Today, approximately 3 years later, over 90 public safety agencies, in support of their respective missions, have received formal instruction in the of use many new forms of environmental information disseminated via OK-FIRST (e.g., data from the Oklahoma Mesonetwork, volume-scan data from 15 WSR-88Ds, and other data produced by the modernized National Weather Service [NWS]). By design, most communities served by OK-FIRST represent rural areas of Oklahoma (e.g., ~50% have populations of 5,000 or less). Numerous success stories have resulted through the actions of public-safety agencies across Oklahoma that have been "modernized" by OK-FIRST. These results have occurred through the transformation of weather data into useful information and its subsequent application to weather-impacted situations.
The most revealing testimonials about the effectiveness and robustness of OK-FIRST occurred on 3 May 1999, a day of unparalleled killer tornadoes that impacted central and northern Oklahoma. Because the meteorological community of Oklahoma (including the NWS and the broadcast media) performed superbly in dealing with the well-over 50 tornadoes, the death and injury toll was amazingly limited to 44 fatalities and 700+ injuries.
However, as major media outlets properly focused on the widespread death and destruction across heavily-populated areas of central Oklahoma, the OK-FIRST system passed a major, critical test. For example, over 36,000 files of WSR-88D information were shared with participants on 3 May. More importantly, several life-saving stories from rural Oklahoma "did not make the national headlines" but provide convincing evidence that OK-FIRST played an important role in saving the lives of many Oklahomans on 3 May 1999. Several of these "untold stories" which were produced through front-line decisions that were supported by timely and accurate information will be illustrated and demonstrated during the presentation.
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