KWTV Archive November 19, 1973 Tornado Coverage

[@tmanokc]

In the opening scene of “Twister” when Jo’s dad watches the KWTV tornado coverage excerpts included here, some of the clips from the coverage were (assuming this is in chronological order) re-ordered or edited in the film; in fact, the audio in the clips at 2:08 and 2:34 were actually spliced together (abruptly jumping from when Gary says, “a little bit earlier, it still may…” to the open of the next cut-in starting at “tornado warning continues now and has been extended officially…”). The clip at 1:16 appears in that scene as young Jo and her parents (and their dog, Toby) are about to flee to the outdoor cellar, where Jo’s dad ultimately meets his maker.

[@HLNNolanWEATHER]

I remember this too on twister Gary’s the man

[@adammcvey62]

Yes

[@joestueckrath5275]

There was a experimental Doppler radar in Norman ok at the main NWS office at this time

[@mindlessgonzo]

@T.J. Anthony Or had a better, sturdier door installed during the off-season.

[@jackgill9965]

I just discovered this clip today, and immediately re-watched the opening scene from Twister afterwards. Now that I know the context and how it was edited in the movie, that's all I'm going to notice going forward.

[@hunterwolff-schollmeyer3902]

This is the coverage shown on the TV in the beginning of Twister!!!

[@StormSpotterMike]

Correct!

[@bugalaman]

@@StormSpotterMike This is really cool. Thank you for sharing.

[@Leaden-plural0]

I Guess Warner Bros and Universal Pictures Simulate the 1973 Tornado Outbreak Cool

[@christophergabbard2297]

So it's is True after all.

[@fldave612]

They used ham radio operators back in those days to relay info, that's what all the chatter was in the background. He gave very detailed info on his maps, I can only imagine how phenominal Gary would have been using today's technology during a tornado event like this.

[@StormSpotterMike]

Look up his coverage from 5/3/99, 5/20/2013, 5/31/2013 all great examples of Gary using modern tech to track tornadoes.

[@kaykaye4526]

I’m in total awe - I was a month old at this time, and omg! THIS is all we had to work with?!? I am so much more appreciative of modern tech than I have ever been, lol. This is awesome

[@brianc971]

Gary is the GOAT of weather forecasting.

[@jjgillmen]

This is incredible. We’ve come a long, long way in terms of both tornado Warning coverage and weather technology.

[@PopLightBrown]

This is freaking gold, Mike. A great look back into history at how tornado coverage was done...with the legend Gary England.

[@kensprague5616]

I was almost 3 months old when this happened. It's amazing how far we've come. I've never lived in Oklahoma, but I know that Gary England is one of the best to ever do it.

[@michaelasebedo8392]

I love this. It is looking back in history and seeing how technology has evolved from then to the present. Please keep posting these.

[@NickDalzell]

Ironically it's pretty much the same thing today (same advice, lowest level of a sturdy structure and all that stuff) same warnings, same radar images, only now it's full of a bunch of unnecessary digital busy UX and interrupted by ads every few minutes when you really need to see it. During December 2021 they interrupted the most critical point of the Mayfield, KY coverage to put on a stupid drug ad and a car commercial.

[@stormtrigger5578]

Woah this was from twister i didnt think this was an actual coverage in 73', awesome

[@stormtrigger5578]

True, cause doppler radars werent around yet at the time til the 70s

[@rprince418]

@tony bressie are you going to bring that up on every comment here? Yes, they made it up for the movie. All movies make up noises to make disasters oumd evil, because they are technically the villains. Shut up about it already.

[@rprince418]

@tony bressie Into the Storm was also a boring, terrible movie where the tornados, with the exception of the big one, looked faker than 1996. Ill take Twister any day.

[@Beltzer0072]

@@stormtrigger5578 What they also get wrong in the 1969 scene is when the father says "TV says it's big, might be an F5!" The Fujita Scale wouldn't be invented until 1971.

[@tuxie1989]

I thought the same thing too

[@nmcalister5809]

Thanks so much for posting coverage of this second season event! This is a gem for the weather geeks. It’s also a nice insight for the film fans, as this coverage was spliced to create coverage for the hypothetical Kingfisher County Oklahoma F5 tornado in 1969, that opened the movie Twister.

[@bdnightshade]

Honestly, I didn't realize Gary England had been a meteorologist this long!

