National Weather Service Says Tulsa Damage Caused by F-1 Tornado

Friday morning's violent storms produced a tornado in east Tulsa.<br>The National Weather Service is calling it an F-1. The tornado touched down briefly near 129th East Avenue and Pine Street.<br><br>The

Friday, February 25th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Friday morning's violent storms produced a tornado in east Tulsa.
The National Weather Service is calling it an F-1. The tornado touched down briefly near 129th East Avenue and Pine Street.

The storm knocked down about 14 telephone poles from here to Catoosa. But, the tornado hit an area only about the size of a football field. Public Service Company of Oklahoma dispatchers sent out their crews as soon as the twister hit around 7:30 A-M.

It was a tornado nobody expected. â€œWe had one big gust and it caught my interest,â€ said witness Larry Schwarzkopf. â€œWhen I came out to see what happened, then the big one hit."

The tornado only damaged one business, New Holland farm equipment. It picked up an employeeâ€™s car and left it in a precarious position. The tornado also damaged dozens of pieces of equipment.

Michael Barnes was inside the store and watched the tornado do its work.
â€œIt was very surreal,â€ he said. â€œYou're seeing a car taking off and starting to fly."

Steve Piltz is a warning meteorologist for the National Weather Service. â€œIt really drives meteorologists crazy," he said. Piltz says the tornado popped up on the radar and quickly disappeared. There was no time for a warning. "If you look at the radar date, you can see a brief swirl, nothing that would necessarily catch your eye as very concerning,â€ he said.

Piltz says that what makes the storm seem so strange is that winds were strong enough to pick up a car and move it, but just a few feet away, they weren't strong enough to do any damage to the building. â€œIt probably took 60 seconds for this to happen,â€ he said. â€œIt came and it was gone."