Slide 7 of 25 - 16th Street Overpass - Bridge Creek
The first overpass fatality of the event occurred at the 16th Street overpass bridge over Interstate 44 in rural Newcastle (this is just east of Bridge Creek, where F5 damage occurred). The upper two photographs were taken in late September by the author and are different views of the west side of this bridge where the people were seeking shelter. Close examination of the upper left picture reveals several things. First, the construction of this overpass is very different from the one on the Kansas Turnpike as seen in slide 9. There is only a tiny ledge that is not big enough for a person to crawl up underneath. Also, the bridge support girders are skinny. Second, there is a large amount of red clay dirt that has been sprayed up underneath the overpass. On the concrete, one can clearly see the silhouettes of the people where they were crouching. The upper right image is looking northeast along Interstate 44 in the direction of Oklahoma City. A piece of metal debris is clearly seen embedded in the bridge. The lower left photographs were taken in the days just after May 3. It is looking northwest with the damage path the scoured red area. This shows clearly that this bridge took a direct hit from the tornado. This picture also illustrates another point that was already mentioned in slides 4 and 6: the wind direction at any point that is near a tornado's path will experience a rapid and sometimes 180 degree change in the wind direction during tornado passage. This is in stark contrast to a 'straight line' wind event (or downburst), which is the most common damaging wind phenomenon associated with severe thunderstorms. In the case of a downburst wind, the wind generally comes from about the same direction throughout the event. During the May 3rd tornado case, the people were seeking shelter under the west side of the bridge, perhaps assuming that being on the same side of the bridge as the direction from which the tornado was approaching would offer the most protection. This might be true if the winds were only from that direction during the event. During the tornado, unfortunately, as it approached from the southwest, the initial strong wind was from the southeast, directly into the west side of the bridge where they were crouched! If they had taken shelter under the east side of the bridge, they would have been protected somewhat from the tornado's initial winds; however, as the vortex passed, the wind would quickly shift, with the strongest wind from the northwest on the backside of the tornado!
The final two pictures show that a violent tornado can still cause tremendous devastation, even in a relatively rural area where debris in the flow might be expected to be less than in an urban area. The lower right photo in the foreground is the tornado as it appeared near Bridge Creek (located just west of Newcastle) just before 7 PM CDT. The tornado was producing F5 intensity damage at this time. The lower right photo was taken in the damage path just minutes after the tornado passed by NSSL student Jason Lynn. In the center of the photo is what remains of a tree that was completely de-barked and reduced to a splintered 3-foot tall stump, apparently the result of impacts from "natural" debris (e.g., gravel, parts of other trees, etc.). This clearly illustrates that even 'natural' debris can be extremely destructive, especially in a strong or violent tornado; a tornado need not have structural objects or automobiles entrained into its circulation and debris cloud to make it extremely dangerous to unsheltered humans.
The second fatality occurred at the Shields Boulevard overpass at its junction with Interstate 35 in the City of Moore. These photographs show many of the same things as the pictures of the 16th Street overpass. The top two photographs were taken by the author in late September. On the upper right is a view, looking south, of the west side of the bridge where the people were huddled. In the drainage ditch in the foreground, is a small memorial to the lady killed at this location. Her body was not found until one week after the tornado. The spot where her body was eventually found was buried underneath 6 to 8 feet of debris immediately after the tornado passed. On the upper left is a close up of this view, looking underneath the bridge. Notice the complete lack of any girders or support beams, simply smooth concrete up the embankment and smooth concrete overhead. There is absolutely nothing to hang on to underneath this bridge, and nothing to offer any protection whatsoever from flying debris. The picture on the lower right was taken by Chuck Doswell about 1 week after the tornado, and shortly before the lady’s body was found. In the photo near the shadow of the overpass is someone looking for the woman's body; they found the body shortly after the photo was taken. The photo's view is to the north, and from the other side of the bridge than the upper two pictures. Note the complete scouring of all vegetation and even a considerable amount of topsoil in spots. This explicitly illustrates what a tremendous danger exists from flying debris. The lower left photograph was taken the day after the tornado from the air, looking northeast. Again, it can be seen that the overpass experienced a direct hit. The tornado was doing F4 intensity damage at this time.