[@rjl1184]

England was there 1972-2013 (41 years). Then David Payne succeeded him.

[@LTB1360]

This is awesome getting to see the actual footage of the NWS from Twister!

[@stacyejohnson6618]

This was the gold standard back then. Most communities didn't even have this level of weather warnings. I was a little kid then & remember hiding a lot during the spring/summer storms. Most of the time the power was out & the storm was there by the time warnings went out on TV. Warnings today take me back to those times every time & I'm amazed at today's technology. And how it's only going to get better.

[@tuxitalk1World]

I remember this way of TV weather reporting. Much more low-tech than today, but the charts, maps and slide-rule guys got the forecast more correct than they do today! Now the TV weather person gets all the credit for that work done behind the scenes.

[@SirGregoireGooch]

Holy crap, it’s the “Twister” warning.

[@ThePoreproductions]

TV Says it's big! It might be a F5!

[@SirGregoireGooch]

@@ThePoreproductions It was actually “only” an F3 in this case.

[@ThePoreproductions]

@@SirGregoireGooch I was quoting Twister!

[@SirGregoireGooch]

@@ThePoreproductions I know - just saying that this one was an F3. Still nothing to sneeze at!

[@freakwilliams]

The best there is the best there was The Man, The Myth, The Legend Mr. Gary England!

[@deathymnribm]

Thank you for this. Always wondered if it was actual footage or they made movie magic.

[@rudylittlewolf]

Very cool to see Gary drawing out his own polygon boxes for the warnings! Could they be the first blueprints of them before becoming official? Love it!

[@RikkiSpanish]

I strongly recommend anyone who is a Gary England fan read The Mercy Of The Sky. It chronicles the 2013 Moore, OK tornado, many of the survivors, and the meteorologists who had to warn the people. The author includes a brief biography of Gary and how the storm ultimately led to his decision to retire later that year. It will give you chills as you read the stories from teachers at Plaza Towers Elementary. I ended up finishing it in two days.

[@Peersoncasteell]

Its good I think there was one called storm warning about the same thing what stands in a storm is about the Alabama outbreak of 2011 it’s very good to

[@StormSpotterMike]

I would also recommend “Weathering The Storm” by Mr. England himself. He gives great behind the scenes stories of his time at KWTV through early 1995.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

May 3, 1999 was the worst.

[@laurarebel7495]

I 2nd this!! That was a helluva book!

[@erikwingert2248]

I love that book 👍👍

[@FloridaStateWX]

Thank you for finding this! I was wondering where the footage came from. May God bless you. 🙏

[@CPLANAS1985]

That had to be scary in those days... NO doppler radar... Very limited weather radio resources... Limited computer availability... NO internet... WOW!!!

[@johnritcher5751]

It was similar in the 80s growing up, some improvements by then but nothing like what we have now.

[@garyhisgun192]

And very few of any outdoor warning sirens back then

[@packerman7410]

Lots of storms went unwarned/without alerts due to the lacking technology of the time and the radar they did have was insufficient

[@ericcamarillo9663]

No wonder this sounded familiar. Twister of course.

[@TyCathey]

Storm spotter mike got this clip FROM KWTVs weather vault lol This is so nostalgic to watch tho as a Oklahoman. My dad was like 2 or 3 when this happened in 73. You should post KWTVs may 3rd 99 and may 8 2003 tornado coverages. Those are very rare to find on you tube.

[@StormSpotterMike]

Working on that lol. When I saw that they had this coverage from the movie I had to grab it first.

[@TyCathey]

@@StormSpotterMike I've never seen this tornado coverage on you tube! And it's crazy they used this tornado coverage In the beginning of the movie twister. Your doing a hell of a job man. Everytime I want to watch nostaglic Oklahoma tornado coverage I come to your channel. Keep up the great work and hopefully these news channels in Oklahoma will stop being stingy and release all their past tornado coverages. It's history that needs to be seen!

[@TheMightyLC]

I would love to see beginning to end of Gary Englands coverage of May 3, 1999

[@Im-just-Stardust]

Wow that's amazing thank you for sharing this

[@youtubefilmvisionary67]

Somewhere then at 45th place & Brookside where we lived me my sister ,my mom& Dad were taking shelter & I still remember it very scary

[@christopherfox13]

THE LEGEND HIMSELF! GARY F’N ENGLAND!

