- Paperback: 254 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone; Reprint edition (4 Mar 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743296605
- ISBN-13: 978-0743296601
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 496,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
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.
About the Author
Nancy Mathis, a native of Oklahoma, was a journalist and former White House correspondent before going into media relations. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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28 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Definately Worth Spending Some Time With!
2 April 2007
Format:Hardcover
All disaster books in general follow a pretty set pattern: Immediately hook the reader, then spend the next 2/3 of the book on the events leading to the disaster (snore), finally conveying the actual disaster itself. This book is a large leap above so many others in that Mathis is able to provide a stunning narrative of the disaster, interspersed with a truly memorable cast of characters that straddle the periphery. Tied together the book is a pleasure. Never plodding, filled with fact, human interest, and technical information presented in a most readable manner that sweeps the reader along. From the basic misconception that a tornado funnel goes from the air to the ground, to a parade of quirky and obsessed weather professionals - Mr. Tornado, Roger Eedwards, Gary England, to name just a few - Storm Warning delivers a compelling read and a first rate job of research & reportage!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Great review of an American tragedy
20 Mar 2007
Format:Hardcover
Oklahoma City is one of those places that was ripe for disaster. Sitting smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley, it was only waiting for the big one to hit and cause a lot of trouble. On May 3, 1999, that disaster happened. A tornado that traveled from Southwestern Oklahoma ended up crossing a major section of the OK City suburbs, leaving more than 40 dead and many more injured. Nancy Mathis reviews this American tragedy and helps to see how technology has made survival of even a major storm like this easier. This is a great account of how tornadoes in today's world are watched, tracked, and how the warnings are sent out. This book is a great read to all who have an interest in weather, science, and human interaction. I read it all in one sitting.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Like an IMAX movie in hardcover
1 May 2007
Format:Hardcover
Just finished reading Nancy Mathis's Storm Warning in one sitting. Having grown up in Oklahoma and spent more than two decades as an airline pilot, I thought I knew a thing or two about hook echos, doppler radar and microbursts. Mathis nails these down--making the science interesting and easy to understand. But she also tells the story of this terrible twister in a way that puts the reader right in the middle of the action. And that is scary, especially if you happen to be reading Storm Warning during a blustery spring storm, as I did. I could picture the eerie green sky as the storm chasers sped across the plains and smell the dank culvert where victims perished. The blow-by-blow description of the destruction of a two story house in 20-25 seconds is as vivid and chilling as anything I've ever read. Do yourself a favor though: read it on a quiet sunny day with calm winds.
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