Playing with Data

Personal Views Expressed in Data

Tornado Emergencies: The Map

Below is a map of all tornado emergencies issued since 1999. Keeping with my definition of a tornado emergency, the polygons plotted are the polygon described by the “LAT…LON” tag at the bottom of either a) the first severe weather statement (SVS) that contained the “Tornado Emergency” phrase, or, if no “LAT…LON” tag was present in the SVS, b) the parent tornado warning (TOR). If the “LAT…LON” tag was not present in either the SVS or the TOR, I used the county listed in the original TOR. This only happens 3 times: Ochiltree County, TX (2000); Johnson and Marion County, IN (2002); and Hancock County, IN (2002).

I’ve done more analysis, but will save that for later.

And, since I know I’ll be asked, here is the same map but without 2011.

The List of Tornado Emergencies

UPDATE: 17 NOV 11 (1300 UTC) There was an error in some of the duration times. I have fixed this error in the updated list below.

I’ve gone ahead and put together a list of all the tornado emergency occurrences…sort of.

The tornado emergency is a non-standard product that can be issued in several ways. This makes searching for the first issuance of a tornado emergency a bit of a programming challenge. Furthermore, a tornado emergency doesn’t have a defined start and end time. For my purposes, I will ultimately define the tornado emergency start time to be the time of the first issuance of a tornado emergency (within the framework of a single tornado warning). Ultimately, I will define the tornado emergency end time to be the end of original tornado warning. However, parsing through all of this text and ensuring the correct start and end times is a non-trivial task. Furthermore, identifying the location of the tornado emergency is difficult as it is sometimes listed as a county, a metropolitan area, or a series of latitude and longitude points. The first and the last aren’t too hard to deal with, but trying to pin down the boundaries of a metropolitan area (such as “South Oklahoma City Metro”) is difficult. I want to be very sure that I do all of this correctly and consistently before releasing any of those results so please bear with me.

Nevertheless, people have been asking for the list of tornado emergencies and so I’ve put together the following chronological list. It contains the issuing WFO, along with the start and end times of the tornado warning that encapsulates the tornado emergency. Again, the times listed are those of the parent tornado warning — not those of the tornado emergencies.

The format of the list (which can be found by clicking on the box below) is:

Tornado Emergency Occurrences

WFO: Issuing Time – Ending Time (Duration in minutes)

