May 3rd, 1999 in Oklahoma City

I was living on the Northside of Oklahoma City at the time the big F5 tornado tore through the heart of Oklahoma in the year 1999. It was May 3rd. My Dad and I were at home. This is my story and experience of the event. It was in the evening. Dad and I were watching the weather on TV.

All of a sudden, you hear the meteorologist exclaim, “Tornado on the ground! This Tornado started as a small rope tornado near Amber, Oklahoma. It was on the ground for quite a while, and it just kept growing in size. I sat at the TV watching it, completely mesmerized by this storm. I prayed as I watched it for the people in its path.

Then they started saying it may travel into the South Oklahoma City area. My heart was pounding. My mother was working on the South Side of Oklahoma City! My best friend lived over there. There were people I knew living in or near the areas this tornado was heading towards. This made it personal. All I could do was sit and watch this thing on TV and pray really hard that no one I knew was affected by this thing.

As I was watching this tornado grow in size, I was just hoping my mother would go ahead and get home already. Cell phones were just beginning to become popular and we had not gotten one yet. It hit Bridge Creek and almost took out the whole town.

As it was approaching Moore, Oklahoma, my mom finally arrived home. Her job had sent everyone home early because of the storm. I sighed a huge sigh of relief as I continue watching the weather reports.

I watched as it hit Moore, Oklahoma, and continued into the far south side of Oklahoma City and the Midwest City/Del City area before it finally lifted.

The next day, we began to see the devastation of the storm. No one I knew died from this tornado, but over 40 people did. One lady’s daughter that I knew was in the direct path of this tornado. I believe in the power of prayer. The tornado literally jumped over her house while taking out all the neighbor’s houses.

Another story I heard was that a husband and wife were having issues. The wife was a friend of another woman I knew. The husband was abusive. The wife had prayed earnestly for him to change or that God would remove him from her life. This tornado went over their house, sucked a hole in the roof, and sucked the husband right out of the house. Nothing else was touched.

I heard so many stories. A girl I met later said that she had PTSD from this tornado. She had been traveling through Moore and had taken shelter under an overpass with a puppy in her arms. She survived, but the puppy was sucked out of her arms and was killed by the tornado.

For quite a while after the storm, you could drive by the areas hit and see the devastation trail for miles on either side. Houses and trees, everything was flattened. Just a pile of debris was left. I will never forget watching that tornado on the television and the devastation that I saw afterward.

Notes ▼

Word Count: 553
June 2021
Written for:

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Prompt:
A memorable weather event.

And for:

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Verfabula: A Creative Nonfiction Contest  (NPL) CLOSED Open to all! Can you write 500 words? Want GPs for entering? #2234698 by Krista Kringle

Prompt:
The topic for May/June is devastation. Whether it's a crop of prize winning pumpkins or an emotional response- tell me more!

Cover photo:
I do not own the rights to this photo.
F5 tornado near Bridge Creek, Oklahoma on May 3, 1999. Photo Credit: Julianna Keeping, Newsok.com.
For more information on this tornado, you can visit https://www.koco.com/article/monday-marks-22-years-since-may-3-1999-deadly-torna...