hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall, newsnation is following new developments in the tragedy in moore, oklahoma. we have live pictures as the search and rescue effort continues. nearly yo lly 24 hours after th massive tornado slammed through moore, 200-mile-per-hour winds, now officials say at least 24 people were killed, including nine children. but at a news conference just a few minutes ago, oklahoma's governor mary fallin said those numbers are not firm numbers. more than 200 others were injured, and we'll have much more on the search and rescue, but i want to get you caught up on breaking developments regarding the weather. this time we're looking around the texas area, just around the same time yesterday, we were seeing a new round of storms erupting in the tornado ravaged

area in others parts of the midwest on day five of this tornado outbreak. nearly 10 million people are in the path of the storms we're n monitoring right now. this is just about the exact time -- chris jansing is standing by, about the same time we were watching the weather move into moore, oklahoma, and the oklahoma area, and now, chris, we understand you guys are getting more rough weather. i see your hood on. you had hail earlier today. what's going on there? >> it's pouring here, actually, and we have seen a lot of the people who were behind me not so long ago, and were going through the rubble of their homes, they have left. and we've seen a number of trucks leave as well. people who have come here, trying to shore up some buildings on the other side of the street. that are open, but at least there is something of their structure left. this obviously is a problem for these ongoing search and rescue efforts which have been pretty miserable today anyway. it's much colder and much wetter than they had forecast. right now, they think that they

have the numbers that are solid, except for this. they are going to go through every house that they have marked, every structure they have marked, three times now. they're saying, because they want to make absolutely sure there might not be someone in there. obviously, someone who might be alive, but also to recover any bodies. it's very difficult. they have had lists. they have been checking off the lists as they have been accounting for people at shelters or staying with people. but they aren't 100% sure that everybody who might be missing was actually on a list, so they're going to continue to do this. as you can see, tamron, the weather is not cooperating. it's starting to thunder as well. >> how will that impact the effort to your point, to go a third time to make sure that everyone is accounted for and that there are not more people trapped beneath the rubble? >> they knew from the beginning this was going to be a painstaking process, the weather not withstanding.

it's not that you just bring people in. these are folks who are trained. when you're talking about human life, these are people who are trained. in some cases, they have cleared out areas and they have told people to go away because they just want to listen for the possibility of sound. there's certain ways you have to remove the rubble to not cause it to collapse. this is -- this is dangerous business for those rescuers as well. so it's not something you just go into willy-nilly. the weather is not as we said cooperating, but it's just the extent of the damage, the number of places that they have to go and check, tamron, that really is in some ways daunting. this is not going to happen in a matter of a few more hours. >> yesterday, we saw literally a line of cars, both people trying to get in to assess the damage of their homes and also for relief workers from texas, arkansas, even joplin, missouri, who were coming in, to your point, with qualified expertise to help get to this point. overnight, more than 100 people were rescued beneath the rubble, and their efforts, their expertise, continues now.

>> i tell you, it's unlike -- people who have been -- i have been to more than my fair share of these kinds of tragedies. but people who have been to a lot of tornadoes in particular have all said to me that they have never seen the extent of the response as quickly, and i can tell you coming in in the middle of the night last night, i think we arrived about 1:00 in the morning, it was not easy. we had to actually fly around lines of thunderstorms. a lot of people had to fly into distant airports and drive for many hours, but they were determined to get here. this is what they do, what they're trained to do, and they know it's a matter of life and death, and we saw it last night, but the response has been extraordinary, and it continues today. one of the difficult things at a point like this is that the emotions, the sheer physical labor you have to do in these kinds of efforts really takes over. peep want to keep going, but they're making people step back, bringing fresh people in. and trying to make sure that it doesn't become an even more