  1. OUN: 03 May 1999 @ 2340 UTC – 04 May 1999 @ 0030 UTC (50 minutes)
  2. FWD: 29 Mar 2000 @ 0010 UTC – 29 Mar 2000 @ 0045 UTC (35 minutes)
  3. FWD: 29 Mar 2000 @ 0040 UTC – 29 Mar 2000 @ 0115 UTC (35 minutes)
  4. AMA: 13 Jun 2000 @ 2154 UTC – 13 Jun 2000 @ 2230 UTC (36 minutes)
  5. DDC: 08 May 2002 @ 0055 UTC – 08 May 2002 @ 0145 UTC (50 minutes)
  6. IND: 20 Sep 2002 @ 1821 UTC – 20 Sep 2002 @ 1900 UTC (39 minutes)
  7. IND: 20 Sep 2002 @ 1846 UTC – 20 Sep 2002 @ 1930 UTC (44 minutes)
  8. BMX: 11 Nov 2002 @ 0029 UTC – 11 Nov 2002 @ 0115 UTC (46 minutes)
  9. BMX: 11 Nov 2002 @ 0100 UTC – 11 Nov 2002 @ 0145 UTC (45 minutes)
  10. BMX: 11 Nov 2002 @ 0107 UTC – 11 Nov 2002 @ 0200 UTC (53 minutes)
  11. BMX: 11 Nov 2002 @ 0252 UTC – 11 Nov 2002 @ 0345 UTC (53 minutes)
  12. EAX: 04 May 2003 @ 2029 UTC – 04 May 2003 @ 2115 UTC (46 minutes)
  13. HUN: 06 May 2003 @ 1256 UTC – 06 May 2003 @ 1330 UTC (34 minutes)
  14. HUN: 06 May 2003 @ 1325 UTC – 06 May 2003 @ 1400 UTC (35 minutes)
  15. HUN: 06 May 2003 @ 1356 UTC – 06 May 2003 @ 1445 UTC (49 minutes)
  16. MEG: 07 May 2003 @ 1437 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 1530 UTC (53 minutes)
  17. MEG: 07 May 2003 @ 1522 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 1550 UTC (28 minutes)
  18. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 1952 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2045 UTC (53 minutes)
  19. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2005 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2045 UTC (40 minutes)
  20. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2013 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2115 UTC (62 minutes)
  21. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2034 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2145 UTC (71 minutes)
  22. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2036 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2130 UTC (54 minutes)
  23. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2109 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2200 UTC (51 minutes)
  24. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2208 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2300 UTC (52 minutes)
  25. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2254 UTC – 07 May 2003 @ 2345 UTC (51 minutes)
  26. BMX: 07 May 2003 @ 2329 UTC – 08 May 2003 @ 0015 UTC (46 minutes)
  27. OUN: 08 May 2003 @ 2149 UTC – 08 May 2003 @ 2245 UTC (56 minutes)
  28. OUN: 10 May 2003 @ 0244 UTC – 10 May 2003 @ 0330 UTC (46 minutes)
  29. OUN: 10 May 2003 @ 0325 UTC – 10 May 2003 @ 0415 UTC (50 minutes)
  30. MEG: 19 Oct 2004 @ 0152 UTC – 19 Oct 2004 @ 0230 UTC (38 minutes)
  31. MEG: 19 Oct 2004 @ 0158 UTC – 19 Oct 2004 @ 0245 UTC (47 minutes)
  32. JAN: 06 Apr 2005 @ 1140 UTC – 06 Apr 2005 @ 1245 UTC (65 minutes)
  33. JAN: 06 Apr 2005 @ 1241 UTC – 06 Apr 2005 @ 1345 UTC (64 minutes)
  34. ICT: 19 Aug 2005 @ 2057 UTC – 19 Aug 2005 @ 2145 UTC (48 minutes)
  35. EAX: 12 Mar 2006 @ 2204 UTC – 12 Mar 2006 @ 2230 UTC (26 minutes)
  36. SGF: 13 Mar 2006 @ 0335 UTC – 13 Mar 2006 @ 0430 UTC (55 minutes)
  37. SGF: 13 Mar 2006 @ 0359 UTC – 13 Mar 2006 @ 0515 UTC (76 minutes)
  38. SGF: 13 Mar 2006 @ 0437 UTC – 13 Mar 2006 @ 0530 UTC (53 minutes)
  39. SGF: 13 Mar 2006 @ 0439 UTC – 13 Mar 2006 @ 0545 UTC (66 minutes)
  40. SGF: 13 Mar 2006 @ 0507 UTC – 13 Mar 2006 @ 0615 UTC (68 minutes)
  41. EAX: 31 Mar 2006 @ 0219 UTC – 31 Mar 2006 @ 0300 UTC (41 minutes)
  42. MEG: 02 Apr 2006 @ 2227 UTC – 02 Apr 2006 @ 2315 UTC (48 minutes)
  43. MEG: 02 Apr 2006 @ 2324 UTC – 03 Apr 2006 @ 0000 UTC (36 minutes)
  44. MEG: 02 Apr 2006 @ 2349 UTC – 03 Apr 2006 @ 0045 UTC (56 minutes)
  45. HUN: 08 Apr 2006 @ 0313 UTC – 08 Apr 2006 @ 0400 UTC (47 minutes)
  46. AMA: 29 Mar 2007 @ 0050 UTC – 29 Mar 2007 @ 0130 UTC (40 minutes)
  47. DDC: 05 May 2007 @ 0219 UTC – 05 May 2007 @ 0300 UTC (41 minutes)
  48. ICT: 05 May 2007 @ 2333 UTC – 06 May 2007 @ 0015 UTC (42 minutes)
  49. IWX: 19 Oct 2007 @ 0213 UTC – 19 Oct 2007 @ 0300 UTC (47 minutes)
  50. SGF: 08 Jan 2008 @ 0049 UTC – 08 Jan 2008 @ 0200 UTC (71 minutes)
  51. MEG: 05 Feb 2008 @ 2321 UTC – 06 Feb 2008 @ 0000 UTC (39 minutes)
  52. MEG: 06 Feb 2008 @ 0035 UTC – 06 Feb 2008 @ 0115 UTC (40 minutes)
  53. MEG: 06 Feb 2008 @ 0107 UTC – 06 Feb 2008 @ 0145 UTC (38 minutes)
  54. MEG: 06 Feb 2008 @ 0142 UTC – 06 Feb 2008 @ 0215 UTC (33 minutes)
  55. HUN: 06 Feb 2008 @ 0908 UTC – 06 Feb 2008 @ 0945 UTC (37 minutes)
  56. BMX: 17 Feb 2008 @ 2031 UTC – 17 Feb 2008 @ 2130 UTC (59 minutes)
