Combination of strong winds, dry conditions and above normal temperatures will result in elevated to critical fire weather concerns for the Southern Plains and portions of Southern California. This is part of a storm system that is tracking across the central Plains with occasional snow showers and heavier snow from the Rockies through the Central/Northern Plains. Read More >
On Sunday, May 19th, with an upper level low approaching off the Colorado Front Range through the Panhandles, a fairly stout dry line began to surge eastward off the Texas Caprock and Panhandle reaching as far east as El Reno, OK. With deep layer moisture and favorable wind fields across central Oklahoma, supercell thunderstorms quickly developed along the dry line, primarily along the U.S. Interstate Highway 44 (I-44) corridor, and moved quickly to the east/northeast. As these storms gained intensity, many produced tornadoes, with tornadoes impacting Edmond, Arcadia, Luther and Carney, Norman and Lake Thunderbird, and Shawnee, and two near the town of Prague. The most intense tornado occurred within the city of Shawnee, where EF-4 damage was found as the tornado traveled north of the city before crossing U.S. Interstate Highway 40 (I-40).
Below is a map with the preliminary damage path of the Lake Thunderbird-Bethel Acres-Shawnee tornado. Contours delineate the extent of EF-0 (light blue), EF-1 (green), EF-2 (yellow), EF-3 (orange), and EF-4 (red) damage from the survey.
| Year | Total |
| 2010 | 15 |
| 1960 | 12 |
| 2015 | 10 |
| 2017 | 8 |
| 2013 | 8 |
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
406 PM CDT WED MAY 22 2013
...LATEST ON TORNADO INFORMATION FOR MAY 19 AND MAY 20...
A NUMBER OF TORNADOES AFFECTED PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN
OKLAHOMA ON MAY 19 AND 20. INFORMATION ON MOST OF THESE TORNADOES IS
STILL VERY PRELIMINARY.
...MAY 19 EDMOND TORNADO /OKLAHOMA COUNTY/...
RATING: EF1
PATH LENGTH: 7 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: TO BE DETERMINED
TIME: 4:22-4:30 PM CDT
LOCATION: NEAR 33RD STREET AND SOUTH BOULEVARD STREET
IN EDMOND TO NEAR HIGHWAY 66 AND POST ROAD
...MAY 19 ARCADIA TORNADO /OKLAHOMA COUNTY/...
RATING: EF0
PATH LENGTH: SHORT
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: NARROW
TIME: 4:33 PM CDT
LOCATION: APPROX. 1 SW ARCADIA
...MAY 19 LUTHER-CARNEY TORNADO
/OKLAHOMA.. LOGAN AND LINCOLN COUNTIES/...
RATING: EF3
PATH LENGTH: 20 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: TO BE DETERMINED
TIME: 4:41 PM - 5:24 PM CDT
LOCATION: 3 NORTHWEST OF LUTHER TO CARNEY TO
2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TRYON
...MAY 19 LAKE THUNDERBIRD-SHAWNEE TORNADO
/CLEVELAND AND POTTAWATOMIE COUNTIES/...
RATING: EF4
PATH LENGTH: 20 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: TO BE DETERMINED
TIME: 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM CDT
LOCATION: LAKE THUNDERBIRD /8 MILES EAST OF DOWNTOWN
NORMAN TO 6.5 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF MCLOUD
...MAY 19 WEST OF PRAGUE TORNADO
/POTTAWATOMIE AND LINCOLN COUNTIES/...
RATING: EF2
PATH LENGTH: 7 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 400 YARDS
TIME: 6:59 PM - 7:12 PM CDT
LOCATION: 6 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF PRAGUE TO
3 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF PRAGUE
...MAY 19 NORTHEAST OF PRAGUE TORNADO
/LINCOLN AND OKFUSKEE COUNTIES/...
