( CNN ) -- The massive tornado that devastated communities in Oklahoma Monday touched down near the town of Newcastle just five minutes after the first warnings went out , according to the National Weather Service . But residents of Moore , which would be hardest hit by the killer storm , had about 30 minutes before the twister entered the western part of the city , CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said Tuesday . It sounds like enough time to act , but in the wake of tragedy , the question always persists : Could more have been done to warn residents of the monster tornado ? The science and technology behind severe weather prediction continues to improve , and many of the tools in place were deployed during Monday 's tornado . Once the tornado had touched down and meteorologists had determined that it was heading toward a populated area , the National Weather Service issued a `` tornado emergency , '' said Harold Brooks , a research meteorologist at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 's Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman , Oklahoma , which is near Moore . The rarely used distinction is designed to make it clear that there is a dangerous situation . Moore in bull's-eye twice , science may know why . `` When you hear that , the response is that you better get your act together , now , '' Brooks said . For the citizens of Moore , the tornado emergency was declared at 3:01 p.m. , about 14 minutes before the tornado reached the city . `` I think it was a very well-warned and well-forecasted event , '' Brooks said . EF5 tornadoes are terrifying perfect storms . The initial warning , which included the counties where Newcastle and Moore are located , would have been followed by alerts on television , radio , phone apps and sirens . Once forecasters recognized that the tornado was violent and that a `` potentially extraordinary event was occurring , '' the emergency declaration set off another round of warnings , Brooks said . Still , at least 24 people lost their lives as a result of the tornado . Considering the size of the tornado and the number of homes it affected , the death toll could have been worse , Brooks said . `` A lot of people survived the path of the tornado , '' he said . Basements scarce in tornado-prone area : Here 's why . The science behind predictions . Currently , the Severe Storms Laboratory can forecast weather conducive to tornadoes about seven or eight days out , Brooks said . This is a vast improvement over 15 years ago , when forecasts were available for just one day ahead . In the case of the tornado that hit Moore , forecasters predicted severe weather in the Oklahoma area as early as Wednesday . But these forecasts are for weather systems that are capable of producing tornadoes , not predictions of where a specific tornado may hit . Advances in technology and science are continuously improving forecasts . `` As computers have gotten more powerful , the models have gotten better , '' said Adam Sobel , a professor of atmospheric science at Columbia University in New York . Computers use the laws of physics and mathematics to make predictions based on simulations of the atmosphere that are represented on a grid . Opinion : How can we be safe from tornadoes ? Just like pixels on the digital cameras have become smaller and smaller , the grid that these computers use has gotten smaller , allowing for more precise forecasts , Sobel said . But tornadoes are so small , relatively , that they are still too small for the models to see . The increased power of these computers have made it easier to spot storms systems that could spawn tornadoes . New research may increase the window of prediction from the current seven or eight days to 10 to 12 days before the event , Sobel said . NOAA is also working with several institutions to increase warning lead times for tornadoes and other severe weather . Known as `` warn-on-forecasts , '' the new methodology would issue warnings based on forecasts rather than observations , said Jeff Trapp , a professor of atmospheric science at Purdue University in Indiana . The new method is promising , he said , but it is still at an experimental stage . It might allow forecasters to provide cones of uncertainty for a tornado , similar to those used to predict where hurricanes are headed . These warnings for tornadoes could come one to six hours before the tornado , as opposed to the current 15- to 30-minute warnings , Trapp said . Another innovation with the new research could result in forecasters providing the strength of a tornado at the time it is formed , instead of after the fact , as is currently the case . Residents may react differently if they know the intensity of the tornado heading toward them . The challenge , Trapp said , is the same one that all forecasters face : A forecast depends on the data available . Deadliest U.S. tornadoes on record .
Residents of Texas had time to prepare for tornado , but can more be done ? Forecasters can predict tornado - worthy weather up to eight days in advance . New technology can yield more predictions , ` ` levels of uncertainty '' like with hurricanes .