dangerous situation for the folks that are in there because they're simply exhausted. >> now let me bring in bill bunting, operations chief at noaa storm prediction center. thank you for your time. we're watching two breaking news stories here. following this storm track in texas. i covered an ef-5 in the '90s in texas. we know that hell has no fury like nature. it's unpredictable. but the fact we have seen the moore area hit so many times. many people of course referring to may of 1999, and right behind it, this storm track that we're following in texas, what do you make of what we're experiencing here? >> well, unfortunately, this is tornado alley, and we're in the peak of the tornado season. you know, it started out relatively quiet, and we were asked several times, does this mean it's going to stay quiet? of course, the answer is no, you can't predict the future from past tornado trends. unfortunately, as may has arrived, warmer weather, the jet stream interacting with that, we have seen a return to a more

active severe weather pattern. it's not over yet. texas, up into the arklatex, up into michigan will be under the gun today and a built farther east. this system is far from over. >> i grew up in tornado alley, just like yourself. you attended the university of oklahoma. we know this area very well, but it's one thing to say tornado alley as a phrase, but again to focus in on what has happened in moore multiple times, how extraordinary is that? >> in the historical literature, there are a few locations that have been hit more than once, but by any measure, what has happened here really going back to the late '90s, is just remarkable. and we don't know why this area has been targeted so frequently. we just know that the best we can do is give folks as much time as possible to prepare and to give them time to put their severe weather plan in action, hopefully to save lives. >> back to what we're watching, the radar, as many as 10 million people in the path of this

severe weather that could last at least throughout the evening, 6:00 local time there. i believe bill karins put it at about a 30% chance we could see a major tornado or something -- certainly significant, what could you tell us of the chances again today, at least the weather predictors out there? >> the conditions that are now in place really across central and northern texas, eastward into louisiana, are similar to yesterday in the sense that we expect to see supercell thunderstorms, the kinds that have rotating updrafts and could produce tornadoes. we're also concerned those storms could merge together into a squall line type of system that we call a bow echo that would race eastward, producing a widespread swath, 60, perhaps 80-mile-per-hour winds, producing damage over a much larger area than we typically see with a single storm, and of course, that would only add to the impacts and the need for response over a large area. >> so to reiterate, what we're looking at right now, the storm

system on the radar, is almost identical to what we saw around this time yesterday before moore was hit? >> it's very similar in the sense that the conditions are favorable for supercell storms. you know, whether or not we'll see the exact type of system play out today that we saw yesterday is hard to say. but certainly folks in the threatened areas, if you're under a tornado watch now, areas that know from the forecast that the threat exists later, need to pay close attention to warnings, have your plan ready, and take action when the warnings are issued for your area. >> thank you. now let me bring in todd lamb. thank you for your time. first, let me ask you, regarding the search and rescue, i hear the rain behind you. chris jansing is there as well and we see the weather conditions are not great, and they're deteriorating. what's the latest on the effort to continue to go through that rubble? >> well, it continues. the rescue and recovery continues right now. i have been on site, making assessments. i have been out with the

governor. we have been to the two elementary schools that have been impacted so greatly. and the rescue and recovery continues. the men and women are out there. with the canines out there with the equipment, and the search continues. >> what can you tell me, let's first focus on plaza tower. do you believe at this time that everyone has been recovered from that site? >> you know, it's just so hard to speculate. my understanding is that some people have said it's now a recovery and not a rescue mission. we saw the canines working. we were at plaza towers probably in the last hour. it's a devastating scene. even behind me, what you see right now does not do justice to plaza towers, knowing there were children there. just roughly over 24 hours ago, just finishing their lunch. and then the storm hit. so i still hope for a miracle, but it looks like it's going to be a recovery point at this point at plaza towers. >> can you give me an idea of how many children if any are

