The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 30

8-C THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11,2001 THE DAILY OKIAHOM AN Selected U.S. Cities The Weather Five-Day Forecast Friday Saturday Sunday 6453 6850 6748 Albuquerque Amanllo Anchorage OKLAHOM AS ETEOROLOGET Gary England Chief meteorologist, KWTV NEWS9 E-mail: englandkwtv.com Thursday 7253 Monday 6643 Various forces affect wind speed and wind direction. The pressure gradient force is the driving entity. The larger the pressure difference between two points on the surface of the earth, the stronger the pressure gradient force between them and therefore, the stronger the wind. In the MOSTLY SUNNY A 50 CHANCE PARTLY PARTLY MOSTLY SUNNY AND WARMER FOR STORMS CLOUDY CLOUDY SKIES AND COOL northern hemisphere the Coriolis force (created by the rotation of the earth), Memphis resulting wind trajectory to end up to the right of where it originally was moving.

The Coriolis force affects large-scale flow and does not, for example, affect tornado rotation. A tiny force known as the centrifugal force also comes into play in determining wind speed and direction. The outward acting centrifugal force in low-pressure areas acts with the Coriolis force and in high-pressure areas, it acts in concert with the pressure gradient force. The friction between the wind and the earth tends to reduce the wind speed. Friction causes the wind speed to decrease, and that in turn causes the Coriolis force to decrease.

The resulting wind is a balance between the Coriolis and friction forces and the pressure gradient force. TsMIHIIf -L, lN Lr 1 11 1 Iff 'S lAlooorn, WN Rain San Diego TX 4 lJH "cauLCJuaia, coid llP( Today's Front state Foi.ecast lllllli T-storms snow mm- ca 52 44 .30 55 Sault Ste. Marie Seattle Shreveport Sioux Falls Tarn pa-St. Pete Worldwide Observations Oklahoma Outlook City: Mostly sunny and warmer this afternoon with a high temperature of 72 degrees. Winds will be from the north at 10 to 15 mph.

Partly cloudy skies tonight with a low of 53 degrees. Skies will become mostly cloudy on Friday with a chance of thunderstorms by afternoon. It will be cooler with a high of 64 degrees. State: Partly to mostly sunny across the state today with highs from the upper 60s to middle 70s. Partly cloudy tonight with lows from the 30s in the Panhandle to the middle 50s south.

Partly to mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms on Friday. Highs, middle 60s to the middle 70s. Regional Forecast Skies City City Updated weather is available online: Dodqe City Wichita www.newsok.com J244 7147 451 National Weather Service Public Service I 5 JoPlin Line (405) 360-5928 M-F 8am-4pm Guymon 7140 Miami 5552 NOAA Weather Radio OKC 1 tnlcl 6956 I 162.400 Mhz 7147 Tusa 7160 Fayetteville ,,,1, 7062 National Weather Service Public Service Line (405) 360-5928 M-F 8am-4pm NOAA Weather Radio OKC 53 52 Cloudy Madrid 50 32 Cloudy Manila 59 54 Cloudy Mex. City 54 46 PtCldy Montreal Calgary Frankfurt Hong Kong 84 75 Cloudy New Delhi Lima 64 59 Fog Paris London 63 46 Cloudy Rio Mostly cloudy today with showers and storms Yesterday's Highs and Lows For the 48 contiguous states Yesterday's State Conditions .70 12 Noon Amanllo 7253 7240 I I Ft. Smith Lawton I Wichita Falls I 7553 Worth Nation's high Nation's low Oklahoma's high Oklahoma's low ...95 Thermal, Calif.

...10 Copper Mountain, Colo. ...82 Antlers, Okla. ...42 Boise City, Okla. KC Total Precipitation January 1 This date in 1998.... Ifinuli.

1 Tt .1 1 11 lanuan, 1 1 11s date in 2000 ll lani i i us He 1 2001 Normaf January 1 This Oklahoma City annual precip. is 62 State Stations Yesterda ....62 cny (7 p.m to 7 p.m.) 58 Guymon 62 5 57 Hobart 72 5 Yesterday's Air Quality today. Highs, middle 60s to the middle 70s. Partly to mostly cloudy skies tonight with lows in the 40s and 50s. Texas: Partly to mostly cloudy skies today with showers and thunderstorms southeast.

