Tornado (ca. 1955)

[Music] [Music] oh come on and drink your coffee Jesse you've been standing there for half an hour could you bring it over here Helen I've got to keep an eye on these clouds the least you can do is sit down thanks Helen we got to keep watching the southwest side which where most of them come from you think it's likely no the odds are way against it even in weather like this I've never seen one but there's always a chance whether Bureau wouldn't issue a tornado alert without some good reason [Music] Operator Operator this is an emergency call I want the elmville weather bureau main 2100 this is brummet Mr Powell tornado about a mile east of the wion puming station moving fast Your Way Northeast yes the bottom is touching the [Music] ground yes that day elmville was struck by a tornado most violent type of storm on Earth normally we can expect about 180 tornadoes each year in the United States they can occur anywhere in the nation however the greatest number occur in the flat land areas east of the Rocky Mountains each individual tornado is a violent local vortex in the atmosphere the tornado's parent is a thundercloud and the vortex suddenly descends to rotate wildly along the Earth in an upward spiraling motion the funnel consists of air and moisture to which dust mud and debris are added by the inrushing winds estimated to be rotating at speeds as high as 500 mph tornadoes are usually funnel-shaped although they may take the form of a rope an elephant trunk or a column although its sweep is is generally only about 400 yd wide and up to 16 M long a tornado's destructive power is appalling strong buildings are reduced to Rubble automobiles lifted and flung through the air great trees Whirled about like topick the creation of a partial vacuum within the vortex can cause buildings literally to explode when the funnel passes close to them no one knows all the facts about tornadoes but meteorologists can detect the thunderstorm conditions that give birth to them the presence of layers of air of contrasting temperature moisture density and wind flow such combinations of conditions May generate a tornado usually this does not happen but when the clouds become unusually threatening it is wise to take every possible precaution that calls for for warning and it is the responsibility of the United States weather bureau to provide the public with information regarding the possibility of severe local storms including tornadoes such advanced notice can save many lives and even help reduce property damage to forecast the development of dangerous conditions the weather bureau has established the severe local storm warning center at Kansas City the staff which mans this office specializes in forecasting storm conditions not only for the Kansas City area but for all parts of the country local conditions on which these men base their predictions are fed into the center constantly by thousands of observation posts across the continent from local weather bureau offices come reports of surface weather conditions upper air conditions which may be very different from those on the ground are checked by weather balloons radar stations scan cloud formations at varying altitudes to detect dense moisture patterns the beginning of bad weather as a rule specially equipped Air Force and navy weather reconnaissance planes fly far beyond the Continental limits to secure information on incoming [Music] weather all of these observations are funneled into the Kansas City Center along with Nationwide weather charts prepared at the bureau's analysis Center in Washington and transmitted by faximile piecing together all this information the staff prepares a detailed analysis of areas in which violent Squall lines hail storms and other dangerous weather conditions are likely to occur where a tornado May develop but to see it if it actually does develop the weather bureau needs the help of the other vital Link in the network the volunteer Observer group in elmville for example the head of the local weather bureau had organized an observer Network 2 years before the tornado struck the first purpose of the Observer Corp was to spot actual tornado clouds and advise the weather bureau of their location and movement another aim was to inform the public about safe behavior during storms about avoiding false rumors and panic in the elmville network trained observers were stationed about 2 mi apart with the heaviest concentration Southwest of the city all were pledged to watch any questionable weather to report promptly to the weather bureau any dangerous looking storms one of them was Jesse Brum whose Farm was located Southwest of elmville one warm muggy Day in May the forecasters in the Kansas City Center became concerned about conditions in an area to the Southwest these men have a heavy responsibility they cannot needlessly alarm the public but when loss of life may be possible their duty is clear in this case they felt that severe storm activity might be expected to the Southwest in an area 160 m long and 80 Mi wide the weather bureau office responsible for Distributing warnings in that area was elmville the district forecaster in Kansas City immediately called the elmville weather bureau and I think that there will probably be several of them in your area before the afternoon 50 West of laon North Eastwood look like it be running here area pretty warm let me get that out on the radio right away a severe weather forecast was issued for the elmville area all public Outlets were advised police radio and television stations and news networks and the elmville Observer network was alerted this was not a tornado warning its purpose was merely to alert the public to the possibility of a tornado occurring somewhere in the elmville area we interrupt this newscast to bring you this severe weather forecast issued by the United States weather bureau at elmville there are indications that locally severe thunderstorms were Southward back to the West border of WBY within this area and the public reacted calmly they had learned from the Network's Information Program that this alert meant only that storm conditions existed that no tornado had yet developed they knew knew that experienced observers were at their stations watching that if and when a tornado developed they would be warned so they went about their business as usual except that practically every radio and TV set in the area was turned on mid-afternoon towering thunderheads had appeared with a sickly greenish black color on Jesse brummitt's Farm a heavy rain was fallen and he came indoors to watch from his kitchen then at [Music] 3:26 this brumm Mr Powell tornado about a mile east of wind pumping station a mile east of went pumping station looks like a bad one okay we'll take it from there this was it rum's call gave elmville nearly 30 minutes to get ready Powell and his assistants issued an immediate tornado warning to all communities in the path of the storm [Music] 30 minutes is coming in your toward your community would you spread the warning please the exact location of the tornado was flashed to the nearest radar station which began to track [Music] it what they saw were Echoes from a number of storms over a radius of many miles but most important The Peculiar s-shaped echo of the tornado cloud rmet had spotted now they could follow its path and Report any change of speed or Direction meanwhile warned by television radio and telephone the public followed tornado safety rules those with storm cellers had the best protection people in Open Country sought ditches or Ravines lying flat in a depression will guard against one of the greatest hazards flying debris as deadly as shrapnel in homes doors and windows on the North and East sides were opened to help reduce damage to the [Music] buildings families took shelter in the southwest corner of their homes in basement if they had [Music] them in apartments Office Buildings and factories people move to pre-arranged positions against inside walls on the lower floors and in schools because of practice drills the pupils went to their assigned places on the lower floors away from Windows and large roof [Music] areas within minutes the people of elmville had taken shelter there was no Panic for this was an informed community [Music] 5 minutes later the tornado roared into the city then it was gone as suddenly as it came the whim shifted and the air cleared over a scene of Devastation property damage total millions of dollars but no lives were lost and there were few injuries without the weather bureau warning without the local storm warning Network without the calm cooperation of an informed public the toll might have been tragically High nothing can prevent a tornado or any other storm but the United States weather bureau is predicting their approach with ever increasing accuracy a large part of the tornado safety program is in the hands of the public every community in an area subject to these storms should have an active local warning network if you live in such an area support your local network if you don't have one start one the nearest weather bureau office will furnish detailed information and assistance such self-reliance May save the lives of your family your friends and your neighbors if you are ever in the path of a tornado