Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado | 
| Author: Nancy Mathis
Publisher: Touchstone
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 36551
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0743296605
Dewey Decimal Number: 551
EAN: 9780743296601
ASIN: 0743296605
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
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Product Description
May 3, 1999, is a day that Oklahomans will never forget. By the time the sun set over a ravaged plain, some 71 tornadoes had claimed around 11,000 homes and businesses and caused $1 billion in damage. One of them was a mile-wide monster of incredible power, the fiercest F5 twister to hit a metropolitan area, and whose 300 mph winds were the fastest ever recorded.Veteran journalist Nancy Mathis draws on many interviews to weave the story of those few terrifying hours that irrevocably changed the lives of many Oklahomans. Storm Warning features Kara Wiese, who fought to save her son from the fatal winds; and Charlie Cusack, who followed the tornado's progress on television until it came knocking on his front door. Amazingly, only thirty-eight people perished at the hands of the Oklahoma F5. Many lives were saved by the efforts of professionals such as Ted Fujita, the creator of the Fujita Scale and dubbed "Mr. Tornado" for his relentless pursuit to unravel a twister's mysteries; the oft-criticized but dogged government meteorologists; and Gary England, a resourceful TV weatherman whose tireless efforts prepared hundreds of people in the tornado's path. Storm Warning alternates between personal stories and the history of the struggle to understand this bewildering force of Mother Nature, creating a nail-biting, captivating look at surviving the fury from the skies.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
Great book on tornadoes May 2, 2008
I thought the book Storm Warning by Nancy Mathis was outstanding. Besides explaining a lot about the history of tornadoes there is a book background on the late Japanese tornado expert Ted Fujita.
An Extraordinary Book about an Extraordinary Event January 21, 2008
The May 3, 1999 tornado stunned central Oklahoma--but yet, it was not entirely unusual. As I grew up in Norman, Oklahoma (the center of weather research and now home to the National Weather Service), tornadoes were a fact of life. Springtimes in Oklahoma always included the hours spent in front of the television, watching the supercells. Even the non-scientific minds among us learn to grasp the basics of supercells, of the hook echo, of the wall cloud. We are willing to watch the storm on TV until it is within 10 miles of us, and then, and only if it is heading in our direction, will we descend to our storm cellar.
Nancy Mathis has captured the feeling of the springtime in Oklahoma; the awe, the fear, and the respect with which tornadoes are regarded. The book weaves together many stories of common people from this area, people just like any other central Oklahoman. And she compellingly tells the story of how lives are shattered, molded--simply changed by the power of the tornadoes.
The May 3 tornado (the big one--A9) passed within 15 miles of my house; I had been playing golf that afternoon on a course in Moore that was destroyed--in fact, had we played the back 9, we would have been on the course when the twister hit. But the sky looked ominous, with the clouds at different elevations moving different directions--signaling significant wind shear, a factor in tornado formation that Mathis discusses in this book. It was simple stories like this that Mathis used to create the feel of the book.
Mathis captures the history of tornado forecasting and the personalities involved wonderfully. She tells the story of the meteorologists excellently. I believe this book to be the best available at telling the story of the tornado in totality and of the people it impacts. I have just a few quibbles with this book--the occasional instances of strong language (always in quotes) require editing before youngsters can read it. The book is not particularly scientific, and there are no photos or charts explaining the science. That is not the intent of this book. The story is so gripping (and graphic), that some children could have difficulty stomaching it. But this gripping retelling is what makes the book so good--for the story of the tornadoes is so extraordinarily exciting, and the springtime afternoons in Oklahoma so spellbinding, that only a book written in that way can accurately tell the story of the May 3 tornadoes.
Great information with very human aspect December 7, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have been hesitant about writing a review for this book because I am very clearly biased. I felt very honored that Nancy Mathis chose to include my daughter in the book. I got to participate in the portion of the book that discussed the people involved in the storm. Those parts were emotional for me to read. I got to see a tiny portion of the research that went into the book and after reading the book, I realize that there was a tremendous amount of research done for the book. I learned a great deal about the history and science of weather forecasting. I also learned about home construction. I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this one.
Gripping Tale of our Killer Storms June 17, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tornadoes are the most powerful storms known, with an F5 monster reaching 300 mph winds. Fortunately they are far smaller than hurricanes and so do not usually cause the extensive damage that hurricanes can. The localized damage is often nearly total!
Nancy Mathis in her book "Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado" chronicles the story of one F5 tornado in particular, the one that struck Oklahoma City in early May of 1999. She provides much historical background, including the story of Ted Fujita, who survived World War II in Japan by a series of apparently random events to produce the Fujita scale to to aid in the understanding and prediction of tornadoes. Another important player, Gary England, pioneered tornado prediction when the United States Weather Service was unable to do so. Numerous people worked on developing the ability to give at least several minutes warning of an approaching storm. In the case of the Oklahoma City storm of May 3, 1999, this paid off big time, with many fewer fatalities than would have happened otherwise.
Nancy Mathis tells this story with great skill. Before the reader is through they develop a wide respect for the obsessional people (including storm chasers) who have continued to develop an understanding of the formidable storms. The reader also begins to understand the power and fascination of these nearly unique monsters of the American Great Plains, where 80% of all tornadoes develop.
I have seen the result of the passage of a weak tornado in Florida (in fact I crossed its path just an hour before it went through). Even though the storm skimmed the treetops, it dropped several long-leaf pines into the roofs of apartment complexes. Luckily no one was hurt, but it was close. These are not storms with which to trifle!
This is a great summery of tornado research and history, plus a great description of a particularly savage storm. If you live anywhere were tornadoes can strike (the whole United States, but especially the Midwest), you should read this book!
compelling book about tornadoes May 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was a book i could not put down, despite the author's letting us know right from the beginning who lived, who died, and how big the killer tornado was. Mathis' description of the history of weather forecasting was fascinating, and her summary of the science of weather (and tornadoes in particular) was easy to understand and compelling. Her recommendations on how to survive a tornado are vital for anyone who lives in "tornado alley" as well as for people who live in areas rarely visited by these potential killers. I recommend this book to anyone interested in weather and its effects on people.
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