[@harveywallbanger3123]

Holy Moses. I had never seen Gary England at his prime. He reminds me of James Spann here. Call me cursed, but Gary didn't have that energy and focus through the big OKC twisters of the 2000s.

[@MrHeathums1985]

An Excellent Piece of Meteorological History. Not to Mention it was Used in the Opening in "Twister". Plus I do like old school WSR-57 CRT Ghostly scans. Such Vintage Tech.

[@mshroye2]

Boy has technology changed. I look at that radar and all I see is haze

[@jakester01]

I found out that about 5 tornadoes (1 after midnight) touched down: 1) Ellis County | F1 2) McClain, Cleveland, Oklahoma Counties | F3 (Strongest of this mini-outbreak) 3) Kingfisher County | F1 4) Kay County #1 | F2 5) Kay County #2 | F1 6) Rogers County | F1 (After Midnight)

[@randallfloyd4476]

surprisingly detailed, considering how long ago.

[@TemTrackersefw]

I missed you mike ❤️

[@tonyagary5911]

Wow back in time I was just a kid

[@Weatherscapes]

Radar appears to be a Enterprise Electronic Corporation radar model WR100 - before EEC developed the Digital Video Integrated Processor.

[@Sanctimoniously]

Gary England with a road map pointing out communities in 1973!

[@NateCraven318]

"Once again, on precautions: if you haven't heard it, if you don't have a cellar or basement, go to the center part of your house, the lowest level, the smallest room-preferably a closet or bathroom. Wrap yourself in a blanket and put a mattress over you."

[@kedricktillman2179]

This was in the beginning of the movie twister

[@robchasing3140]

Do yo know of any recorded coverage from 3-5-22?

[@donkeeton7897]

I use to drive truck otr and have ran thru Oklahoma many times thru the spring and summer months back in 2012 to 2014 and luckily have only encountered some Thunderstorms i was out on sick leave in 2013 when they had the bad Tornado outbreak there that June near Moore but a year before ran thru a severe hailstorm and severe weather in Kansas.

[@wmavfacebookstyle]

I thought this looked familiar...I remembered that when Gary England said, "you folks back to the west" that I thought instead of "a little bit earlier, it still may", I heard "a little bit earlier as Bill Mentioned" before they got into the details of the tornado warning in the intro to Twister

[@Godzillaman]

Whoa. I thought it was a fake report made just for the movie. Wow.

[@AgimHasani-y1x]

Its Even From The Twister Movie

[@chadkobylenski4193]

I find it weird that this footage is from the 1970's, while the opening scene in Twister is supposed to be in June 1969.

[@RagingMoon1987]

IKR??? Gary England didn't even start on Channel 9 until 1972.

[@lindafelts8317]

I totally get where you're coming from. To be fair though the 70's are only six months away in June of '69.

[@gm12551]

The technology wasn’t there so to the casual viewer nobody would know.

[@badcompany-w6s]

WOW! old PPI radar!

[@ILoveOldTWC]

Gary is young!

[@baronbrrrrett]

I remember seeing this in Twister

[@IrateCritic1]

“TV says it’s big! Might be an F5!”

[@jasonprice9341]

This is the opening scene for the movie twister!!!! I thought that guy sounds familiar we talked about all of Oklahoma county

[@UNCJerry77]

Is that Dennis Smith in the red pants?

[@artgirl6784]

He’s the best meteorologist in the world!

[@GENERALROCKETELECTRIC2004]

When I was watching twister I saw that tornado warning on that tv when I heard ( center part of your house) I was just hearing it today

[@CaptainCapital8]

So they used some of this footage for the movie Twister.

[@bradenbakertv1903]

This is from twister

[@Pangea1430]

So if I am getting this right, the fictional father in Twister was not seeing a LIVE broadcast but a broadcast from their future(Think about it the Opening of Twister is 1969, the Broadcast is 1973, 4 years apart)

[@ryanmccauslin7578]

The technology would've been the same. Pre-doppler radar. Not like an episode of "Young Sheldon" set in the late-80s with a tornado warning while the kids are watching TV. With SAME bursts. SAME was not on broadcast TV in the 80s.

[@srgrounds]

The sharpie is awesome

[@bugalaman]

Where's Jim Gardner in Bob Mills SkyNews 9 HD? 😂

[@CaptainCapital8]

2:43 - Before "Warning boxes shed their weight."

