Sat, Jul 19 2008
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Published May 13, 2008 10:24 pm - PICHER, Okla. — A volunteer firefighter near Welch broadcast a heads-up Saturday that bought precious minutes for residents of Picher as a killer tornado was bearing down on the town. Early warning from storm spotter gave Picher residents six more minutes By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com PICHER, Okla. — A volunteer firefighter near Welch broadcast a heads-up Saturday that bought precious minutes for residents of Picher as a killer tornado was bearing down on the town. That same twister had begun to play out after hitting Picher, but it then merged with another, newly formed funnel not far from the Missouri line, giving birth to the mile-wide monster that entered Newton County, Mo. First siren The storm siren in Picher sounded at 5:20 p.m. Saturday — six minutes before the National Weather Service station at Tulsa issued a tornado warning for the area and about 19 minutes before the tornado struck. Residents of Picher faced a choice: either hunker down in their mobile homes and wood-frame houses or get into their cars and put the twister in their rearview mirrors. Eyewitness accounts from survivors of the tornado suggest that many Picher residents had sufficient warning to get in their cars and get out of the tornado’s path. That collective decision probably saved lives, a Fire Department spokesman said Tuesday. But it is counter to what severe-weather experts say you should do. A vehicle is the last place you want to be when a tornado is approaching. Being in a ditch is better than being in a vehicle. For many residents of Picher, the decision to flee was a gamble that paid off. The tornado damaged or destroyed about 160 houses in Picher. Three people died in structures. Three people died in vehicles. Had more people decided to stay put instead of flee, it is likely more people would have died, said Picher fire Capt. Tim Reeves. “This event will get a lot of attention,” said Steve Runnels, a severe-weather expert with the National Weather Service station in Springfield, Mo. “It goes to the whole issue of what is the best thing to do.” Squealing tires John Mott, a longtime Picher resident, observed the exodus from Picher before the tornado hit. He said: “I did not know there was a tornado coming until I heard someone squealing their tires in front of my house. That guy had to be going 80 mph.” Larry Lyerla, another Picher resident, looked out of his front window and saw cars racing by his house. He thought about climbing into the bathroom tub, but when he saw the massive tornado that was bearing down, he grabbed his wife and headed for their car. “I went to the front door and saw people flying down the street in their cars,” he said. “I said: ‘Babe, we’re in trouble. Get what you got and let’s go.’” 
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