Letters: Tracking twisters takes everyone

Re “An Okie’s spin on twisters,” Column One, May 24

The delightful portrait of Gary England — the beloved, colorful TV weather forecaster in Oklahoma City — highlights the importance of advance warnings of tornadoes. But the real hero in saving lives from the monster in Moore was science — specifically, the unsung scientists at the National Severe Storms Laboratory just south of Moore, in Norman, who developed the Doppler weather radar system used by England and everyone else now.

In 1981, I watched those scientists — including Howie Bluestein, the model for the lead character in the movie “Twister” — as they compared observations of storms and tornadoes in the field (sometimes calling from pay phones) with those watching Doppler images on their computers in the lab. Their discoveries resulted in the deployment of Doppler radars throughout the country in the 1990s, giving valuable minutes of lead time for people to take shelter.

Without those precious minutes, many more lives would have been lost in Moore.

Although England is the face of tornado warnings, the body is made up of scientists, tornado chasers and technicians. We need all of them.

Bob Ladendorf

Los Angeles

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