town to call us for a fire. They were easier to make a separate signal for a structure for field fire in the 60s and didn't scare the general population. We could leave school, except during a test, for a structure fire but the FD had to call the school if they needed help for a field fire.
Edit:
I almost forgot... We also had "alert radios" at home that were quiet until the alert tone tripped them to the voice on mode. Then you could hear the entire dispatch and your family could listen to all the talk on the fire frequency. Just push reset for quiet until the next call. The radio was actually on all the time.
I'm not believing this - it has been hours since we had a tornado!!
Whew!!
Quote from: Red Arrow on May 25, 2010, 08:14:39 PM
A blanket in the siren????
I think it was an attempt to mute the sound some. There is another video of this one being tested and they put the blanket in and as soon as it got to full song it blew the blanket out.
Quote from: dbacks fan on May 25, 2010, 05:58:35 PM
For an interesting comparison here is the siren map of Dallas from 1974. The thing that I noticed most was how much smaller Dallas was then as compared to now. Belt Line look to be the outer reaches.
http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/dallas/eopscans/SirenMap1.jpg (http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/dallas/eopscans/SirenMap1.jpg)
Indeed, Dallas really grew, you can even see the difference from the opening shots of the "Dallas" TV show that was filmed in 1979 thru the 1980's. The 1979 shots show the Dallas skyline as rather small and no really tall skyscrapers- Today Dallas is a world class city, actually Dallas & Fort Worth are one huge jumbo sized city, all tied together under the name "MetroPlex".
Quote from: sauerkraut on June 01, 2010, 06:06:05 PM
Indeed, Dallas really grew, you can even see the difference from the opening shots of the "Dallas" TV show that was filmed in 1979 thru the 1980's. The 1979 shots show the Dallas skyline as rather small and no really tall skyscrapers- Today Dallas is a world class city, actually Dallas & Fort Worth are one huge jumbo sized city, all tied together under the name "MetroPlex".
Yep, rolls off the tongue better than 'T-Towne'...
::)
Nothing wrong with nick-names, look at the business white pages of the Tulsa phone book and see all the comapnies that call themselfs "T-Town" this and "T-Town" that- theres a big list of 'em. Dallas is nicknamed "The Big D" Fort Worth is offten called "CowTown". :o
Quote from: Hoss on May 14, 2010, 01:09:30 AM
Like this?:
I noticed on a bike ride Saturday morning that Norman still has at least two of these in service, or at least looking as if they are in service. One is outside the high school baseball stadium and the other I saw somewhere on the east side of Norman. If anyone has hopes of owning one some day you might pay attention to government surplus auctions.