still unaccounted for? >> that's a good question. we have some conflicting reports on how many students are unaccounted for. i have talked to some local law enforcement that are responsible for that school, and they're even unaware how many children are unaccounted for. a lot of churches have opened their doors. a lot of shelters have opened their doors. and so families are somewhat, you know, separated right now, which presents a challenge, but the good news is the shelter doors are open, so the unattended children, we're still trying to get a hard count on. >> quickly because i know you have to take cover. we can hear the weather behind you. what is the procedure in place to make sure that families are reconnected to one another? i know you pointed out the shelter, but do you have a registration where folks can catch up with their loved ones and all get together? >> well, there's an oklahoma highway patrol hotline, and at every shelter, there's cell phone numbers posted and hotline numbers posted at every shelter and every relief organization

that is bringing people in. so the numbers are getting out the best they can and the websites are getting out the best they can. if you don't have that information, i'll make sure that you have it so you can post it online and post it on your show. >> we'll make sure udo that. we'll talk with the red cross and have all of that information for people watching. thank you so much, lieutenant governor, for the latest information. we appreciate it. now let me go to mike seidel. he's also in moore, oklahoma. first, i want to talk about the weather conditions right now behind you. what's going on? >> well, we have these thunderstorms rolling in as we were just talking about here on the air with the storm prediction center. the tornado threat is about as low as it gets. i mean, the tornado threat has shifted south. we don't have the wind shear, the changing of the wind directions today. our concern today, certainly the lightning out here, but hail. not a whole lot of wind expected. temperatures have cooled off, in the low 60s. yesterday, tamron, in the 80, so a warm, energy-filled

environment for those twisters. the ef-4 came right across here. one of the many stories ends with a bathtub. this bathtub right here, husband and wife in their home. they know the tornado is coming. he throws her in the bathtub, hops on top of her. tornado is out of here in seconds. the husband is gone. she gets up, they find the husband out here in the field. just sends chills up your spine telling you the story. they find him alive. he's in the hospital. we do not know his condition, but we have seen and heard these stories across this area of moore, flattened. nothing out here. behind me is a 7-eleven where three perished. cars flipped, and this black truck behind me, about 75 yards behind me, was over here at a house inside a garage. so the house is gone, the tornado picks up the vehicle and throws it out into the field. so i have never seen it this bad. i was here for the bridge creek, moore, tornado in '99. that was an f-5 before we had

the enhanced fujita scale. winds were 302. we're looking at winds, but they're still doing their assessments. remember, we're not hearing much about this, but four years later in 2003, i believe may 8th, they had an f-4 hit here, so they have had three violent tornadoes since 1999. the odds of that are staggering. in one place here, even here. >> there's not a tornado threat today, but the weather they have, this hail and lightning as well that could impact everything that's going on. how long before you see a break in the weather there in those conditions in realtime now? >> good question. i give it about two to three hours. now, we're officially under a watch until 7:00. i think they'll cut that back, but if you look at the radar, everything is moving on through. i think we're going to have the sun back out by later this afternoon, and certainly by news time tonight. this is going to move on through, and once again, hail, lightning the real threat out

here, but it makes everything seem grim out here. typically after we have a tornado outbreak, we have a sunny day because the cold front moves on through. this front has lagged back, waiting for another piece of what we call wind energy in the upper levels. that's holding it back. that's what's going to fire up the storms that could produce tornadoes in texas and dallas/ft. worth. tomorrow, beautiful day here. sunny skies and highs around 80. much better day today. next three hours kind of shaky here in moore and around oklahoma city for the threat of some severe weather, but again, the tornado threat, not a concern here today. unlike yesterday. >>lert, mike, but the concern right now is the search and rescue effort. the governor just spoke a short time ago. we spoke with the lieutenant governor as well who said they cannot confirm if all of the students who were in the two elementary schools are accounted for. that there are certainly individuals right now on those scenes going through the debris. what we know at this hour, at least 24 peer weople were kille

including at least 9 children. those numbers are not firm numbers. as said by the governor just a short time ago, but that is where we stand, at least in the people who have been confirmed killed. but the rescue continues. we have heard a number of officials and people in moore saying they will not give up searching. we have seen incredible stories in the past. it was just recently in bangladesh, a woman pulled out 17 days after being trapped beneath rubble. the effort continues. you see the activity happening there as we speak, as they attempt to move these mounds of just mass debris. metal, wood, anything you can name that is piled up, to get through to look for anyone who may still be under what you are looking at right now. also, in about a half hour, the house of representatives will hold a moment of silence in honor of the tornado victims in moore. the senate held pause at least for a moment of silence just a couple hours ago. flags on the u.s. capitol and at the white house have been lowered to half-staff.