  57. FFC: 15 Mar 2008 @ 1937 UTC – 15 Mar 2008 @ 2015 UTC (38 minutes)
  58. JAN: 04 Apr 2008 @ 1733 UTC – 04 Apr 2008 @ 1815 UTC (42 minutes)
  59. FWD: 09 Apr 2008 @ 2147 UTC – 09 Apr 2008 @ 2230 UTC (43 minutes)
  60. FGF: 11 Jul 2008 @ 2034 UTC – 11 Jul 2008 @ 2115 UTC (41 minutes)
  61. JAN: 09 Dec 2008 @ 2249 UTC – 09 Dec 2008 @ 2345 UTC (56 minutes)
  62. BMX: 18 Feb 2009 @ 2122 UTC – 18 Feb 2009 @ 2200 UTC (38 minutes)
  63. BMX: 18 Feb 2009 @ 2155 UTC – 18 Feb 2009 @ 2230 UTC (35 minutes)
  64. BMX: 18 Feb 2009 @ 2224 UTC – 18 Feb 2009 @ 2330 UTC (66 minutes)
  65. BMX: 19 Feb 2009 @ 0038 UTC – 19 Feb 2009 @ 0115 UTC (37 minutes)
  66. OHX: 10 Apr 2009 @ 1733 UTC – 10 Apr 2009 @ 1815 UTC (42 minutes)
  67. GID: 18 Jun 2009 @ 0158 UTC – 18 Jun 2009 @ 0230 UTC (32 minutes)
  68. GID: 18 Jun 2009 @ 0222 UTC – 18 Jun 2009 @ 0245 UTC (23 minutes)
  69. RAH: 28 Mar 2010 @ 2314 UTC – 29 Mar 2010 @ 0015 UTC (61 minutes)
  70. JAN: 24 Apr 2010 @ 1636 UTC – 24 Apr 2010 @ 1730 UTC (54 minutes)
  71. JAN: 24 Apr 2010 @ 1711 UTC – 24 Apr 2010 @ 1815 UTC (64 minutes)
  72. JAN: 24 Apr 2010 @ 1745 UTC – 24 Apr 2010 @ 1845 UTC (60 minutes)
  73. BMX: 25 Apr 2010 @ 0301 UTC – 25 Apr 2010 @ 0330 UTC (29 minutes)
  74. BMX: 25 Apr 2010 @ 0322 UTC – 25 Apr 2010 @ 0400 UTC (38 minutes)
  75. ILX: 06 Jun 2010 @ 0059 UTC – 06 Jun 2010 @ 0145 UTC (46 minutes)
  76. ILX: 06 Jun 2010 @ 0132 UTC – 06 Jun 2010 @ 0215 UTC (43 minutes)
  77. FGF: 17 Jun 2010 @ 2156 UTC – 17 Jun 2010 @ 2300 UTC (64 minutes)
  78. FGF: 17 Jun 2010 @ 2259 UTC – 18 Jun 2010 @ 0000 UTC (61 minutes)
  79. DLH: 18 Jun 2010 @ 0230 UTC – 18 Jun 2010 @ 0300 UTC (30 minutes)
  80. DLH: 18 Jun 2010 @ 0300 UTC – 18 Jun 2010 @ 0330 UTC (30 minutes)
  81. FGF: 13 Aug 2010 @ 0130 UTC – 13 Aug 2010 @ 0215 UTC (45 minutes)
  82. OHX: 25 Oct 2010 @ 0032 UTC – 25 Oct 2010 @ 0100 UTC (28 minutes)
  83. JAN: 31 Dec 2010 @ 2244 UTC – 31 Dec 2010 @ 2330 UTC (46 minutes)
  84. OHX: 25 Feb 2011 @ 0402 UTC – 25 Feb 2011 @ 0430 UTC (28 minutes)
  85. HUN: 28 Feb 2011 @ 1812 UTC – 28 Feb 2011 @ 1830 UTC (18 minutes)
  86. HUN: 28 Feb 2011 @ 1827 UTC – 28 Feb 2011 @ 1845 UTC (18 minutes)
  87. JAN: 15 Apr 2011 @ 1526 UTC – 15 Apr 2011 @ 1630 UTC (64 minutes)
  88. JAN: 15 Apr 2011 @ 1620 UTC – 15 Apr 2011 @ 1715 UTC (55 minutes)
  89. BMX: 15 Apr 2011 @ 1825 UTC – 15 Apr 2011 @ 1930 UTC (65 minutes)
  90. BMX: 15 Apr 2011 @ 1924 UTC – 15 Apr 2011 @ 2015 UTC (51 minutes)
  91. JAN: 15 Apr 2011 @ 1941 UTC – 15 Apr 2011 @ 2030 UTC (49 minutes)
  92. MOB: 15 Apr 2011 @ 2247 UTC – 15 Apr 2011 @ 2345 UTC (58 minutes)
  93. MOB: 16 Apr 2011 @ 0024 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 0115 UTC (51 minutes)
  94. MOB: 16 Apr 2011 @ 0111 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 0200 UTC (49 minutes)
  95. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 1912 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2000 UTC (48 minutes)
  96. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 1926 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2015 UTC (49 minutes)
  97. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 1938 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2015 UTC (37 minutes)
  98. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 1953 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2030 UTC (37 minutes)
  99. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 1959 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2045 UTC (46 minutes)
  100. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 2015 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2100 UTC (45 minutes)
  101. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 2025 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2115 UTC (50 minutes)
  102. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 2029 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2100 UTC (31 minutes)
  103. RAH: 16 Apr 2011 @ 2053 UTC – 16 Apr 2011 @ 2145 UTC (52 minutes)
  104. LZK: 25 Apr 2011 @ 2249 UTC – 25 Apr 2011 @ 2330 UTC (41 minutes)
  105. LZK: 26 Apr 2011 @ 0020 UTC – 26 Apr 2011 @ 0100 UTC (40 minutes)
  106. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 1903 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2000 UTC (57 minutes)
  107. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 1932 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2030 UTC (58 minutes)
  108. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 1943 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2015 UTC (32 minutes)
