May 3, 1999 as the Oklahoma City tornado approaches

Previously discarded video that I shot with a small handheld 8mm City owned camcorder as the tornado approached Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999. I was an on duty police officer with OKC at the time and stationed myself in southwest Oklahoma City to intercept this storm as it entered the City. Of interest is the audio from the FM radio simulcast from KFOR-TV, and business as usual on the police radio which was about to change.

The video begins as I was sitting in a church parking lot at SW 119th Street a little east of I-44. I then drove south and at the 1:16 mark is a very brief shot as I exited I-44 at Hwy 37 and headed west toward the far north side of Newcastle. Note the ominous south side of the approaching storm above where the tornado was. I remained in Newcastle for only a short time and decided I'd better get back into the Oklahoma City limits before the storm hit which is what I was doing at the 1:37 and 1:48 marks when lightning struck very close. I then drove to SW 134th Street where I received some quarter size hail, then I proceeded south on I-44 again and pulled over just past SW 149th Street to observe the tornado's grand entrance into the Oklahoma City limits.

This video ends where my previously uploaded tornado footage of this massive tornado begins. That video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYdTLEBddPY

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• tornado
• F5
• Oklahoma
• City
• supercell
• May
• 1999
• lightning
• severe
• storm
• outbreak
• severa
• tormenta
• eléctrica
• hail
• rain
• newcastle
• clouds
• I-44

[juliangrae2000]

i think you were in the tri-city part of newcastle

[randy946]

@juliangrae2000 That is correct. Stayed there briefly, then decided to get back inside the OKC city limits before the tornado arrived.

[TheRagev3]

how long have you been chasing storms randy?

[randy946]

@TheRagev3 Been chasing for 8 years and photographing them for 42 years.

[AJTwister97]

the beginning is when the tornado was going through Amber, right? Because wasn't it in the Amber area at 6:44PM?

[cooliesass]

This is my favorite of all the May 3rd 1999 videos!

It has an eerie quality like none of the others I've seen.

I will never forget that day...I was supposed to be shopping at the Stroud mall that was blown away by that same system that day...thankfully I decided to change my plans about 2 hours before this stuff geared-up, or I would have been there when it happened!

[brent3360]

i hate tornados there scary to be in i got in one on april 24 a tree landed on my truck and messed my back up

[RADOMMETEO]

Fantastic Movie

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