Remembering the May 8th, 2003 Tornado Outbreak (credit: NWS Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

DISCUSSION: A little over 14 years ago today, areas both in and around Oklahoma City, Oklahoma experienced one of the more historic and scary days in United States weather history. This convective highlight of this day consisted of an F4 tornado which struck the city of Moore, Oklahoma and other adjacent cities/towns.  Attached below are some neat insights from this and other related major tornado events from the greater central Oklahoma region.  Aside from the detailed insights attached below, you can learn more about this major tornado event at the following link.

"Two tornadic supercells produced four tornadoes during the afternoon hours of May 8, 2003. These thunderstorms developed near and along a strong dryline which was located across central Oklahoma. One supercell produced three tornadoes that affected Moore, southern Oklahoma City, Midwest City, and Choctaw. A few locations in Moore and southeast Oklahoma City had also been hit by an F5 tornado that moved through the area on May 3, 1999. The General Motors Plant in southeast Oklahoma City sustained some of the most significant damage. Another supercell went on to produce a weak tornado near the town of Red Rock in Noble County, and an F3 tornado in Osage County in the NWS Tulsa forecast area.

This event was the second tornadic event of the day. Several tornadoes moved across south central Oklahoma during the early morning hours of May 8th. This event was also the first of two days in a row where the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area was affected by tornadoes. Several tornadoes, including an F3 tornado, hit the northern parts of the metro area on May 9, 2003. This event occurred during a very active severe weather period in the United States during the first half of May 2003. More than a dozen tornadoes struck the U.S. each day from May 3-11, 2003."

To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz