During a Severe Weather Super-outbreak (May 3rd, 1999):

During the first hours of the May 3rd super-outbreak, the emergency management director for the town of Chickasha used OK-FIRST information to discern that the municipal airport was threatened by one of the first tornadoes of the day. He accordingly evacuated the Chickasha airport 15 minutes before the tornado struck. No fatalities or injuries resulted.

After sunset that evening, an F3 tornado approached the town of Stroud. At the time, the broadcast media was forced to interrupt coverage of ongoing weather with information related to the F5 tornado damage in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The Lincoln County Emergency Management office, an OK-FIRST agency, ordered the evacuation of Stroud Municipal Hospital patients from their rooms to the hospital’s shelters. The hospital was damaged beyond repair, but the patients suffered only minor cuts. The patients’ rooms were found filled with debris, including lumber and shards of glass.

An ambulance transporting a victim in Logan County was safely halted before crossing the path of a second tornado. In addition, rescue crews responding to the disaster in Oklahoma City were maneuvered around intervening tornadic storms. One crew temporarily closed I-40 to prevent motorists from driving into a tornado.

Flooding:
A participant used OK-FIRST to estimate that over 6 inches of rain fell in portions of his county. County officials were then alerted that a particular bridge might fail. The bridge was closed before it eventually washed away.

Fire fighting and management:
OK-FIRST was instrumental in notifying an incident commander overseeing a major wildfire of an approaching wind shift. The incident commander was able to reposition equipment to protect structures at the new head of the fire.

OK-FIRST has been used to protect the public during hazardous materials incidents, like a major fire at the Conoco Refinery in Ponca City.

Economic Benefits:
Local communities and counties have benefited through improved scheduling of public works projects like paving and painting.            

Local officials have used information available from OK-FIRST to protect crowds during little league baseball games, parades, and other outdoor events.