  109. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2003 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2045 UTC (42 minutes)
  110. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2009 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2115 UTC (66 minutes)
  111. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2015 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2115 UTC (60 minutes)
  112. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2017 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2100 UTC (43 minutes)
  113. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2025 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2115 UTC (50 minutes)
  114. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2038 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2145 UTC (67 minutes)
  115. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2045 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2115 UTC (30 minutes)
  116. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2100 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2200 UTC (60 minutes)
  117. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2111 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2145 UTC (34 minutes)
  118. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2118 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2200 UTC (42 minutes)
  119. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2137 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2200 UTC (23 minutes)
  120. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2138 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2245 UTC (67 minutes)
  121. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2147 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2245 UTC (58 minutes)
  122. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2155 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2300 UTC (65 minutes)
  123. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2156 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2230 UTC (34 minutes)
  124. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2205 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2230 UTC (25 minutes)
  125. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2215 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2300 UTC (45 minutes)
  126. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2219 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2245 UTC (26 minutes)
  127. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2223 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2245 UTC (22 minutes)
  128. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2231 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2330 UTC (59 minutes)
  129. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2238 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2345 UTC (67 minutes)
  130. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2239 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2315 UTC (36 minutes)
  131. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2243 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2345 UTC (62 minutes)
  132. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2308 UTC – 27 Apr 2011 @ 2345 UTC (37 minutes)
  133. JAN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2322 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0015 UTC (53 minutes)
  134. MOB: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2326 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0030 UTC (64 minutes)
  135. HUN: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2336 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0000 UTC (24 minutes)
  136. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2339 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0045 UTC (66 minutes)
  137. BMX: 27 Apr 2011 @ 2349 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0045 UTC (56 minutes)
  138. BMX: 28 Apr 2011 @ 0007 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0100 UTC (53 minutes)
  139. BMX: 28 Apr 2011 @ 0017 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0100 UTC (43 minutes)
  140. MOB: 28 Apr 2011 @ 0021 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0100 UTC (39 minutes)
  141. BMX: 28 Apr 2011 @ 0120 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0215 UTC (55 minutes)
  142. BMX: 28 Apr 2011 @ 0200 UTC – 28 Apr 2011 @ 0300 UTC (60 minutes)
  143. ARX: 22 May 2011 @ 2021 UTC – 22 May 2011 @ 2045 UTC (24 minutes)

