Everybodys in the chat (Including Venture) if anybody else wants to join.

Link to the chat room please?

Link to the chat room please?

Weather Spotlight - Live Chat Room for Weather Event Coverage (http://weatherspotlight.com/chat.html)

Link to the chat room please?

Weather Spotlight - Live Chat Room for Weather Event Coverage (http://www.weatherspotlight.com/chat.html)

Link to the chat room please?

Here you go...

Weather Spotlight - Live Chat Room for Weather Event Coverage (http://www.weatherspotlight.com/chat.html)

"Bring on the naders!!
You are a sad human being.

You may want to re-read his post. You just called his son of indeterminate age a sad human being.

You may want to re-read his post. You just called his son of indeterminate age a sad human being.

Whoever said it is a sad human being. End of discussion.

Whoever said it is a sad human being. End of discussion.

A 6 to 12 year old boy isn't quite equipped to understand all the ins and outs of destruction and why it's not desirable. At this point he's in awe of mother nature and not so infatured with humanity.

"Bring on the naders!!
You are a sad human being.

That sad human being was my tween son chanting because he got out of detention....You are a bit uptight...And thanks to the others for getting the 13 year old sense of humor...he wasnt wishing anything on anyone.......

Signed, pissed off Mom. and storm victim from Piedmont tornado....so if my son can get it, you should to.......what an uptight troll. Now, end of discussion.

so with okc still being cloudy does that help us out with the tornado risk?

Tornado watch just issued for the eastern half of Kansas. Wichita State University is closing early. In northwest Oklahoma a line of storms have started.

so with okc still being cloudy does that help us out with the tornado risk?

scroll up

PDS Tornado watch will be issued

see it

scroll up

thanks for the reply, to much non weather gossip on this thread recently I missed reading that weather related post

see it

Tornado watch until midnight:

http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/png/oun.png

It really is amazing the hype that is produced.

So today, people were fleeing downtown at 3PM like a tsunami was on their heels.

Then, my vet called to say they couldn't honor a 5PM appointment because they were shutting down, and just about every school and social event is cancelled tonight.

Is this common now every time there is a threat of severe weather that is still hours and hours out? (this is my first storm season here in 25 years)

Driving along May & Memorial and the area is almost deserted. Mall parking lot is mostly empty, handful of cars at restaurants, no traffic at all during rush hour.

What's the Severe Storm version of "gotta get bread and milk"?

What's the Severe Storm version of "gotta get bread and milk"?

Seems to be: Leave work 9 hours before the first sprinkle and close everything down like a category 5 hurricane is at your doorstep.

This has definitely felt extreme, especially with no imminent threat. My coworker had to leave work in the middle of the day because her vet decided to close at 2 pm.

It's not normal by my reckoning. But, this had six days to stew on the interwebs and what not. I've been at several establishments this afternoon where employees are lobbying to close early. So they can go to the bar. However, more seriously, Moore 2013 changed things with kids lost at school. People in charge are making decisions out of an abundance of caution. I've got a feeling that this is going to be a trend, and in this case a poorly considered one.

I imagine that the fact that many schools have an abundance of leftover snow days isn't helping either.

The problem is that nobody knows with enough lead time exactly when the storms are going to hit.
There have been many instances when streets and highways were basically shut down due to congestion when everybody waited to leave at the same time.
Getting caught in a car when you can’t go anywhere is to be avoided at all cost and that has happened to thousands of people.

This is why for several years I have made all my appointments in the late AM in the months of April and May.

I wonder if next time people won't take it as seriously.

But today was really crazy. About 3:00 when we went to get the kiddo from school, we passed a gas station that's normally only got a car or two at a time. This afternoon, every single pump was full.

Storm going up fast near Chickasha moving NNE.
It’s isolated and needs to be watched!

There is an isolated developing storm east of Lawton that could make the metro if it holds together

So today, people were fleeing downtown at 3PM like a tsunami was on their heels.

Then, my vet called to say they couldn't honor a 5PM appointment because they were shutting down, and just about every school and social event is cancelled tonight.