RATING: EF1
PATH LENGTH: 10 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 700 YARDS
TIME: 7:17 PM - 7:33 PM CDT
LOCATION: 3.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF PRAGUE TO
5.5 MILES WEST OF WELTY
...MAY 20 NEWCASTLE/MOORE TORNADO
/GRADY..MCCLAIN AND CLEVELAND COUNTIES/...
RATING: EF5
PATH LENGTH: 17 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 1.3 MILES
TIME: 2:45 PM - 3:35 PM CDT
LOCATION: 4.4 MILES WEST NEWCASTLE TO 4.8 MILES EAST
OF MOORE
...MAY 20 STEPHENS COUNTY TORNADO...
RATING: TO BE DETERMINED
PATH LENGTH: APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: TO BE DETERMINED
TIME: 7:58 PM - 8:20 PM CDT
LOCATION: APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF
MARLOW TO 3 MILES WEST OF BRAY.
OTHER TORNADO REPORTS ARE ALSO STILL BEING INVESTIGATED FROM MAY 20.
$$
|
A long track tornado began at 6:00 PM CDT (5:00 PM CST) in Cleveland County in the eastern sections of Norman just to the north of Lake Thunderbird along 96th Avenue and to the south of Tecumseh Road. The tornado moved northeast, crossing the eastern arm of Lake Thunderbird. A number of homes were significantly damaged as the tornado moved east-northeast through neighborhoods from near Indian Hills Road and 168th Avenue SE to the Pottawatomie County line.
The large tornado moved east-northeast into Pottawatomie County at 6:20 PM CDT and began curving northeast as it approached OK State Highway 102. The tornado moved through the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park north of Independence Road after crossing OK State Highway 102. Just northeast of the mobile home park, a permanent home was destroyed with much of the debris blown well to the northeast. It continued northeast crossing U.S. Interstate Highway 40 (I-40) near the intersection of US-177, then curved north-northeast finally dissipating near Wolverine Road and Coker Road at 6:50 PM CDT. One fatality occurred in the mobile home park, and another man was killed in his vehicle.
Below is an image with the preliminary damage path of the Lake Thunderbird-Bethel Acres-Shawnee tornado. Contours delineate the extent of EF-0 (light blue), EF-1 (green), EF-2 (yellow), EF-3 (orange), and EF-4 (red) damage from the survey.
 Photo courtesy Chris Calvert |
 Photo courtesy Cliff Harden |
 Photo courtesy Matt Kenndey |
 Photo courtesy Sara Wederski |
 Photo courtesy Bill Hark |
 Photo courtesy Bill Hark |
The above video includes footage from the three main tornadoes that occured on May 19th. The first portion of the video (0:00 to 2:33) is of the east Lake Thunderbird-Shawnee, OK Tornado. The second segment (2:33 to 3:20) is of the Carney, OK Tornado, and the final few seconds (3:20 to 3:38) is of the Edmond, OK Tornado. Video courtesy Brandon Sullivan
Surveys conducted by crews in the NWS Norman and NWS Tulsa forecast areas revealed that 8 tornadoes occurred during the afternoon and evening of May 19, 2013. A total of 7* tornadoes occurred in the NWS Norman forecast area in Oklahoma, Logan, Cleveland, Pottawatomie, and Lincoln Counties in central Oklahoma. A total of 2* tornadoes occurred in the NWS Tulsa forecast area in Okfuskee and Creek Counties in central Oklahoma. *The last tornado of the small tornado outbreak began in the NWS Norman forecast area in Lincoln County, and then crossed over into NWS Tulsa forecast area and traveled through Okfuskee and Creek Counties.
