Tornado damage in context: Lessons learned from the May 5, 2002, storm in Happy, Texas

William Monfredo, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.2004.0041

Authors

William Monfredo, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2004.0041

Keywords:

-

Abstract

After a slow start to the 2002 tornado season, a tornado impacted the western and extreme southern sections of Happy, Texas. A damage survey was conducted within 24 hours. This article explores how the context in which a tornado occurs influences how the media portrays the event. Broadcasters covering the Happy, Texas storm included images of what appeared to be total destruction. However, most of the structures performed remarkably well during this fundamentally weak tornado. On the other hand, the complete destruction of a few mobile homes resulted in two deaths and an F2 rating on the Fujita scale. This raises issues concerning tornado intensity forecasts as well as the use of automobiles as shelters for residents of mobile homes located in the path of weak tornadoes.

Author Biography

William Monfredo, PhD

University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana.

References

Mitchell JK, Devine N, Jagger K: A contextual model of natural hazard. Geogr Rev. 1989; 79(4): 391-409.

Moore HE: Tornadoes Over Texas: A Study of Waco and San Angelo in Disaster. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1958.

Grazulis TP: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films, 1993.

Weems JE: The Tornado. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1991.

Monfredo W: Tornado Scars: The Long-Term Imprints of Disaster on the Texas Urban Landscape [dissertation]. San Marcos, TX: Texas State University, 2002.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Storm Data: April 1979, Vol. 21. Asheville, NC: National Climatic Center, 1979.

Monfredo W: Relationships between phases of the El Niño- Southern Oscillation and character of the tornado season in the South-Central United States. Phys Geogr. 1999; 20(5): 413-21.

Storm Reports. Storm Prediction Center Web site. Available at www.spc.noaa.gov/climo. Accessed March 1, 2003.

Bunting WF, Smith BE: A Guide for Conducting Damage Surveys. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Memo NWS SR-146. [NTIS Accession No. PB93-1484271NZ]. Springfield, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, 1993.

Fujita TT: A proposed characterization of tornadoes and hurricanes by area and intensity. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, Satellite and Mesometeorology Research Project, 1971.

Stormtrack Web site. Available at www.stormtrack.org. Accessed May 10, 2002.

Marshall TP: Procedure for assessing wind damage to woodframed residences. In Combined Preprints CD-ROM of the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, 9-13 February 2003, Long Beach, CA. Boston, MA: American Meteorological Society, 2003.

Schmidlin T, Hammer B, King P, et al.: Unsafe at any (wind) speed? Testing the stability of motor vehicles in severe winds. Bull Am Meteorol Soc. 2002; 83(12): 1821-1828.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Service Assessment: Spencer, South Dakota, Tornado May 30,1998. Silver Spring, MD: US Department of Commerce, 1998.

Kasperson RE, Ortwin R, Slovic P, et al.: The social amplification of risk: A conceptual framework. Risk Anal. 1988; 8(2): 177-187.

2002 Tornado fatality information. Storm Prediction Center Web site. Available at www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/torn/2002deadlytorn.html. Accessed March 1, 2004.