The events at the Shields Boulevard overpass are quite frightening and clearly illustrate many of the ‘non-weather’ issues of why this practice is so egregious. The Interstate highway eventually became blocked by people parking near the bridge to seek shelter there. Per eyewitness accounts, many vehicles began parking on the shoulder under the bridge as much as 10 to 15 minutes before the tornado actually stuck that location. Eventually, of course, all of the space of the shoulder was taken, so motorists began parking in the right-hand traffic lane, then the left-hand lane, and so-on until all of the roadway was taken by parked vehicles and the free flow of traffic was completely blocked.
One particularly frightening story was told by Brian Hansen, who works for the City of Moore Emergency Management. Brian was attempting to get to the Moore Emergency Management Operations Center to assist that night and was caught in the traffic jam at the Shields Boulevard overpass. He attempted to fight his way through, but eventually became trapped 3 car lengths from the front, directly under the overpass. The traffic jam eventually grew to a quarter-mile long "parking lot" by the time the tornado crossed the highway. Brian said the vehicles were packed so tightly under the bridge, he could not even open the door to get out of his truck. He eventually chose to ride out the storm on the floor of his truck. When asked why he chose that option, he stated that he knew he was in big trouble no matter what, but that by staying in the truck and getting as low as possible might offer some protection against flying debris. As it turned out, he miraculously walked away with only minor injuries and was able to help in the search and rescue efforts near the bridge after the tornado. However, what is somewhat of a mystery is why more of the vehicles did not become airborne, in which case Brian would likely not have been so lucky. It is speculated that the vehicles were packed tightly enough together that the combined weight helped prevent them from going airborne, but the truth is we will really never know.
The people who were up under the bridge were not as fortunate as Brian. There were approximately 12 people under the bridge (the exact number is not known). Perhaps it's possible to argue that since there were 12 there and only 1 died, that's not bad. Unfortunately, what has not been well-publicized are the horrific injuries suffered by all but one of the survivors under the bridge. The casualties all had serious injuries, some life-threatening, from the effects of flying debris. Their injuries included, but are not limited to: compound fractures and shattered bones, missing fingers, missing ears, missing noses, and being impaled by pieces of shingles, 2x4s, etc. The most important point here is this: seeking shelter under the overpass resulted in the highway becoming blocked, trapping people in the path of a violent tornado with no options other than a ditch, an overpass, or their vehicle - all terrible options. In effect, those who sought shelter under the overpass made a bad decision that put many more people than themselves into a life-threatening situation, unnecessarily .
These images explicitly show the grave danger posed by flying debris in a tornado passing through an urban area, particularly a tornado of this intensity. The image on the left is the reflectivity image from the Twin Lakes (KTLX) WSR-88D National Weather Service Doppler radar at 7:28 PM CDT on 3 May. The highest reflectivity values, in white, are in the ‘ball’ at the tip of the hook echo, which is the location of the tornado. The reason for this is that large and numerous pieces of debris make for very good reflectors of radar energy (the radar ‘sees’ anything that will scatter radar energy - and that is NOT limited to precipitation particles!).
The two images on the right are image captures from a video taken by KFOR-TV (Oklahoma City Channel 4) at roughly the same time as the radar image. These pictures clearly show the large amount of debris within the circulation of this tornado as it destroyed numerous housing subdivisions near the highway. When violent tornadoes hit a large number of structures, this amout of debris is typical; even small objects become dangerous missiles. It's not the wind that causes casualties, it's what's *in* the wind. This was the situation facing the people underneath the Shields Boulevard overpass bridge.
