Visualizing the May 2013 Moore, Oklahoma, Tornado
Weather radar is a type of instrumentation that can detect and locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type such as rail, snow, or hail. The data gained from these weather radar can then be analyzed to determine the structure of storms and the severe weather they cause.
The Oklahoma City weather radar, or KTLX, is about 13 miles directly east of the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado, and it observed the entire life of the tornado from 2:56 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. Central Time on May 20, 2013. The KTLX weather radar took 14 different elevation scans of the atmosphere between 3:16 p.m. and 3:20 p.m., detecting the tornado debris as it moved eastward.
NCDC scientists used the Weather and Climate Toolkit to produce multiple visualizations of the tornado and its devastation based on the data from the KTLX weather radar. In these visualizations, the vertical scans are exaggerated by a factor of two, making them easier to see. Google Earth is also used to display the data in three dimensions. Click the links below to download and view the visualizations of the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado produced by NCDC.
- The tornado debris signature, as detected by radar, seconds before hitting the Plaza Towers Elementary School. The 14 different elevation scans of the weather radar are shown as well as the estimated shape of the tornado derived from the scans.
- The tornado debris signatures, as detected by Radar, for the 1999 and 2013 Moore tornadoes.
- The tornado debris signatures, as detected by Radar, for the 1999 and 2013 Moore tornadoes, including north pointing arrows and a reference cube.
- The tornado debris signature, as detected by radar, animated in time. The weather radar takes four minutes to complete each pattern of scans of the atmosphere.
- An animation of the lowest elevation radar scan estimated every seven seconds. The Radar takes this lowest scan once every four minutes and an experimental “time-morphing” technique is used to interpolate or estimate the data every 7 seconds based on the movement of the tornado and/or storm.
- An animation of the lowest elevation radar scan estimated every 13 seconds. The radar takes this lowest scan once every four minutes and an experimental “time-morphing” technique is used to interpolate or estimate the data every 13 seconds based on the movement of the tornado and/or storm.
- An animation of the original lowest elevation radar scans, which occur every four minutes.




