[nicmarlo]

Fox News:

Major Tornado Hits Oklahoma City Area

Thursday, May 08, 2003

OKLAHOMA CITY — A large tornado has apparently touched down in southern Oklahoma City (search) and its southeastern suburbs.

Footage showed heavy damage to Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City and the General Motors (search) plant in south Oklahoma County. There were reports of injuries at the GM plant, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

The storm has parrelled Interstate 240, destroying metal industrial buildings, a mobile home sales lots, a bank, a fast-food restaurant and tossed 18-wheelers. There also were reports of leveled businesses near I-240, a major thoroughfare in central Oklahoma. Structures were stripped of roofs, automobiles and mobile homes were strewn across the landscape.

Power lines and large trees also were toppled and other debris could be seen. The large twister touched down in Moore, a southern Oklahoma City suburb, initially about 5:15 p.m. The tornado then tracked over Interstate 35 and over Crossroads Mall and tracked east-southeast toward Midwest City and Del City. Sirens sounded in Moore and the southern Oklahoma City area just before 5 p.m.

A television helicopter pilot said he saw a mobile home in the air near Moore. Officials have shut down eastbound I-240.

[kcvl]

Posted 5/8/2003 7:00 PM

Tornadoes touch down in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A large tornado has apparently touched down in southern Oklahoma City and its southeastern suburbs.

Footage showed heavy damage to Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City and the General Motors plant in south Oklahoma County.

There were reports of injuries at the GM plant, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

The storm has parrelled Interstate 240, destroying metal industrial buildings, a mobile home sales lots, a bank, a fast-food restaurant and tossed 18-wheelers.

There also were reports of leveled businesses near I-240, a major thoroughfare in central Oklahoma.

Structures were stripped of roofs, automobiles and mobile homes were strewn across the landscape.

Power lines and large trees also were toppled and other debris could be seen.

The large twister touched down in Moore, a southern Oklahoma City suburb, initially about 5:15 p.m.

The tornado then tracked over Interstate 35 and over Crossroads Mall and tracked east-southeast toward Midwest City and Del City. Sirens sounded in Moore and the southern Oklahoma City area just before 5 p.m.

A television helicopter pilot said he saw a mobile home in the air near Moore.

Officials have shut down eastbound I-240.

[sheikdetailfeather]

"A mobile home in the air."

I always wondered why I had to get a registration for my mobile home every year like I do my car. Now I know. They expect it to fly one day.

[Petronski]

I was curious about what is built at the GM plant. FYI:

With the Oklahoma City investment, GM will build a new 250,000 sq. foot paint shop and renovate the plant's body shop and general assembly areas with new equipment, machinery and tooling.

Regular truck production is currently scheduled to begin at Oklahoma City during the 2002 calendar year.

"GM's Oklahoma City investment is part of an ongoing strategy to further expand truck production capacity and better align our manufacturing capabilities with customer demand," said Guy Briggs, GM vice president and general manager of the GM Truck Group. "Oklahoma City has been a great place to build cars and we know it will be a great place to build trucks."

For competitive reasons, GM is not releasing information on the specific truck products to be built at Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma City plant currently employees approximately 3,150 hourly and 230 salaried employees.