Picher, OK Wedge Tornado viewed just north of I44

[avaiae]

This tornado was projected to go RIGHT over my house in Joplin Mo, believe in God or not, I believe he had a hand in making it go just 2 miles south of me..... I will never forget.

[elitesack]

Amazing.

[RCFANATIC1996]

there isn't any worry for mines collapsing. I saw this tornado. it was pretty cool. how fast do you think the cars where going. we were going 80mph. there was this one guy driving really slow.

[ChrisWilburn]

@RCFANATIC1996

I don't remember how fast traffice was going to be honest. Everything happened so quick. I am not sure what was going on around me other than looking at the tornado. It was an amazing site for sure.

[EntropicMisanthropic]

@RCFANATIC1996 Wtf are you talking about??? There were sinkholes dropping all over the place when I was there! The USGS did a survey in town and figured out literally like 75% of Picher, Treece and Cardin was undercut by mine shafts and mine chambers, including ALL of downtown Picher along A and 3rd right up to US-69.

It's a big reason why they evacuated everybody....just because you used to drive your fucking 4-wheeler on the chat piles doesn't mean the town's safe. Stop saying bullshit.

[RCFANATIC1996]

@EntropicMisanthropic they aren't an everyday thing, and most of the town is gone, so it's not a worry lol, I'm not trying to start stuff. and chat piles are very fun to ride ;)

[EntropicMisanthropic]

@RCFANATIC1996 Fair nuff. Not trying to pick a fight either I just cant stand the people who refuse to believe Picher's toxic, especially to little kids. If somebody wants to knowingly breathe in a bunch of lead, that's their business. But it damages kids, makes them mentally challenged and gives them nerve problems if they grow up constantly exposed to it.

The sinkholes are what finally prompted the buyout, though. The USGS report was the point most people realized the town was unsaveable.

[RCFANATIC1996]

@EntropicMisanthropic yes, I know picher is toxic. and I agree that the town should have been bought out. but sometimes people don't want to leave their home, that has been their home for so long.

[sulu52]

This is for tuffygirl1972, this is Cindy Raney, who is this, everyone is fine

[Matyme]

uughh I hate tornados, storms, lightning and thunder.

[NaturalScienceFan]

Hey great capture Chris! Check out my video of this tornado the birth of it!

I am also on stormtrack now!

[badazz1323]

im pretty sure the government was trying to buy out homes in picher before the tornado due to the air or something like that ...sorry for not knowing what to be exact

[emilkat64850]

ProfessorIgor what makes you think Picher won't be rebuilt. I live near there and just so you know they are doing very well thank you very much!!

[rudolphna54]

Sorry I sincerely doubt pitcher is going to be rebuilt. It is a toxic mess! Have you not seen the mountains of lead-laced mine tailings? Heard the collapsing mines that threaten most of the town? Seen the orange river full of toxic heavy metals? You do know picher was named the most toxic town in the whole of the US by the EPA right?The govt was paying people to MOVE OUT, it is so unsafe. Picher will cease to exist as a muncipality on Sept 1s, 2009. Its not being rebuilt.

[ch00gs]

im glad my great grandpa and grandma didnt have to go through this RIP.. wish i could have grabbed the patterson street sign named after him before this =\

[pichergirl]

this is for paige279 I live in Picher and I am not waiting on no buyout never field out papers I love it here. And we want to stay..

[rudolphna54]

Aren't you worried about lead poisoning, and mine collapses?

[101angel1011]

omg that was amazing it was moving lol

[cisamichanne]

Man... that was us... it went right over the house. I still can't believe it, 5 of us in the house and it was flattened and we survived. The power of God...

[Seth412412]

omg this tornado was so scary...

[geraldladera]

we never had those things over here, the only problem we have is called: HUGO FUCKING CHAVEZ!!!, and its worthless than that!!!! to all the souls u lost, my deeply sorrows.

[dsrtdog41]

boxeschow2 people like you crack me up. Know everything yet know nothing.. there was a tornado in nashville a few years back that dropped down on the downtown area.. I used to live in Phoenix, Az and though tornados are very rare there they do happen and drop down right in the city.. Get your facts straight. You are pretty much making an ass of yourself..

[boxeschow2]

Naw, its just like the tornadoes have to build in an open area. Look it up. That one that hit downtown Fort Worth and the one that hit OK city, neither of them formed in the city, they formed outside of them and moved in. Watch the tapes, read the articles. The more large cities that pop up in tornado ally, the less tornadoes anually you will see.

[ProfessorIgor]

I looked it up. (in 4 yrs of college) you're full of baloney. Tornadoes "form" well above the ground level, typically at a height of 700-1000m. The mesocyclone literally can be MILES high. Only LARGE mountains can alter their formation. There have been MANY tornadoes in TN, KY, NC... all very mountainous terrain. They don't need open spaces to form. The typical supercell storm is only about 20mi across at the base. It is unlikely that Picher will be rebuilt.

[CyrusNixes]

boxeschow you are 100% wrong, and I am a meteorology major telling you this. Tornadoes do not need open spaces to form - a cities downtown area would have no affect on its formation - nor will more cities that "pop up" in tornado alley decrease the annual number of tornadoes. Quite the opposite, there will be more damage and so more recorded tornadoes.