Tornado Emergencies Sans 2011

Probably the most often asked question of the last 24 hours has been, “Can you redo the WFO counts without including 2011?” So, here are the WFO counts sans 2011. The top three have changed slightly

  1. BMX (Birmingham, AL)
  2. MEG (Memphis, TN)
  3. JAN (Jackson, MS)

There were 83 tornado emergencies between 1999 and the end of 2010…

More graphics to come…

Data Mining Tornado Emergencies

Last night I posted a call for help from fellow meteorologists and weather nerds to help me acquire the tornado emergencies that I was missing. Wow! Thanks to the help of Jason Kaiser, Daryl Herzmann from Iowa State, and Rick Smith from National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office Norman, I now believe I have all tornado emergencies in my possession! Now the fun part of analyzing them begins! Since many people are already aware of my project, I decided to go ahead and post two quick graphics that I think will be of interest.

First, a bit about my method. For this analysis I treat the tornado warning and all subsequent severe weather statements associated with the tornado warning as a single episode. Since a tornado emergency can be issued in the text of either a tornado warning or a severe weather statement, all tornado emergencies issued within a single episode is consider a single tornado emergency. Consider the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: A tornado warning is issued for 2 counties and does not contain the tornado emergency text. Subsequently 4 severe weather statements are issued. The second severe weather statement contains the tornado emergency language for county A but not county B. The fourth severe weather statement contains the tornado emergency for county B but not county A. How many tornado emergencies will this count as?

Using my definition, even though 2 tornado emergencies were technically issued, they are both contained within a single tornado warning and thus this is treated as a single tornado emergency.

Scenario 2: A tornado warning is issued for county A and does not contain the tornado emergency text. Subsequently 2 severe weather statements are issued. The second severe weather statement contains the tornado emergency language for county A. As the tornado moves into county B, the NWS issues a new tornado warning, without the tornado emergency language, for county B. Subsequently, the NWS issues three severe weather statements for county B, all three containing the tornado emergency language. How many tornado emergencies will this count as?

Using my definition, even though 4 tornado emergencies were technically issued, they are all contained within the framework of only two tornado warnings. Thus this is treated as two tornado emergencies — even though this is for the same tornado.

Scenario 3: A tornado warning is issued for county A and does contain the tornado emergency text. Subsequently 2 severe weather statements are issued, both of which contain the tornado emergency language. How many tornado emergencies will this count as?

Using my definition, even though 3 tornado emergencies were technically issued, they are all contained within the framework of a single tornado warning. Thus this is treated as one tornado emergency.

Does that make sense?

With that said, there have been 143 distinct tornado emergencies issued since the first one on 3 May 1999 for south Oklahoma City, OK. The chart below breaks them down into yearly counts:

Examining tornado emergencies by NWS forecast office, the top three are

  1. BMX (Birmingham, AL)
  2. HUN (Huntsville, AL)
  3. JAN (Jackson, MS)

This might be a bit surprising to many who typically think of “tornado alley” as being in the central United States. Unfortunately, or fortunately, you decide, many things go into the decision to issue tornado emergencies. Some of these things include population potentially impacted and local office policies. Remember, the tornado emergency is not a formal product. It wasn’t until the last year or two that local forecast offices has official guidance in place. Bottom line, not every office uses tornado emergencies. (Also, keep in mind the magnitude of the 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak and where that was located! However, to be fair, I will say that all of the top three offices had issued tornado emergencies prior to 27 April 2011.)

The rest can be found in the chart below:

In the coming days and weeks I will be doing more analysis on tornado emergencies and will post findings as they are completed. If there is something you would like to see, leave me a comment and let me know. If I don’t already have plans to examine your request, I’ll add it to my list!

The Elusive Tornado Emergency Product

In light of this year’s extremely violent tornadoes and the reaction to them amongst the meteorological, emergency management, and social science communities, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the National Weather Service’s (NWS) practice of issuing tornado emergencies. For those who don’t know, this product is, in theory, designed to serve as a “more severe” tornado warning. Essentially a tornado emergency is nothing more than a regular tornado warning with a variant of the phrase, “This is a tornado emergency,” contained somewhere in the text. This phrase could be contained somewhere in the initial tornado warning or in a follow-up statement known as a severe weather statement.

Over the last few days I have been working on putting together a collection of all tornado emergencies ever issued. The first one was issued on 3 May 1999, as a severe weather statement, as the Bridge Creek F5 tornado threatened downtown Oklahoma City. Since then this product has been issued over 100 times with varying success. Much like the success of the tornado emergency product, I have had varying levels of success in tracking down all the products ever issued. So far I am fairly confident that I have collected all of the tornado emergency statements since 2005. Unfortunately I have run into a problem with tornado emergencies prior to 2005. The problem stems from the fact that the, “This is a tornado emergency,” tagline can be placed in one of several NWS text products. All initial tornado warning statements that contained this tagline are archived and I am fairly confident I’ve retrieved them all. However, obtaining severe weather statements prior to 2005 have proven elusive. (The exception to this is the severe weather statements from the Fort Worth, TX office on 28 March 2000 when a tornado emergency was issued for downtown Fort Worth, which I have found.)

Please see the Tornado Emergency post for a listing of all known tornado emergencies. Subesquent posts will contain images.