president obama has also declared the region a major disaster area, freeing up federal funds to help those victims. fema director craig fugate is already in oklahoma. homeland security secretary janet napolitano will also be traveling to the area, and the president spoke from the white house this morning. >> the people of moore should know that their country will remain on the ground, there for them, beside them as long as it takes. for there are homes and schools to rebuild, businesses and hospitals to reopen, there are parents to console, first responders to comfort, and of course, frightened children who will need our continued love and attention. >> coming up, we'll talk to a storm chaser who is on the road right now. he's tracking this latest storm where 10 million people are in the path. also in oklahoma yesterday, as that tornado touched down. we'll find out more of what he has discovered today in this latest storm in comparison to

what we saw yesterday. and the oklahoma red cross tweeted out this picture today, saying their office is, quote, flooding over with spontaneous volunteers who are ready to help. we'll talk to the spokesperson of the red cross, the relief efforts. we'll get the latest on that as well. >> glass and debris started slamming on us. we thought something -- we thought we were dead, to be honest. >> it was pretty scary. everybody was rushing everybody, and then i came out, and i saw the cars and i saw the houses and i just started crying so hard. >> everything is gone. everything is gone, but the important thing is we're alive. for the little mishaps you feel use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster. neosporin. use with band-aid brand bandages. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation.

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i'm really glad she made it out. really glad. you see what the daycare looks like and know she made it out alive. >> we're just shy of 24 hours since the deadly storm in moore, oklahoma. millions of people from texas to arkansas are now blazing for another round of severe weather and potential tornados. there have already been reports of hail and thunderstorms, and just like yesterday, storm chasers are tracking this violent weather. joining me is george macinnis. he's one of the storm chasers who followed what we witnessed yesterday. let me start with what you're seeing today. you're tracking the path of 10 million people in the path of the latest storm. >> well, we are watching the storms right now. nothing severe in central oklahoma. we do have some severe storms in south central oklahoma. and then of course, in texas, they have a tornado watch down there. but nothing currently where we're at other than heavy rain. we are getting frequent lightning in the area, but we're

keeping an eye on it. >> to yesterday, it was 2:56 local time. when that tornado touched down there. what did you see? what perspective did you have? >> i was east of the tornado, basically watching it as it came straight towards us, as it crossed through that residential area in moore where all of the devastation was at, including the school. we continued watching it as it moved east along southeast 134th, approaching sunny lane and then over to center, and we watched as it crossed and finally dissipated as it moved east from sooner road over to lake stanley draper where it finally dissipated. >> you're a storm chaser. this is what you do. you guys are a different breed all together. and you see a lot of this, but when did you know the enormity of what you were witnessing, that this was not like anything, at least in recent memory, that

we have seen, especially when you look at the damage? >> well, when it comes to chasing tornadoes and that, we've seen many different kinds, hundreds over the years. when they're out in the field and they're not doing anything that doesn't seem like much, but when it gets towards a residential area and businesses and populated areas, it changes dramatically. it goes from something that's not doing anything to something that could be possibly killing or injuring people. that's what the case was this time. as it moves through the residential area, the business districts of a populated area, of course, we know the loss of property and life does go up exponentially. the moment it started moving from the countryside and started moving toward the city of moore, which is similar to me from the may 3rd, '99 tornado and the may 8th, 2003, tornado which i was also chasing, it was like deja vu. >> thank you very much. i know you'll keep us up to date

