The tornado outbreak will go down with the first and (likely and hopefully) only EF5 tornado of the year, the first time an EF4 or EF5 tornado has happened on three consecutive days since June 7-9, 1953 (Yes, even 4/25-28 didn't have that happen), and, sadly, the deadliest tornado event of the year, bumping the tornado death toll for the year from something close to 5 up to around 30. (Previous high was the Kemper County, MS EF3 that killed 2.
The TV stations in Oklahoma City did a brilliant job of warning people, with all of the stations in town providing non-stop information. All of those guys deserve a big thank you for warning the public. (Go to Youtube and look up "moore tornado coverage" if you didn't get to see the live video via TV or Internet and you want to.)
Some of the things we learned/re-learned from the outbreak:
1. The warning system worked brilliantly, with 16 minutes of warning before the tornado touched down, and 30 before it hit Moore. In hindsight, as bad as 24 dead is (which is 24 too many), it could've been a lot worse. I woke up Tuesday and saw a report that it may be as high as 91, which would've been a top 25 deadliest tornado if it were true.
2. The national media *cough* CNN *cough* will never stop saying "there was no warning" in exchange for a "better" story. They will also not stop saying "the sirens saved almost everyone" or "we need more sirens". A great Google+ post by James Spann was made earlier about the sirens, who, if anyone knows anything about him knows, has had enough of this "siren mentality" crap for a long time, especially after 4/27/11 and 1/23/12.
3. Moore, Shawnee, and all of the other areas who were hit by tornadoes this past weekend will rebuild. Many who have lived here for a long time have rebuilt and come back stronger multiple times, and there is no doubt in my mind that these communities will rebuild and come back stronger, just as they have before.
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