Most of the state will see highs in the 70s while the south will be in the 80s and 90s. Partly to mostly cloudy tonight with scattered thunderstorms. Lows will be in the 40s Panhandle to the 70s far south. New Mexico: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny today with highs in the 60s mountains to the low 80s southwest. Mostly clear to partly cloudy skies tonight.

Lows in the 40s and 50s. Kansas: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny today with highs in the 60s east to the 70s elsewhere. Increasing clouds across the state tonight with lows in the middle 30s to the low 50s. Missouri: Partly to mostly cloudy today with showers and storms southeast. Highs will be in the 60s.

Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies tonight with lows in the 40s to the low 50s. Colorado: Partly to mostly cloudy skies today with highs from the 50s to the middle 70s. Partly cloudy skies tonight with lows in the 20s and 30s. Lunar Very High High Moderate Trees Weeds Mold and pollen counts courtesy of The Okk Grasses Mold loma Allergy Asthma Clir on the 12th and se Strength of storms surprises experts Coburn's xA 6 W2jf PIFL Irf7: fcl iirAJl HH By Mark A. Hutchison and Don Gammill Staff Writers Forget the scientific jargon just know that conditions were right Tuesday for the dozen tornado sightings in southwest Oklahoma.

Although it's not uncommon to have twisters in October, the size of some of them surprised even seasoned forecasters. "The Washita County tornado, that was eye-opening," said Dan McCarthy, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Norman. "That's normally one you see in April or May around here." That tornado is thought to be the one that tore through Cordell, cutting a quarter-mile path for more than a mile. Weather experts were in southwest Oklahoma on Wednesday surveying the tornado damage. What they find will determine the actual number of tornadoes and their strength.

That data will be unofficial until McCarthy puts it into his database next spring. Preliminary information shows that spotters reported 12 tornadoes in six counties between 2:47 and 7:20 p.m. Each report is considered one tornado sighting until the data is analyzed, said Keli Tarp, public affairs coordinator with the National Weather Service. "The same tornado can come down, go up and come down again, and that is considered as two tornadoes," Tarp said. Few injuries and no fatalities were reported in the Cordell tornado.

That, perhaps, can be attributed to forecasters. A tornado watch was issued at 2:30 p.m. for several counties. A tornado warning was issued at 4:38 p.m. for Custer and Washita counties.

The Cordell tornado was reported at 5:08 p.m., the weather service said. October, though far down the list, is not the least likely month for tornadoes in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. That distinction, based on numbers since 1950, goes to January. December is right behind. The most active tornado month is May, with an average of 18.

McCarthy said an F-4 tornado, or the second most powerful on a scale of 1 to 5, was recorded in the state in October 1970. Wind speeds with an F-4 tornado are estimated between 207 and 260 mph. "Tornadoes can happen any time of year," McCarthy said. "In January 1998, we had 216 tornadoes nationwide, when we average about 10 or 12." 6 Tornadoes I m- NEWS yQljZ Hereare timeSdnd Jti0NS if 'Tw i HWPMWI Uj'-'---'' ofSayre. I hVXvwJ WSSjBB "'Sr 2.

2:47 p.m., Beckham County, five miles SE of -MfcBBAfiStaMBF "ift Sweetwater. 3. 3:15 p.m Roger Mills County, half-mile For the latest information on the iJ-jjSfcC' of Berlin. Storm Video Or photOS Online, EfcjPaiffi" ifOr SKlliSP 5:39 p.m.',' Kiowa "rniteNEof Gotebo. visitNewsOK.com.

8. 5:42 p.m., Kiowa County, two miles WSW of HWfcEl ijSSHSS'n -SN Mountain View. Wr 9. 5:55 p.m, Washita County, nine miles of RIGHT A gMgSBEMjl cowden. of Stan and Edie Brown, looks 4 weatherford.

for belongings Wednesday after 11. 7 p.m., Caddo County, three miles of Albert. ii-i jBLj bers help clean r' up their grand- tf mother's home. STAFF 'S i BY 1 STEVE ABOVE: Linda Rippetoe cleans up the living room of her home on Fleming Street after a tornado severely damaged it Tuesday. Rippetoe has lived there for 16 years.

I I er Bob Doucette and The Associated Press CONTRIBUTING:.