[@Bluethunderboom]

I didn't know that was recorded in 1973, thought the movie Twister said was in 1969, and apparently I was misguided by the film (not this video). It reminds me of looking back in 1974 tornado.

[@TaeliusCh]

When I first realized that this was shown at the start of "Twister", I wanted to mention this, but I already knew that saying something about it would be pointless because others had beaten me to the punch 😐

[@Chicken_Wing91]

It just shows the inaccuracy because this footage is from 73’ but the beginning of the movie takes place in 69’

[@scarpfish]

@@Chicken_Wing91 That doesn't neccesarily make it "inaccurate" as _Twister_ is a fictional movie. They excerpted a piece of real weather history and made it part the show. People not from Oklahoma who aren't familiar with who Gary England is probably thought that whole 'weather guy on TV' was made for the movie too. If anything, putting in this clip adds a nice easter egg to it. What IS inaccurate about the June 1969 date is the line where Jo's dad mentions that the incoming tornado could be an F5. The Fujita scale wouldn't be invented until 1971, and honestly that wasn't something that everyday folks would be familiar with until tornado related media, esspecially home videos, became more commonplace in the late 80's and early 90's. _Twister_ was in fact likely most people's introduction to it.

[@Chicken_Wing91]

@@scarpfish well it is a fictional movie 🤷‍♂️

[@GavinW-hd6wi]

2:34

[@MrSquishyb]

Wow, my mother was pregnant with me at this time and lived in that Reno & Midwest Blvd area.

[@brandongaming1049]

that almost 50 years later right?

[@Chicken_Wing91]

TV says it’s big might be an F5!

[@adammcvey62]

Yes it is

[@gm12551]

Take a shot ever time Gary says “county” or “Oklahoma”

[@alanstillings4915]

Dang, Moore can't even catch break back then!

[@joestueckrath5275]

The weather service had a experimental Doppler radar at this time

[@matthewherbert8875]

Yes they did at NSSL. They couldn't even view it though as events were happening. They had to analyze magnetic tapes after the fact. That lead to the eventual discovery of velocity couplets on the 1973 Union City tornado.

[@BigSCTVfan]

This was two days after my parents got married.

[@Strandysmommy]

I thought this looked familiar! Twister!

[@ILoveOldTWC]

Tornadoes in November?

[@StormSpotterMike]

Winter is a second storm season. Especially in the South. November through March can be rough sometimes.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

@@StormSpotterMike You are correct. I just thought it was more in Dixie Alley than in traditional tornado alley. James Spann says Alabama's tornado season is November through May. We can have tornadoes in January, even in the dead of winter. Still, March, April, May, and November are the peak months in Alabama. In Oklahoma, the prime tornado season is April, May and June, with October and November being the second peak. There was a rare February tornado in 2009 in the town of Lone Grove.

[@kenthefley2226]

@@ILoveOldTWC Oklahoma is in the South. Keep in mind that the traditional tornado alley spans from the South to the North.

[@nomad1517]

But jos tornado happend in the late 60s. Oh well. Im still hiding in my bathtub. 😅

[@joshgalka9414]

Rare!

[@dw8840]

Get Jo! TV says its big...might be an F5. 2:42

[@erickchurch5390]

Are we sure this isn’t 5.20.77?

[@StormSpotterMike]

I believe by 77 KWTV had a color radar available to them as their primary radar.

[@erickchurch5390]

@@StormSpotterMike They debuted color radar in 1977, but I believe it was in the fall. I’m very confident this video is 5.20.77.

[@brycehale4725]

I thought the storms of May 20th, 1977 took place in southwestern Oklahoma?

[@erickchurch5390]

@@brycehale4725 There were some, but there was significant damage in Midwest City and east Edmond. All of the storms he references lines up with NOAA Storm Data for 5.20.77.

[@PatBrooks-u6w]

I'm questioning whether it's '73 as well. I've never seen any early '70s footage (except film) from KWTV.

[@devbrew935]

TV says it’s big might be an F5

[@mattsink7524]

This is the same coverage used on Twister in the beginning!

[@odeswx]

They stole this clip from Twister!!!!!

[@PatBrooks-u6w]

Twister stole it first.

[@marcosjuarez7809]

The opening scene of Twister brought me here.