by ANDREA FRENCH Section Editor
The devastation that occurred in the Midwest’s ‘Tornado Alley’, especially Oklahoma, is almost unreal. Houses and large buildings look like they were picked up, put in a blender, and then dropped down and sprawled out on the land where homes used to stand.
In the United States, tornado season is from late winter to mid-summer. In Southern states, tornado season is typically from March to May. In the Southern Plains, it lasts from May to early June. On the Gulf Coast, tornadoes occur most often during the spring, and in the Northern Plains, Northern states and upper Midwest, peak season is in June or July. So for places like Iowa and Oklahoma, this is just around peak tornado season.
The towns affected by these tornadoes were located in what we call ‘Tornado Alley’. This strip of land ranges from north to south that contains the northern region of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the eastern side of Colorado, southwest tip of South Dakota and the southern edge of Minnesota. This piece of land consistently has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the country, and they are all typically in the late spring.
On Sunday, May 19, tornadoes tore up towns in several states across the country. Tornadoes touched down in Wichita, Kansas and Des Moines, Iowa, as well as the most talked about tornado that was almost two miles wide in several small suburbs in Oklahoma.
In the suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma, a funnel cloud touched down and did not leave any major damage or any immediate damage yet. A funnel cloud is a rotating funnel-shaped cloud forming the core of a tornado.
Next, this monstrous tornado traveled northeast to cause more trouble. Interstate 40, one of the major highways in Oklahoma, was closed after several tractor-trailers, along with other vehicles, were overturned. These same gusts of wind lifted motor homes up and threw them about.
One of the most talked about tragedies that happened during these storms occurred at the Plaza Towers Elementary school, located in the Oklahoma town of Moore that was in the direct path of the tornado. Seven children were found drowned in a pool of water.
Many parents and students gathered around what was left of the elementary school to say thank you to those teachers who protected them from the storm, and to pay respect to those innocent children who did not make it out.
“I saw the story of this elementary school on the news, and it broke my heart. There was a dad who was being interviewed with his son, and they were both so thankful to the teacher who protected the son and his class during the storm. It is people like that who deserve to be acknowledged,” says sophomore Casey Schieda.
According to the National Weather Service, a tornado touched down a few miles away from Des Moines, Iowa and was traveling at a speed of 55 mph. The more dangerous tornado, which consumed Oklahoma, touched down in Edmond and traveled at a speed of 30 mph. This tornado was described by the National Weather service as “large, violent, and extremely dangerous.”
A tornado warning was issued from Oklahoma to southern Minnesota. For days, reporters were predicting that there were going to be tornadoes, so some people did have a warning, even if it was a short one. Many people reported that if they were in a ‘safe room’ in their homes, or if they were in a storm cellar, they were fine. Videos of families coming out of their storm cellars into what used to be their homes immediately went viral.
“CNN student news did a segment on storm cellars and safe rooms that were able to save so many lives throughout the storm. People who crammed inside these were safe from the storm, as these structures were the only things left standing. I think that there should be these kind of safe rooms in schools to prevent anything like what happened in that elementary school,” says sophomore Alex Infosino.
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