IT WAS 25 YEARS AGO WHEN ANTHONY NIZZA HEARD A TORNADO WAS GOING TO HIT KELLY ELEMENTARY, WHERE HIS MOM WAS WORKING. HE DROPPED EVERYTHING AND SHELTERED WITH HER. WE WATCHED THE NEWS AND THEY SAID IT WAS COMING. ON MAY 3RD, 1999, 60 TORNADOES WOULD TOUCH DOWN IN OKLAHOMA, INCLUDING AN F5 HEADING STRAIGHT TOWARDS KELLY ELEMENTARY AND MORE. KNOWING HIS MOM WAS THE HEAD CUSTODIAN THERE, ANTHONY AND HIS FAMILY TOOK OFF TO WARN HER. BACK THEN THEY HAD THESE THINGS CALLED BOOKS ON TAPE AND IT WOULD BE LIKE THREE HOURS. AND THAT’S HOW SHE’D SPEND HER TIME. BY THE TIME THEY GOT THERE, TIME WAS OUT. WE GOT OUT AND WE OPENED THE DOOR FOR HER OFFICE AND THAT ONE SIDE OF THE SCHOOL, LIKE THE SOUTH SIDE, WAS GONE. YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SWATH AND THE PATH AND THE DAMAGE, IT LITERALLY WENT STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. UH, THE FIRST SITE THAT IT HIT WAS WESTMOORE HIGH SCHOOL, AND WE HAD AN ASSEMBLY AND AWARDS ASSEMBLY GOING ON THAT EVENING. SO WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDITORIUM. KELLY ELEMENTARY WAS DEMOLISHED. BUT DURING THAT TIME AND THE TRAGIC THINGS THEY FACED IN 2013, MORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS SAY THEY WERE HELPED BY SO MANY DOING GOOD IN THE COMMUNITY. NOW, NOW THEY WORK TO PAY THAT FORWARD. THE STORMS THAT CAME THROUGH THIS LAST WEEKEND, WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO SOME FUNDRAISING FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND HAVE OFFERED ASSISTANCE. UH, YOU KNOW, LESSONS THAT WE’VE LEARNED. WE WERE CUT OFF AT THE KNEECAPS. UM, AND IF IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN FOR, UH, OUR NEIGHBORING SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, I DON’T KNOW THAT WE WOULD HAVE COME BACK AS AS WELL AS WE DID REPORTING KYLI
Man recalls rushing to mother’s side at Moore school as tornado approached on May 3, 1999
Sixty tornadoes would touch down on May 3, 1999, in Oklahoma, including an F5 that went straight toward Kelley Elementary School
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Updated: 8:22 PM CDT May 3, 2024
It's been 25 years since one of Oklahoma's deadliest tornado outbreaks tore through the state.The May 3, 1999, storm would demolish thousands of homes, including a Moore elementary school. When Anthony Nizza heard a tornado warning was heading toward Kelley Elementary School where his mother was working, he dropped everything and took shelter with her."We were watching the news, and they said it was coming," Nizza said.Sixty tornadoes would touch down on May 3, 1999, in Oklahoma, including an F5 that went straight toward Kelley Elementary School. Knowing his mom was the head custodian there, Nizza and his family took off to warn her."Back then, they had these things called books on tape, and it would be like three hours. And that's how she'd spend her time," Nizza said.Time was out by the time they got to the school."When we got out, we opened the door to her office," Nizza said. And that one side of the school, the southside was gone."Kelley Elementary School was demolished."If you look at the swath of the path, it literally went straight down the middle of our school district," Moore Public Schools Superintendent Robert Romines said. "The first site it hit was Westmoore High School. We had an awards assembly going on that evening, so we had a lot of people in the auditorium."But during that time and the tragedies the city faced in 2013, Moore Public Schools said they were helped by so many doing good in the community. Now, they work to pay that forward."The storms that come through this last weekend, we've been able to do some fundraising for school districts and have offered in assistance, lessons that we've learned," Romines said. "We were cut off at the kneecaps, and if it wouldn't have been for our neighboring school districts and our community partners, I don't know if we would have been able to come back as strong as we did."Top Headlines Missing 3-year-old Pottawatomie County boy reunited with family after being found safe Video: Crowd cheers as man eats 700 cheese balls in under 30 minutes Oklahoma businesses that sell alcohol won't have to ask for your ID soon From The KOCO Archives: The rescue of 'Mud Baby' during 1999 Oklahoma tornado Man arrested in connection with 2016 homicide of woman found dead at Edmond apartment
MOORE, Okla. — It's been 25 years since one of Oklahoma's deadliest tornado outbreaks tore through the state.
The May 3, 1999, storm would demolish thousands of homes, including a Moore elementary school. When Anthony Nizza heard a tornado warning was heading toward Kelley Elementary School where his mother was working, he dropped everything and took shelter with her.
"We were watching the news, and they said it was coming," Nizza said.
Sixty tornadoes would touch down on May 3, 1999, in Oklahoma, including an F5 that went straight toward Kelley Elementary School. Knowing his mom was the head custodian there, Nizza and his family took off to warn her.
"Back then, they had these things called books on tape, and it would be like three hours. And that's how she'd spend her time," Nizza said.
Time was out by the time they got to the school.
"When we got out, we opened the door to her office," Nizza said. And that one side of the school, the southside was gone."
Kelley Elementary School was demolished.
"If you look at the swath of the path, it literally went straight down the middle of our school district," Moore Public Schools Superintendent Robert Romines said. "The first site it hit was Westmoore High School. We had an awards assembly going on that evening, so we had a lot of people in the auditorium."
But during that time and the tragedies the city faced in 2013, Moore Public Schools said they were helped by so many doing good in the community. Now, they work to pay that forward.
"The storms that come through this last weekend, we've been able to do some fundraising for school districts and have offered in assistance, lessons that we've learned," Romines said. "We were cut off at the kneecaps, and if it wouldn't have been for our neighboring school districts and our community partners, I don't know if we would have been able to come back as strong as we did."
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