5/21/2013 9:06 AM
| Scott Neuman
| NPR
|
Although Oklahoma is a state where tornadoes are a fact of life, few days stand out like May 3, 1999.
That was when some 70 tornadoes touched down over a 21-hour period, cutting paths of destruction like deep cuts of a knife blade in and around Oklahoma City. One tornado maxed out the Fujita scale at F-5, smashing through some of the very same areas that were hardest hit on Monday. Its winds topped out at a staggering 318 mph, the highest ever recorded anywhere on Earth.
5/21/2013 8:54 AM
| Mark Memmott
| NPR
|
After beginning the day with word that at least 51 people had been killed and that the number of dead might top 90, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner's office said that the official death toll was 24 — a figure that could still change. The fatalities included at least 9 children. The spokeswoman, Amy Elliott, said during a televised news conference the initial number included some victims who were counted twice.
5/20/2013 4:32 PM
| EYDER PERALTA
| NPR
|
A massive tornado ripped through the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City, Monday afternoon.
Helicopter images showed large tracts of Moore, Okla., completely leveled by what the National Weather Service says was at least an EF-4 tornado with winds in excess of 166 mph. The tornado stayed on the ground for 40 minutes and traveled 20 miles.
5/20/2013 2:31 PM
| Eliza Barclay
| NPR
|
William von Schneidau, an intrepid butcher in Seattle, is giving a whole new meaning to "potbelly pig." Lately, he's been feeding marijuana refuse to the pigs he turns into prosciutto for BB Ranch, his butcher shop in the city's famous Pike Place Market.
Pot-scented bacon? Well, not quite.