Is this common now every time there is a threat of severe weather that is still hours and hours out? (this is my first storm season here in 25 years)

It wasn't common until about two or three years ago. I think it's the new normal now, however. I think lives lost in an elementary school plus the repeated hits in Moore have taken a toll and have led to a wholesale shift in attitudes toward a storm forecast. Unheard of when I was a kid, even in to my thirties/forties....but now...closing down early, altering schedules, schools closing...I think that's the new normal. You never had school districts working as closely with the NWS people like they are now.

Developing hook south of Norman

Pds t watch doesn't happen that often.

If the choice is over caution vs more dead kids? I'll take over caution. I think so many folks have been personally affected by recent storms, or know someone who was, that this is the new normal.

If the choice is over caution vs more dead kids? I'll take over caution. I think so many folks have been personally affected by recent storms, or know someone who was, that this is the new normal.
Amen!

And Mike Morgan literally just said " If it walks like duck, and talks like a duck, then it's a duck, and this is a tornado"

Moore changed things recently speaking. I've noticed ever since that big one hit Moore (and Joplin before then) and Plaza Towers (?) Elementary was destroyed that precuation is practiced in the utmost. The weathermen don't want blood on their hands so everything is hyped up. I use that last term loosely.

Moore changed things recently speaking. I've noticed ever since that big one hit Moore (and Joplin before then) and Plaza Towers (?) Elementary was destroyed that precuation is practiced in the utmost. The weathermen don't want blood on their hands so everything is hyped up. I use that last term loosely.

I know I wasn't near as intimidated by severe weather before the 2013 season. That year really changed a lot of people's perspectives on it.

If the choice is over caution vs more dead kids? I'll take over caution. I think so many folks have been personally affected by recent storms, or know someone who was, that this is the new normal.

Oh come on. So every time it looks like it's going to storm, schools should close for the day?

There was almost definitely a small tornado along the leading edge of the convection as it moved through NE OK into east Edmond/Arcadia/Luther area, with debris signatures showing up on radar. There had also been a very tiny and brief circulation NE of Mustang (that went on to produce the Luther tor). Will be interesting to see any damage assessment in the next few days... as the circulation was concurrent with 60-80+ mph winds that swept through parts of Bethany and N OKC.

Oh come on. So every time it looks like it's going to storm, schools should close for the day?

yes, that's what I said. eye roll.

I think Oklahoma, especially central Oklahoma, is still trying to find a happy medium between being cautious and being overly dramatic after 2013. The media definitely hasn't found it yet.

Better safe than sorry though, I guess.

I think Oklahoma, especially central Oklahoma, is still trying to find a happy medium between being cautious and being overly dramatic after 2013. The media definitely hasn't found it yet.

Better safe than sorry though, I guess.

Yep, it's officially ridiculous. I understand the difficulty of forecasting these events and the need to be cautious, but we're now on the extreme end of the spectrum, where we're expected to live in near constant fear of disaster. It's an absurd way to live. We need to get back to the happy medium and stop thinking every event will be a Moore EF-5 or even close to it.

I mean gosh, one school district used an available snow day, and a few evening events were cancelled. a few folks got of an hour or so early too!! The horror!

Honestly, if a few folks getting an extra hour off of work on a day where there were multiple tornadoes, hail, high winds, and storm, is an "overreaction", I'll take it.

The NAM paints a nasty picture for Friday, however the GFS and the Euro disagree and say most of the severe weather potential stays in Texas. So as Friday gets closer it'll become more clear(although today certainly never got very clear)

Anon should update sometime tomorrow with his thoughts.

I don't think closing schools and/or work in preparation for extreme weather is a bad thing. As long as it doesn't become too common, which I don't think it will.

Yep, it's officially ridiculous. I understand the difficulty of forecasting these events and the need to be cautious, but we're now on the extreme end of the spectrum, where we're expected to live in near constant fear of disaster. It's an absurd way to live. We need to get back to the happy medium and stop thinking every event will be a Moore EF-5 or even close to it.

No joke! Yesterday was another perfect example of doom and gloom "expectancy" going wrong again! PDS my butt... more like Probable Dud System.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it spun up baby tornados and what not but, seriously, shutting down schools for subpar EF2 spinups? Oklahomans be like, "I gots the fear of God Almighty in me!" SMH...

The NAM paints a nasty picture for Friday, however the GFS and the Euro disagree and say most of the severe weather potential stays in Texas. So as Friday gets closer it'll become more clear(although today certainly never got very clear)

Anon should update sometime tomorrow with his thoughts.

