Nowhere to Run!

Infobox Television episode
Title = Nowhere to Run!
Series = Storm Stories
Airdate = January 15, 2003
Season = 1
Episode = 15
Writer = Storm Stories
Prev = Hugo's Legacy
Next = Escaping Antarctica

“Nowhere to Run!” is the 15th episode of the 1st season of Storm Stories. This episode was about May 3 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak when motorists seek shelter when a massive F-5 tornado bears down on an Oklahoma highway.

Plot

The episode opens with a video from the Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak of April 26, 1991. An F-5 tornado is headed in some motorists' direction. They and some terrified people seek shelter under a highway overpass, as the tornado passes directly overtop of them. News of their survival is broadcast around the world.

36-year-old Stuart Earnest was fascinated that he was able to record the Andover, Kansas tornado. Stuart has been fascinated by tornadoes since he was five years old, when he witnessed three tornadoes in one unforgettable afternoon, and has odd wish to experience a tornado and see one in person. As the morning comes along, temperatures push into the low 80s, which is above average for this May day. As Stuart and his coworker and friend, 21-year-old Keith Webb are getting ready to go to their job at Emsco Electric, Stuart senses something in the air and tells Keith that something is going to happen. At the University of Oklahoma, 24-year-old Mark Wienberg is studying and plans to become a teacher. He has a similar feeling to Stuart's and interrupts his studying to check on a computer model for tornado broadcasting. At 4:00pm, a Supercell forms outside of Moore. At 4:30pm, the National Weather Service broadcasts a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. Half an hour later, they release the first Tornado Warning. At 5:00pm, it's quitting time at Emsco, and Stuart and Keith head their separate ways. As soon as Stuart gets home, he turns on the TV and notices live reports of tornadoes. He gets a daring idea and telephones Keith. Keith declines. The television is broadcasting news about the unusual tornado outbreak; at least a dozen tornadoes form over the next hour including one that hits Oklahoma City. Some are short-lived, but at around 6:45pm, one tornado stays on the ground for seven miles. It quickly grows into a colossal giant, and then turns into an F-5 tornado. Fifteen minutes later, Stuart calls Keith again to make another appeal, this time Keith approves. After the severe weather gives in to them, it becomes calm after a while, which they take advantage of and take shelter under the Shields Boulevard Overpass. They can now see the mighty twister headed their way, and Stuart says it is coming.

Dozens of motorists are now crashing into each other, and grabbing onto each other head-to-toe under the overpass. Next, a man and his wife are with their children ages two and four. The 26-year-old mother of the children is stopped in her tracks by the monstrous winds. Then, the tornado lifts Keith up into the air and he opens his eyes to get a rare view of the inside of a tornado, which is peaceful, and bright-lighted. The tornado then later dies down and Stuart finds Keith buried in a ditch 75 feet away. Doctors come along to help, and amazingly, Keith is not seriously injured. Stuart has only cuts and bruises. A total of 46 people lost their lives, and took workers nine days to locate the body of the 26-year-old mother. As for Mark Wienberg, teaching no longer felt his interest. He is now a meteorologist in Little Rock, Arkansas, warning viewers of the next tornado. Jim Cantore ends the episode saying that a highway underpass is "not" a safe shelter during a tornado because winds could accelerate under the bridge, causing a wind tunnel of dust and debris.