| # | Date | Time (CST) |
Path Length (miles) |
Path Width (yards) |
F-Scale | Killed | Injured | County | Path |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 05/19/2013 | 1522-1530 | 4.5 | 900 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | Oklahoma | Edmond (Near 33rd/S Boulevard - 0.3 NW E 15th/Air Depot) |
| 2 | 05/19/2013 | 1533-1534 | 0.5 | 200 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | Oklahoma | 1 SW Arcadia (just N of SH-66 near Post Road) |
| 3 | 05/19/2013 | 1541-1624 | 21 | 1200 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | Oklahoma/ Logan/ Lincoln | 3 NW Luther - Carney (SE) - 3 SE Tryon |
| 4 | 05/19/2013 | 1700-1750 | 23 | 1500 | EF4 | 2 | 10 | Cleveland/ Pottawatomie | East Norman (8 E downtown) - 6.5 ESE McLoud |
| 5 | 05/19/2013 | 1740-1743 | 2 | 30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | Pottawatomie | 4 SSE - 2.5 SE Dale |
| 6 | 05/19/2013 | 1747-1748 | 0.2 | 50 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | Creek | 2 WNW Shamrock |
| 7 | 05/19/2013 | 1759-1812 | 7 | 450 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | Pottawatomie/ Lincoln | 6 WSW Prague - 2.5 N Prague |
| 8 | 05/19/2013 | 1817-1840 | 14 | 700 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | Lincoln/ Okfuskee/ Creek | 3.5 NE Prague - 5.3 SSW Iron Post |
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
756 PM CDT SUN MAY 19 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0345 PM HAIL CHEROKEE 36.75N 98.35W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH ALFALFA OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
0347 PM HAIL 7 WNW EDMOND 35.69N 97.59W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH OKLAHOMA OK TRAINED SPOTTER
MCARTHUR AND COFFEE CREEK RD
0401 PM HAIL 7 ENE PIEDMONT 35.68N 97.63W
05/19/2013 E1.50 INCH OKLAHOMA OK TRAINED SPOTTER
0405 PM HAIL 13 W MEDFORD 36.81N 97.97W
05/19/2013 E1.75 INCH GRANT OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
NESCATUNGA NR HWY 11
0415 PM TSTM WND GST 3 SSW FREEDOM 36.73N 99.13W
05/19/2013 M61.00 MPH WOODWARD OK MESONET
0415 PM HAIL 5 W EDMOND 35.65N 97.57W
05/19/2013 E1.25 INCH OKLAHOMA OK PUBLIC
0415 PM TSTM WND GST 3 SSW FREEDOM 36.73N 99.13W
05/19/2013 M61.00 MPH WOODWARD OK MESONET
0417 PM HAIL 6 NE EDMOND 35.71N 97.40W
05/19/2013 M1.00 INCH OKLAHOMA OK EMERGENCY MNGR
I-35 AND SEWARD
0418 PM HAIL W EDMOND 35.65N 97.48W
05/19/2013 M1.50 INCH OKLAHOMA OK AMATEUR RADIO
178TH AND WESTERN
0421 PM TORNADO EDMOND 35.65N 97.48W
05/19/2013 OKLAHOMA OK BROADCAST MEDIA
15TH AND COLTRAIN RD, FROM KWTV
0433 PM TORNADO 1 SW ARCADIA 35.66N 97.34W
05/19/2013 OKLAHOMA OK BROADCAST MEDIA
AT E HWY 66 AND POST RD. FROM VARIOUS MEDIA SOURCES.
