Nice piece from CNN: Walking tour of the tornado's path

[Buzz Clik]

Walking the path of a tornado

Editor's note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion. Last week, he live-tweeted a walk down the path of the May 20, 2013, tornado in central Oklahoma. Scroll down to read the column and see his photos and tweets. Sutter's path, tracked by GPS, will load on the map as you read. Follow him on Twitter or e-mail him at [e-mail].

(CNN) -- Before I decided to walk the 17-mile path of last week's tornado in Oklahoma, I wanted to check out its origins.

Would I be able to reach the rural stretch of land where the storm dropped from the sky like a pencil pushing through the clouds, as one resident told me? Would it be possible to track the storm, mile by mile, minute by minute, on foot and in detail?

To find out, I downloaded a map from the National Weather Service and drove on Thursday afternoon to Newcastle, a rural town southwest of Oklahoma City. I found the quaint cul de sac where the tornado was born. No one expects an infant to grow into a terrorist. Likewise, looking at the humble beginnings of this tornado, I'd never have dreamed it would stomp across the metro area, smashing neighborhoods, killing 24 people, including seven children in one elementary school, and causing an estimated $2 billion in damages.

(more at link)

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/05/us/sutter-walk-oklahoma/?hpt=hp_c2

Interesting pics and a video or two.

[pinto]

1. Sounds like a neat piece. Saving for later.

Thanks for the catch.

[OKNancy]

2. I got a chuckle when he made a crack about Newcastle

I've called it the armpit of Oklahoma for many years.

I graduated from OU, which is in Norman. At the time ( early 1970s) Norman was a hotbed of liberals and anti-war sentiment.
Newcastle is 7 miles to the west as the crow flies, but longer on the roads. It was hundreds of miles from the college town in culture.

I got my secondary education degree and started looking for a job. Teaching jobs in Norman were hard to find. Lots of professors spouses, and PhD's taught. It was a cushy job too. The public schools were supported by the tax payers.... no one went to private schools... I don't even think there was one at that time.

I got a "permanent substitute" job in Newcastle. I started in Oct. I taught 7th grade Social Studies, 8th grade American history, 2 sections of 10th Grade Amer. History and one section of World History. Needless to say, the preparation was really hard on a young 22 year old fresh out of college teacher.

I have tons of horror stories, but imagine teaching 8th graders in the lobby of the gym while the gym classes were going on. Forty kids, lined up three abreast. I could barely see the kids in the back. THe boys in the back chewed tobacco and spit on the floor.
The mascot for the school was tractor... or a Racer.. something like that it was a guy on a racing tractor.

I got in trouble when we got to Reconstruction. The town boomed when Oklahoma City desegregated. It was a white-flight town.

I lasted until May... told them I wasn't coming back. ( I would have been fired anyway).
That summer I auditioned for a dance teaching job at twice the pay and half the hours.
Two years later I owned my own studio in Tulsa... I retired after 35 years of dance teaching.

I had some sweet 7th grade children when I was at Newcastle. They hadn't been indoctrinated yet I guess. I loved them.
The rest of the experience there was a nightmare. I could write a book!