on what you're seeing. i want to give a couple other updates to our audience. governor mary fallin announced today that the white house has approved the state's request for disaster assistance for five oklahoma counties hit hard by the deadly tornadoes. to reiserate, homeland security janet napolitano will travel to oklahoma to meet with state and local officials and insure the first responders are receiving the assistance they need and ongoing response and recovery efforts after the severe storm. also in the last hour, the former governor of oklahoma, frank keating, said he's been told as many as 20,000 families could be displaced from the oklahoma tornado. so those are some of the updates that i have for you. and churches around oklahoma have opened their doors to victims who lost their homes in the tornado, including a church just south of moore, in norman, oklahoma. we'll talk with the state representative from the area about the help coming in to her district from people all around the country. >> we had to sit like this.

and the tornado started knocking all the ceilings up and down, and a light went down and hit me in the head. and all the other girls were screaming and they were crying. >> i had to hold on to the wall to keep myself safe because i didn't want to fly away in the tornado. eaders to support hispanicize, and the adelante movement. teaching tools for success, and fostering creativity. these programs are empowering people to lead positive change, and helping them discover how great a little balance can feel. through initiatives like these, our goal is to inspire more than three million people to rediscover the joy of being active this summer. see the difference all of us can make, together.

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she represents the city of norman just south of moore. thank you so much for joining us. let me first get an update at least on what you know regarding the assistance to the focus point of moore? >> i know that all of the -- thanks for having me, tamron. all of the law enforcement agencies and fire departments across the state have offered their assistance. and there's lots of mutual aid efforts going on, and that is just the spirit of oklahoma. everybody wants to help. so i think the response has been great. >> as i understand it, some of those injured were taken to norman -- >> correct. >> as well as you pointed out, a lot of the first responders literally at the passing on the highway, going into moore to help as some of the victims were coming to norman. >> correct. norman -- norman hospital is about five miles south of moore, so most of the victims were transported, i think, to norman

because the moore medical center was practically destroyed. so norman definitely had a lot of the injured coming to our city. and a lot of our first responders were going up to moore as well to help out. >> all right, well, thank you very much for the update on the effort to give as much assistance as possible to the people of moore. as you point out, your area, norman, oklahoma, pitching in to help as so many others communities around the state and this country. thank you so much. >> well, the american red cross is now on the ground in moore and has several shelters operating in the oklahoma city area. they have deployed almost 30 emergency response vehicles delivering food and relief supplies to families. joining me now, autumn from the american red cross. i see you dealing with the weather. we can't emphasize the impact it's having on the people there, which means of course they need shelter. former governor keating said there are about 20,000 families who may be displaced. what's the latest on your effort? >> thanks for having me out

here. we currently have a number of shelters that are open. right now, we're here out in front of the moore medical center, right down the road is the moore community center. that is one of the shelters that is open. i talked to some of the shelter workers there and some of the residents, and know that there's a number of people -- excuse me. >> the conditions are really rough for you. i know that. i just wanted, the priority right now of course is to tell people how they can donate. you can go online to redcross.org or call 1-800-red hp cross or text your donation. and right now, that is, i think, the number one way to help, right? >> definitely. the best way to help is to make a financial donation or volunteer your time at your local red cross. and do that at redcross.org or call 1-800-red-cross. you can also text red cross to 90999 to make a $10 donation from your mobile phone.

>> we'll stress that information. i'm going to let you get out of that weather. i really appreciate you joining us. stay safe. i want to point out the -- thank you very much. i want to point out kevin durant, who is one of the players for oklahoma city, apparently, the red cross has tweeted out that he made a significant donation, a million dollars, and there's a match going on right now, so one of the players for the oklahoma city thunder, who has made that community his home, he didn't actually tweet this out. the red cross did. he tweeted out under a different name than i think is usual for him on twitter, but the red cross said he made this incredible donation like so many others who are giving whatever they have. obviously, most of us don't have a million dollars, but $10, $5, and sometimes just a thought that things will be better. >> up next, another update from our reporters on the ground. we'll talk to a researcher from the federal agency responsible for issuing warnings ahead of these severe events. i love to golf.

