folks are saying for sure here, but it feels like it s a state of emergency. there s roads closed and that s why we decided to take shelter south of the city and not trying to enter the area. have you been a storm chaser for a long time? i ve been chasing for about 10 to 11 years now. we actually tracked the ef-5 that hit moore last week. it s just sad to see these folks dealing with so much have to go through it yet again. is that pretty unusual, within 10, 12 days, two tornadoes to hit the same area? yeah, it s very rare. i think the moore area had three or four tornadoes hit nit the last ten years. then to have two hit is something i ve never seen before. i ve never seen that either. it was heartbreaking to see what was going on in moore. and then now knowing what s going on even makes the
through the floor. you want to be wary of that. in moore, oklahoma, there aren t a lot of basements. studies have actually shown that there is another very good option. take a look over here. interior room or a closet like that can be the best place to be, as well. the house is gone here, but that closet preserved, even the clothes inside of that. remember, just got 13 minutes. so find that safe place. maybe grab a helmet or bike helmet, even throw mattresses or a blanket over you to try to protect your head. one place you can t hide from a tornado is in your car. tornado strength winds can pick up a one- to two-ton vehicle like this one and toss it around like you or i would a basketball. you obviously don t want to be driving toward a tornado but it s also a bad idea to be driving away from a tornado. it s hard to gauge the distance. if you must be driving and the weather is clear, try driving at right angles to the tornado, perpendicular, to get out of the path of the storm. there s
welcome back to the cnn newsroom. i m miguel marquez. if you re just tuning in, thanks for joining us. it has been another bad night of severe weather in oklahoma. all morning we ve been showing you pictures and video of the destruction in that state. it s been hit once again by a hard hit by deadly tornadoes, so what s the best way to survive one? do you run? do you hide? god forbid you re in one, but our chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta breaks down your options if you are. very large tornado in oklahoma. reporter: 13 minutes. that s the average lead time you would have if a tornado was headed your way. there s obviously no completely safe option during a tornado. your best bet is to get into the basement, somewhere below ground level. but keep in mind that if you are there you want to see what s on the floor above you as well. rf or piece of heavy furniture could come crashing near the floor. in moore, oklahoma, there aren t a lot of basements.
and the airport is now open again after debris was spread across the runway and passengers and crew literally running for cover. and many still have no power. officials warn there are more strong winds, and flash floods could be on the way today. just no end. they don t get a break. it has been a tough couple of weeks for that part of the country, from oklahoma to indiana, more dangerous thunderstorms we said with the flash floods and winds are still a threat. and carin mcguinness joining us now. it has gone from a wind event to a rain event, right? yes. from may 20th, we had the ef-5 tornado that struck moore, oklahoma, and we are still dealing with that. and now we get another round of severe weather and get power
thunderstorm warning out. for memphis you might expect three to five inches of rainfall certainly not out of the question. and in this northwestern and north central quadrant of arkansas, heavy downpours here. little rock saw a severe thunderstorm in the past couple of hours and st. louis, st. louis county, st. charles county, they are sending national weather service survey crews out to see just what kind of tornado the intensity of the tornado there. and, by the way, the el reno tornado just to the west of oklahoma city, that has been evaluated as an ef3. the moore tornado, back on may 20th, was an ef5. at the top of the scales. now, some of these thunderstorms that popped up during the evening hours yesterday in central oklahoma, around oklahoma city, some of those thunderstorm tops around 60,000 feet. but somebody very astutely pointed out that we saw tornadoes here, tornadoes in