Contact: John Leslie          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                         10/14/98

At least 20 tornadoes cut a swath of destruction through parts of Oklahoma on Oct. 4, breaking a record for the most tornadoes ever reported at any time in the United States during the month of October since records began in 1950, according to the National Weather Service.

Preliminary figures from the agency's Storm Prediction Center (SPC), the leading center for severe weather forecasting, indicate 13 tornadoes touched down in western and central Oklahoma, and seven in the eastern part of the state.

The number of confirmed tornadoes in Oklahoma eclipsed the previous mark for October tornado outbreaks set in 1996, when 18 twisters tore through sections of Florida. Typically in southern states, peak tornado season lasts from March through May, while peak months for northern states are during the summer.

"We never want people to be lulled into a false sense of security, simply because the peak season for tornadoes may have passed," said Gary Grice, deputy director of the SPC. "Tornadoes can occur at any time during the year any place in the United States." Grice said the tornadoes were caused by an unstable air mass.

With the threat of severe weather always possible, the NWS urges families, communities and businesses to have a severe weather action plan, including ways to seek safety immediately when at home, work, school, or outdoors. The plan also should include keeping a battery-operated NOAA Weather Radio nearby. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts up-to-the-minute NWS forecasts and warnings 24 hours-a- day. The radios also come with a tone-alert feature, which allows users to program it to automatically sound an alarm once a watch or warning is issued for their immediate area -- even when they are asleep.

Despite causing between $16 - $20 million in damage, the Oklahoma tornadoes did not claim any lives, a fact not lost on John Dutch, the fire chief in Norman. He praised the value of NOAA Weather Radio, especially when power outages prevent him from activating storm emergency sirens. "Without a doubt, that is absolutely the best weather protection system anyone can have," said Dutch, who was quoted in the Daily Oklahoman.

The NWS Forecast Office in Norman doubled its staff to keep pace with the storm's activity, said Kevin Brown, a senior forecaster in the office. The extra staff enabled the office to deliver tornado warnings with an average of 20 minutes notice, twice the national lead time. "In October, you don't expect this kind of storm, but you never second guess Mother Nature," Brown said.

The NWS also cautions people to stay away from windows and move to a basement, an interior room, or hallway whenever a tornado warning is issued. A tornado warning means a tornado has been sighted, or indicated by weather radar, while a tornado watch means that current weather conditions hold the potential for a tornado.

More information on tornado preparedness, safety and statistics is available on the SPC Internet page at http://www.spc.noaa.gov