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i was in a stall with some kids, and it just started coming down. i laid on top of them. oneoy my little boys kept saying, i love you, i love you. please don't die with me, please don't die with me. >> i want to take you back to moore. thomas roberts is live for us and he's been on the ground there for some time. we see the weather, certainly adding insult to injury as we like to say. but thomas, you have talked to a lot of people who have told you incredible stories of heroism and how they made it through. >> there have been lots of those stories, tamron. good afternoon to you, and it has gotten worse just over the last hour. since we have been reporting from our location. we have been here since early this morning. it was during the morning hours where the sun came out and a lot of people from the owners of the homes behind me where you see

they're completely leveled, there were many more people out here trying to go through what used to be their homes, looking for belongings, anything they could take away. many people then started to organize and started to make piles of things, trying to clean up what is left of their homes. a lot of people on the other side of the street over here where it's less ravaged but still pretty bad, they started to bring out plywood and started to put tarps over things to keep things from getting wet. then the storms, the winds, it all whipped up and came back again. our colleague mike bettes from the weather channel was visiting with me earlier, talking about the fact the weather is going to stick through for a while and there are chances for hail as well as more of this wind whipped wind that's going to make everybody really wet and miserable. and it also really precludes many from coming back out, but it doesn't dampen what is the continued search and rescue mission at so many different locations in and around moore, oklahoma. i think earlier on the network,

we had the press conference where we heard how regional, local, state, federal, how everyone has coordinated in trying to make sure those who have suffered through this storm, those who may be remain missing are going to be found. so there's a lot of hopeful stories. real quickly, we had this morning a really beautiful reunion. i know you are a pet lover. and a lot of people have been talking about different stories with pets, and there were two dogs that were reunited with their owner. so some hopeful stories really emerging out of this, but some very, very sad ones as well, as we know they have now confirmed 9 of the 24 deaths are children. 7 of which came from the tower plaza elementary school. again, that number, 24, is the number that was lowered down from earlier numbers, revised because they have only been able now to confirm 24, but they say we should hold by, stand by for that number, potentially, to go up as we learn more, as the

hours tick by. so we'll keep you posted on that. >> thomas, i'm curious what you witnessed regarding the effort to make sure there is less confusion. it seems impossible and a daunting task while this is all still developing, just looking at the images behind you, but what are they doing, or at least what have you witnessed in regards to making sure families are able to connect and reducing as best some of the confusion? >> well, i know one thing that's really been good is the police presence. certainly from where we are staying and how we were able to get in early this morning, there are certain sections allowing people to get into the neighborhoods. southwest 4th, which is right here, this corning up here and telephone road, this is what you'll continually hear about in press conferences, where they talk about please stay away from that area. so this is that specific area. and tamron, it's a very suburban neighborhood where we have these beautiful residential streets on one side and then the commercial

side over there with the hospital, the new hospital, just down the way. some fast food restaurants, and the movie theater. very, very suburban, and a lovely neighborhood, and these streets, one after the other, as far as the eye can see, homes leveled, roofs ripped off. places completely destroyed. cars thrown around like hot wheels cars. it really is amazing, but the police have been very outspoken and certainly talking to everybody that comes up that we have seen here, obviously, as you were hearing in the press conference, too, they have been really using technology, and an outpour of support from twitter and through facebook, updating people that way. and i think people, families have also been able to connect. i know at&t came into the area to help shore up issues it was having with its cell towers to help connection. >> we her immediately the frustration of people not being able to make a cell phone call to check on their children or let loved ones who were watching

