Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado

I just finished reading Storm Warning. What an enthralling mix of well-researched and presented technical information and history and heart-wrenching stories. I had no idea how devastating or powerful a tornado could be.

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.

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!

Having read a few books about tornadoes over the past few years, I was skeptical about this title. I've read a lot of the May 3, 1999 event, both in the mainstream media and and technical research. So I was quite surprised when I found this to be an excellent book. The author did her research into the subject, and talked to the right people, which manifests into an excellent, almost you-are-there account of the most expensive tornado in the country's history. It blends the right amount of eyewitness accounts between the survivors and the scientists, but doesn't get too technical, too preachy, or to bland. A perfect mis.

I grew up in the southwest, where tornadoes frequently tossed life around like laundry spin cycles. Mathis has wonderfully illuminated the magnificence of these natural agitators and those who experience them first hand. But more than that, she has provided a fascinating history and appreciation of the people, equipment and communications that shaped our current day awareness and understanding of - and reaction to - these powerful beasts. Well written and researched, this is a book that's easy to get caught up in from start to finish.