[CHERMOTLEYCRUEFAN87]

it looks like the 1991 redrock tornado.

[Momoftwinsplus1]

This is great footage! What an amazing storm. So sad hat people are missing and hurt/killed but it was beautiful looking tornado.

[bzhc]

oh shit

[boxeschow2]

I just don't see how its sad. Loss of life sucks, but I mean....you live in a tiny little city in the middle of a huge open area in the middle of tornado ally. They had it coming. I live in Fort Worth, Texas, and even though tornadoes do hit close sometimes, I've never been close to one sept the one that hit in Downtown in 2k1. If you live in bigger cities they have less of a chance of building, they need to have a place for the air to spin and when it hits buildings it doesnt happen.

[mightydad08]

It really cracks me up when people who live in bigger cities consider themselves to be by default more intelligent than rural area people. boxeschow2 has no clue. A tornado can hit any large city at any time and has. As for your comment that they had it coming because of where they live, grow up and get off of your parents computer, your disregard for life simply shows your lack of common sense and your complete dedication to being an insensitive idiot.

[picheramerica]

dude, tornadoes have hit large cities and killed thousands. You can;t see how it's sad? My cousin and his wife were killed! Her arms got ripped off and she was wrapped around a tree! Their child is an orphan now! If we lived in a big city would it be sad then?

[mda037]

There was a tornado in downtown Salt Lake City & Nashville a few years ago. Just this past March there was a tornado in downtown Atlanta that damaged the Georgia Dome during the men's SEC basketball tournament.

St. Louis, MO has been hit numerous times over the past 100+ years.  Some resulting in a large number of fatalities.

Tornadoes can strike anywhere and anyplace in the US, rural or urban.

The scope of tornadic circulation is huge..buildings in a large city would have little effect.

[newswxshooter]

Being a professional storm chaser and TV photojournalist my entire adult life credentials me to call you a complete and total idiot, boxeshow2, get a clue buddy. Mesocyclones can form over any terrain. When you have the energy equal to that of several thousand atomic bombs, the fluid dynamics of a city aren't going to mean a thing. Besides, the circulation originates in the cloud base from the interface of updraft and downdraft winds, then the vortex progresses to ground level.

[emilkat64850]

So just because we live in a rural area we deserve to be hit by a tornado? I've never heard anyone speak so ignorantly in my life. And I live in a small rural city so you'd think I'd have met plenty of people like you. One day karma will catch up to you for being such a cold hearted asshole.

[evilclay13]

Just wondering if the shooter of this video was in touch with any of the t.v. stations in Tulsa, Joplin or anywhere else, the tulsa stations didn't have a chaser on this storm if I remember. If so great job! If not, it could have been really helpful.

[ChrisWilburn]

Oh you bet it was on TV! I made a report to the National Weather Service in Tulsa as soon as I saw the tornado from I44. I also sent in video within 5 minutes of seeing the tornado and was on the phone with KTUL Channel 8 Tulsa for about 5 min. describing what I saw. I storm chase for KTUL Channel 8 in Tulsa and it is always my priority to help assist the public, esp. during tornadoes.

[douglas785]

that is bad.and it sad people dies and lose homes.i live in miami oklahoma.i saw a low cloud when it was near commerce oklahoma.

[picheramerica]

Me and my friends had to run from that tornado. as soon as I get the videos off of my phone I'll post them. I lost friends in family in this great tragedy. The only thing we can really do is pray for everybody involved.

[tuffygirl1972]

we are trying to locate family from Picher........ WAYNE, RICHARD AND ROBERT RANEY if anyone knows them please let us know if they are alive I will check back on here conmtinually. NO luck locating them through sherrif, red cross and hospitals they live in on south OTTAWA St. in Picher

[bordercollie012]

I am that guy's cousin! I swear

[dnjackson83]

I understand, only 1 mile from my parents house, way to close for comfort! They had some damage, but they weren't hurt thankfully.

[dnjackson83]

I understand, it is only 1 miles from my parents house, way too close for comfort! They had some damage, but luckily they weren't hurt!

[ProfessorIgor]

looking at the damage pics, this tornado caused F4 damage... god bless everyone involved with this one.

[KrystalFrizz]

Hey friend...!

They seem to be stubborn about handing down EF4 ratings this year... there have a number of tornadoes this year that were astonishingly rated EF3's. The tornado in Suffolk, VA for one.

This story is particularly tragic given Picher's horrific mining/lead poisoning history. Many people were bought out by the government, and the people still there were the ones that elected to stay and rebuild the town..

[paige279]

The people that were still there were not staying to rebuild the town, they are on the waiting list for the federal buyout, which is an extremely long and painful process. They were waiting for their now destroyed homes to be appraised. They were essentially stuck in the town.

[KrystalFrizz]

My bad - you are very correct. Which makes this event even more heartbreaking. I hope these people will be taken care of although the track record in the US for these situations is certainly not stellar.

[info411man]

13 miles from my parents house, to close for comfort