this unfold know they're okay. that's a significant development that at&t worked on that issue. we may check back in with you before the end of this hour. i want to update you on the white house briefing and jay carney says the white house is confident that fema has the funding necessary at this point to do the job at hand, and that it is too early in the process to speculate regarding other funding, what would be needed, but that generally speaking, they are pleased that congress has allowed them to do what is needed in situations like this. so that is one of the updates coming in. the white house confident that fema has the funding necessary at this point to do the job at hand. another job at hand is to track this current storm system, 10 million people in the line of fire, if you will, depending on if this turns into the severe weather we saw around this time yesterday. dillon drier standing by with an update on what we're watching. >> unfortunately, this is the time of day where these storms really start heating up. you can see we do still have the

severe thunderstorm watches and warnings and also tornado watches. this time, the tornado watch is down across texas, but this is a line of storms where you really have to keep an eye on throughout the day. severe thunderstorm warnings popping up. torrential downpours within the storms and the threat of some rotation and some tornadic activity. it's all out ahead of this cold front and you can see there is the possibility of strong storms from michigan, right down through the midwest, down into central and southern texas. but it's that area in red right through dallas and into parts of southwestern arkansas, northwestern louisiana, that's the area of concern for the possibility of a few supercell storms to develop that could create those tornadoes as we go through the course of this afternoon. this is, you know, the daytime heating when you start to see these storms redevelop and start popping up, and they do have the potential to be very strong. there's about 9.5 million people in the path of that area. again, from texas to arkansas,

into northwestern louisiana where we could see strong storms redevelop. it's going to be one of those things once they pop up, you can track them, but right now we're still looking at the potential of perhaps quarter-sized hail, also wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, and then the torrential downpours which is just something no one in that area even wants to deal with. so we're going to keep an eye on all of those storms as they move eastward over the course of the next several hours. >> thank you. and the senate held a moment of silence for the victims at noon eastern time today. the house expected to follow with a moment of silence at about 2:45. we'll bring you those pictures, those images. >> his teacher is in the hospital. >> teacher is in the hospital. >> his teacher saved his life. >> who is his teacher? >> mrs. lowe. >> we started throwing debris, trying to get anybody out. and we successfully got people out, just not alive. [ male announcer ] erica had a rough day.

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welcome back. we want to show you some before and after images that you can certainly see on nbcnews.com. these are before and after pictures. what you're looking at is plaza tower elementary. the top of the screen obviously the before image. the below is the aftermath of the storm. also briarwood elementary. let's show you this image of the before, the bottom of your screen, you see the after image. let's vole up to see what was left behind. the school obliterated. also we talked so much about moore medical. this is the before image of moore medical, and let us show you the after. scroll down. this is the after image of this. so this is some of the before and after, a reminder this storm touched down around 2:56 local time. and within minutes, this is the results of what happened. with me to talk more is harold brooks, the senior scientist at

noaa's national severe storms laboratory. thank you so much for joining us. >> you're welcome. >> let me get your impression, i saw you last night on our primetime coverage. your impression now that the daylight is here and we're learning more about of course the fatalities but the damage and the size of this storm. what is your impression of what we're seeing now as it relates to even may 1999? >> well, it certainly seems like the path through moore may have been a little wider in places than it was in may of 1999. the widest part of the may 1999 path was west of moore, and this hit moore into the heart of the city. it's certainly -- the level of damage is what we saw in may of '99. again, very devastating images. >> we started out, it was just a few weeks ago. bill karins actually was saying this tornado season seemed to be a slow one. now we're on our fifth day of severe weather. talk to us at least prediction

wise as it relates to this quick turn that it seemed we went under. >> we certainly did off to a slow start for the tornado season. this week has been a busier time. and that sometimes happens where we have a period of several days in a row where we get a lot of activity. looking down the road, it doesn't look like wonce we get through this, it doesn't really look active again after this for a while. >> so all or nothing where we were at a nothing and then all and back to a nothing point? >> and that happens sometimes. this has been -- if you look back just a couple years in may of 2011, the early part of may was incredibly quiet, and then we had the joplin tornado. then we were very active for a week and then things shut down again. that does happen this time of year. sometimes we're in that transition time where we're going to be getting into summer,