Right now, SPC seems to still think Friday's storms will be concentrated in southwestern Oklahoma and north Texas. The local stations right now seem to be more focused on that as a heavy rain w/ some severe event for central Oklahoma.

Aaron Tuttle, who downplayed the hype for yesterday's storms, is saying the opposite and that Friday is really a day to worry about for the OKC area. To be fair, there were many different versions of the forecast for yesterday and none of them got it very close in terms of how it actually played out.

When we were kids, we used to sit up on the roof and watch the storms come in, and get down when we absolutely had to. We weren't scared of the weather like folks are being brought up today are.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it spun up baby tornados and what not but, seriously, shutting down schools for subpar EF2 spinups?


IKR? And for storms that happened at 8PM, too! Ridiculous! Heads should roll for this!

Of course, I suspect you might be taking a slightly different direction had the storms hit at 3PM...

So today, people were fleeing downtown at 3PM like a tsunami was on their heels.

Then, my vet called to say they couldn't honor a 5PM appointment because they were shutting down, and just about every school and social event is cancelled tonight.

Is this common now every time there is a threat of severe weather that is still hours and hours out? (this is my first storm season here in 25 years)

I sure hope so... It was nice leaving my office at 5:17, to go home to mow my yard, and there were only a handful of cars on the streets.... Almost looked like a ghost town driving home..... ;)

But seriously, personally I think there was a whole lot of over-reaction to this event. I understand, and appreciate, the need to be safe during inclement weather but yesterday just seemed a little ridiculous to me.

My office was let out at 4:30. I stayed until after 5 PM dealing with an IT issue on one of the partners computers and still made it home in time to mow, edge, and weed eat my yard, and I did all that just by watching the radar on Mesonet to see where things were firing up.

My biggest concern is that eventually people will build up a tolerance to this new brand of "The Sky is Falling!" forecasting mentality and stop paying attention all together.

There was almost definitely a small tornado along the leading edge of the convection as it moved through NE OK into east Edmond/Arcadia/Luther area, with debris signatures showing up on radar. There had also been a very tiny and brief circulation NE of Mustang (that went on to produce the Luther tor). Will be interesting to see any damage assessment in the next few days... as the circulation was concurrent with 60-80+ mph winds that swept through parts of Bethany and N OKC.

This morning I saw an entire back fence and at least one section of the side fence were blown over last night near NW 178th & May. This was common-area fencing and heavier duty than the fences around backyards. I also saw one broken telephone pole and some damage to the fencing along May at the golf course there at NW 178th. I assume this was all due to straight line winds.

My biggest concern is that eventually people will build up a tolerance to this new brand of "The Sky is Falling!" forecasting mentality and stop paying attention all together.

But who said the sky is falling? The meteorologists I follow all said, in essence: "things could be bad, just be prepared." I think people's definition of "be prepared" has changed greatly. I don't think its the forecaster's faults, I feel sorry for all of them and the vitriol they're receiving for reactions that were not in their control.

But who said the sky is falling? The meteorologists I follow all said, in essence: "things could be bad, just be prepared." I think people's definition of "be prepared" has changed greatly. I don't think its the forecaster's faults, I feel sorry for all of them and the vitriol they're receiving for reactions that were not in their control.

Something triggered the mass exodus that took place in OKC yesterday.... I don't ever recall seeing so many extreme cautionary measures being used in this city prior to a severe weather event.

And if you look back about a week ago in this thread you will see several posts about Mike Morgan hyping this weather system.

But I do agree with you that peoples definition of "be prepared" has become skewed.

Seems to me that if there was one region that would be able to handle this better, it would be here. It would be like cities up north closing everything down due to a couple of inches of snow.

But who said the sky is falling? The meteorologists I follow all said, in essence: "things could be bad, just be prepared." I think people's definition of "be prepared" has changed greatly. I don't think its the forecaster's faults, I feel sorry for all of them and the vitriol they're receiving for reactions that were not in their control.

Agreed completely, cafe.

But I do agree with you that peoples definition of "be prepared" has become skewed.

Yep. We're getting off the track of "April 2016" weather here, but the same applies to winter storms in OK as of late. What's changing that is causing people to react differently now?

Might be a topic for a new thread if we want to leave this one for April-specific weather...