0437 PM HAIL 5 WNW ARCADIA 35.69N 97.41W
05/19/2013 M2.60 INCH OKLAHOMA OK PUBLIC
0451 PM HAIL 3 N LUTHER 35.71N 97.18W
05/19/2013 E2.75 INCH OKLAHOMA OK PUBLIC
0453 PM TORNADO 3 N LUTHER 35.71N 97.18W
05/19/2013 OKLAHOMA OK BROADCAST MEDIA
FROM KWTV
0455 PM HAIL 2 WSW BLANCHARD 35.13N 97.69W
05/19/2013 E2.00 INCH GRADY OK PUBLIC
0502 PM HAIL 3 WNW NORMAN 35.24N 97.49W
05/19/2013 E1.25 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
36TH NW AND ROCK CREEK RD
0505 PM HAIL 2 S NEWCASTLE 35.22N 97.60W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH MCCLAIN OK TRAINED SPOTTER
0510 PM HAIL BLANCHARD 35.15N 97.66W
05/19/2013 E1.25 INCH MCCLAIN OK CO-OP OBSERVER
COUNTY LINE RD AND HWY 62
0513 PM TORNADO SE CARNEY 35.81N 97.02W
05/19/2013 LINCOLN OK BROADCAST MEDIA
VARIOUS MEDIA SOURCES
0526 PM HAIL 2 N NORMAN 35.25N 97.44W
05/19/2013 E1.50 INCH CLEVELAND OK BROADCAST MEDIA
NEAR MAX WESTHEIMER AIRPORT. FROM KFOR
0527 PM HAIL 2 NW NORMAN 35.24N 97.47W
05/19/2013 E1.75 INCH CLEVELAND OK NWS EMPLOYEE
36TH AND TECUSEMAH
0530 PM HAIL N NORMAN 35.22N 97.44W
05/19/2013 E3.00 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
E 12TH AND TECUMSEH
0539 PM HAIL 1 W NEWCASTLE 35.25N 97.62W
05/19/2013 E1.75 INCH MCCLAIN OK NWS EMPLOYEE
0540 PM HAIL NEWCASTLE 35.25N 97.60W
05/19/2013 E1.75 INCH MCCLAIN OK PUBLIC
0542 PM HAIL 2 W NORMAN 35.22N 97.48W
05/19/2013 E1.50 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
0545 PM HAIL 2 SE WILL ROGERS AIRPOR 35.37N 97.57W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
0547 PM HAIL NW NORMAN 35.22N 97.44W
05/19/2013 E2.50 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
36TH AVE NW AND TECUMSEH RD
0601 PM TORNADO NW LAKE THUNDERBIRD 35.23N 97.23W
05/19/2013 CLEVELAND OK BROADCAST MEDIA
FROM KWTV
0602 PM HAIL MOORE 35.34N 97.49W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
0611 PM TORNADO E LAKE THUNDERBIRD 35.23N 97.23W
05/19/2013 CLEVELAND OK BROADCAST MEDIA
FROM KWTV
0612 PM HAIL 2 SSE VALLEY BROOK 35.38N 97.47W
05/19/2013 E1.50 INCH CLEVELAND OK PUBLIC
0621 PM HAIL TINKER AIR FORCE BASE 35.42N 97.39W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH OKLAHOMA OK AWOS
0621 PM HAIL TINKER AIR FORCE BASE 35.42N 97.39W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH OKLAHOMA OK OTHER FEDERAL
0628 PM HAIL MIDWEST CITY 35.46N 97.37W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH OKLAHOMA OK PUBLIC
29TH AND DOUGLAS
0708 PM TORNADO 2 NW PRAGUE 35.51N 96.72W
05/19/2013 LINCOLN OK BROADCAST MEDIA
0710 PM TSTM WND GST 3 NNW SHAWNEE 35.38N 96.94W
05/19/2013 M61.00 MPH POTTAWATOMIE OK MESONET
0724 PM HAIL 6 N PRAGUE 35.58N 96.69W
05/19/2013 E1.00 INCH LINCOLN OK PUBLIC
&&
$$
JPIKE
|
Photo courtesy Chris Calvert |
Photo courtesy Cliff Harden |
Photo courtesy Matt Kenndey |
Photo courtesy Sara Wederski |
Photo courtesy Bill Hark |
Photo courtesy Bill Hark |
The following photos were taken by a NWS storm survey team during the morning of May 20, 2013. These are photos of damage that occurred in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park, which is located 2.5 miles south of Dale, OK, or about 7 miles west-northwest of the center of Shawnee, OK and just northeast of the Shawnee Twin Lakes. The damage was produced by the violent Lake Thunderbird-Shawnee Tornado, and some of the damage at this location was rated EF-3 or EF-4.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on YouTube
OUN RSS Feed