and six weeks or so, and occasionally, we have these kinds of things happen. this was certainly a very devastating event we have seen yesterday. >> let's talk about technology and where we are compared to even, in 1997, i covered an ef-5 in texas. just over the short period of time, how innovation and technology has helped you do your job better and hopefully save lives. >> well, i think the biggest thing we have done since then, strictly as it relates to the tornado yesterday, is we have been able to forecast the probability that conditions will be favorable several days in advance much better than we used to do. if we look back to the may 1999 tornado, the first time the outbreak was mentioned in any official forecast or the potential for an outbreak was the day before. in this case, the storm prediction center started making forecasts back on last wednesday that indblthed the possibility of a severe weather outbreak on sunday and monday in oklahoma and the southern plains and by friday, we were starting to talk about the possibility of strong

tornadoes. so in terms of a lot of community response, we're able to get people to understand that the threat level is high and hopefully when that happens, they're better prepared when the actual day comes. >> thank you very mitch. a pleasure to have you on to get insight into where we're going as far as technology to hopefully save lives in the future. thank you. and still ahead, a live report from the white house as the administration continues to react to the tragedy in oklahoma. and ahead, jodi arias takes the stand in the death penalty phase of her trial. she pleads for her life, telling jurors she can contribute to society from prison if she's allowed to live. we'll be right back. kosher standards that only a slow-motion bite can capture all that kosher delight. and when your hot dog's kosher, that's a hot dog you can trust. hebrew national.

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♪ earlier, president obama told the victims in oklahoma today the federal government is ready to provide assistance. the president has been getting regular updates from officials on the ground in the past 24 hours. nbc white house correspondent peter alexander is at the white house. we know it started with a phone

call the president had with the governor of oklahoma last night and his updates have continued. we don't know if the president will be visiting that region as the recovery effort continues there, right? >> that's a good question. i walked out of the press briefing with jay carney only a short time ago. the first question out of the gates is whether or not the president would travel to oklahoma. and as it is clear from the white house at this point, that decision has not yet been made. in situation s like this, it's always their top priority not to drain resources away from the relief efforts taking place, but precedent would suggest he would travel. i was checking back in our archives, and in 1999 when moore, oklahoma, was hit, it was five days before then-president bill clinton traveled to oklahoma. it remains to be seen what will happen. we use the language major disaster declaration which president obama has approved. i want to explain what that means. it includes individual assistance and public assistance

to pay for things like debris removal and the like and also tamron, we know the homeland security secretary janet napolitano will travel to the region tomorrow. >> thank you very much, peter. before we let you go, we have another update and a preliminary report from the national weather service says the tornado that ravaged moore was an ef-4, winds of 190 miles per hour. the damage, 17 miles wide. so the preliminary report indicating that this was an ef-4 with 190-mile-per-hour winds. that certainly could change, but right now, that's the information we're getting in. as far as fatalities, the confirmed number is at 24. and we will continue to update you, our continued coverage out of moore, oklahoma. the devastation there, but the brave effort to find any survivors and to continue to help those folks. that does it for this edition of newsnation. i'm tamron hall. the cycle is up next. from home

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24 hours ago, life in moore, oklahoma, was monday business as usual. strong storms were in the area, but then at 3:40 eastern, everything changed. tornado warning issued, residents ran for cover in a town all too familiar with tornadoes and then touchdown. we're watching more severe weather this afternoon in tornado alley. as of now, nothing expected as destructive and terrifying as what we experienced monday. moore, oklahoma, bore the brunt of it. entire neighborhoods flattened, brick homes demolished. a hospital and schools destroyed. the official death toll is at 24 but is expected to rise. the governor describing it as a two-mile wide lawn mow