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Tornado Week: Advancing tornado warning time

Twenty five years ago the U.S. averaged a three-minute tornado warning lead time.

Today, it’s just less than 15 minutes.

The dreaded red box, it’s all too familiar this time of year in Oklahoma.

Right now the average lead time is 14 minutes but imagine if you had 30 or 60 minutes.

David Stens-Rude of the National Severe Storms Laboratory plans to find out if that is possible with the “warn-on-forecast.”

“Hopefully we can give forecast information before the storm is severe,” he said.

Current tornado warnings are issued based on a storm already on radar.

The warn-on forecast aims to accurately predict a storm before a cloud even forms.

But don’t expect to see this anytime soon.

“Our projections based on current events is that within 10 to 15 years, affordable computers will be fast enough that we can do this,” Stens-Rude said.

Stay 4Warned: Tornadoes reported on ground

Most of northern, central and western Oklahoma is under a tornado watch or tornado warning.

Tornado watches are in effect until 2 a.m. for Adair, OK; Alfalfa, OK; Beaver, OK; Beckham, OK; Blaine, OK; Caddo, OK; Canadian, OK; Carter, OK; Cherokee, OK; Cleveland, OK; Comanche, OK; Cotton, OK; Craig, OK; Creek, OK; Custer, OK; Delaware, OK; Dewey, OK; Ellis, OK; Garfield, OK; Garvin, OK; Grady, OK; Grant, OK; Greer, OK; Harmon, OK; Harper, OK; Hughes, OK; Jackson, OK; Jefferson, OK; Kay, OK; Kingfisher, OK; Kiowa, OK; Lincoln, OK; Logan, OK; Love, OK; McClain, OK; Major, OK; Mayes, OK; Murray, OK; Noble, OK; Nowata, OK; Okfuskee, OK; Oklahoma, OK; Okmulgee, OK; Osage, OK; Ottawa, OK; Pawnee, OK; Payne, OK; Pontotoc, OK; Pottawatomie, OK; Roger Mills, OK; Rogers, OK; Seminole, OK; Stephens, OK; Tillman, OK; Tulsa, OK; Wagoner, OK; Washington, OK; Washita, OK; Woods, OK; Woodward, OK

Medford tornado Damage:

Expert tips on tornado safety

OKLAHOMA CITY — Nighttime storms and tornadoes are not only difficult to see, they are beyond frightening.

Many fear they will not hear the sirens in their town or that they will sleep through them.

Storms like the Woodward tornado prove we all need to be weather aware, no matter what time of day.

Michelann Ooten, Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management, said, “It’s all in planning and the more information you have the better you can plan.”

Ooten said when in your home, you should not rely on sirens.

She said, “Keep in mind, if you are in your home your windows are closed, most homes are well-insulated and you just aren’t going to be able to hear those outdoor warning systems.”

KFOR-TV taking donations for tornado victims

KFOR-TV is partnering with the Salvation Army to collect donations for the tornado victims.

Please only bring the items listed, there is no room to store anything else.

  • tarps
  • leather work gloves
  • flashlights
  • AA and AAA batteries
  • trash bags
  • dust masks
  • safety glasses
  • 6 volt lanterns
  • small ornamental lawn flags

KFOR-TV will take donations Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Please drop off donated items at:
444 E. Britton Rd.
Oklahoma City, O.K. 73114

State of Emergency declared for 12 counties

State of Emergency declared for 12 counties

Residents across the state are cleaning up after this weekend's tornado outbreak and the governor has declared a "State of Emergency" for 12 Oklahoma counties.

Unstable storms move into metro area, tornado watch issued

Unstable storms move into metro area, tornado watch issued

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for much of the state and is reminding citizens to keep a watchful eye on the skies throughout the next couple of days.

US Geological Survey: New study on quakes and fracking

OKLAHOMA CITY — A series of earthquakes, three in all, hit near the town of Luther Sunday; the largest measured a 2.3 magnitude.

A fourth quake rattled near the town of Lawton.

Now, U.S. Geological Survey experts are providing new research to bolster claims that those earthquakes are caused by oil and gas drilling.

Their new study states spikes in earthquakes since 2001 near oil and gas drilling wells are almost certainly man-made.

But local scientists still call it an “intriguing coincidence.”

“We haven’t been able to scientifically establish that link,” Austin Holland said, a Research Seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey.

However, Holland said there is some evidence to support an earthquake link to hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking.”