Most of this discussion should go into the Oklahoma Media Coverage (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Island:36970) thread.

Looking ahead now, there is a similar system coming through on Friday. This one looks to be not as complex as Tuesday's setup, but still pretty hairy to forecast.

Right now it looks like triple point type of setup in W OK or maybe as far west as eastern TX PH. Moisture return will have a lot to do with quality of cells, but it bears watching the next few days as the event is only about 60 hours out.

But who said the sky is falling? The meteorologists I follow all said, in essence: "things could be bad, just be prepared." I think people's definition of "be prepared" has changed greatly. I don't think its the forecaster's faults, I feel sorry for all of them and the vitriol they're receiving for reactions that were not in their control.

That is what I took out of the forecast. The only change I made to my routine was parking my car in the garage before the storms rolled in. It was the public reaction to their forecasts that was on the extreme end of this, not the forecasts themselves. I didn't hear a meteorologist say anything other than, "be weather aware", there will be a potential for large hail, damaging winds, and some strong tornados, have a severe weather plan for wherever you will be between 3 PM - 11 PM, and if the weather gets bad...stay off the roads. I think bitching at the meteorologists is pretty stupid when all they did was identify and warn the public of a potentially dangerous situation. I would much rather them give us a stern early warning of potentially violent weather events, then go on like everything's normal until it hits. We are lucky that it turned into a few isolated tornadoes, small hail and straight line winds. It had all the ingredients to be much worse.

Just goes to show how you shouldn't freak out about a model forecasting an outbreak 1 week from when that model came out. Funny thing is that two or three days before the event, models were forecasting unfavorable wind shear for tornadoes. Of course the mainstream media didn't really point this out, they were still trying to "wishcast" the event into something bigger. If you know how to read computer models or follow people people outside of mainstream media than your probably not surprised that yesterday was a bust.

Of course, there was a chance it could have turned out to be a bigger day, but the chances were always greater that it was going to be a bust when it came to tornadoes. You could tell the SPC was hedging their bets in outlook discussions. They can get away with no consequences for a bust forecast where nothing happens(as long as it doesn't happen all the time). It would only take one bust forecast where something major happens for there to be major political consequences.

People just don't know how to put things into prospective. They want a black and white answer which you simply can't do.

Steering the discussion back to April, rather than general weather...

The vibe I'm picking up seems to be along the lines of "Why all the panic for just a little rain?". However, I don't think this is accurate, so I hope I'm just interpreting it wrong. The forecast was not for rain, the forecast was for "storms with the potential to eff you up...BAD". I invite anyone who truly believes nothing happened to head to SW 44th and Morgan Road (to pick one example) and volunteer to help clean up. Drive carefully though, the road is closed due to trees and power lines being down.

Nobody died. GREAT!!!! How many people have to die for a warning to be warranted, as opposed to "panic for panic's sake"? I said it earlier, I'll say it again, if what happened between 8PM-9PM happened between 2PM-3PM, every single one of you would be singing a different song.

You want panic for panic's sake? Mike Morgan telling people to drive south, heading directly into the path of the storm. You want a completely appropriate warning? Last night, when they were telling people to stay inside, don't go out trying to watch.

The timing was a bit off, but when they originally forecasted the storms to enter the west metro at 5pm, that's what everyone was basing decisions on. I let my folks go a little early yesterday, if those storms that rolled through at 8pm had hit at 5pm, it wasn't worth having my folks trying to drive home in that crap.

If the choice is over caution vs more dead kids? I'll take over caution. I think so many folks have been personally affected by recent storms, or know someone who was, that this is the new normal.

To a large extent I agree, but the long term solution really shouldn't be to send them home. It should be to make the schools the safest place they could be. The thing is that for a lot of these kids, sending them home isn't making them safer, it's just shedding the liability from the school districts. If it's the kids' safety we are really concerned about, sending a bunch of them to homes that are no better equipped to handle winds above 150mph than our schools are and where there may not be any adult supervision at all is really not a very good solution.

Of course, making the schools the safest place for our kids to be would be a long and expensive undertaking that would take raising revenue and we can't really seem to find a way to do that for anything at this point.

Anybody know why it took so long to TOR warn the storm that came through Oklahoma county? It was producing numerous weak spin ups. Of course they aren't strong tornadoes, but anybody outside or in a mobile home needed to be prepared.