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Heavy Rain and Gusty Winds in the Central Plains; Severe Weather and Heavy Rainfall in the Lower Mississippi Valley

Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds are expected across the Central Plains into the Mid Missouri Valley. Widespread precipitation and heavy mountain snow will continue across the Northwest. Severe thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and evening from parts of east Texas into Louisiana. Heavy rainfall is likely tonight across eastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Read More >

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Tornado Track Map for Canadian County, OK
 
Canadian County, OK Tornadoes Prior to 1950
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
  05/02/1899 2300 2 100   0 svrl Canadian 2 W Calumet - Calumet
  05/18/1903 1730 55 200   0   Grady/ Canadian/ Oklahoma/ Logan NW Oklahoma County - NE of Guthrie
  04/20/1912 1600   400   1 1 Canadian 3 W of Yukon
  04/27/1912 1230 85 880   15 39 Kiowa/ Washita/ Caddo/ Canadian Lugert - near Hobart - Colony - near Hinton - near Calumet
  04/11/1927 1800 52 500   1 7 Caddo/ Grady/ Canadian Near Alfalfa - near Mustang
  06/09/1937 1630 35 320   4 7 Canadian/ Cleveland W of Union City - SE of Mustang - near Moore (possibly series)
  05/21/1940 l af 1 17   0 0 Canadian 1.5 E Mustang
  03/15/1942 2310 12 1760   0 1 Canadian/ Kingfisher Okarche - E of Kingfisher
Canadian County, OK Tornadoes (1950-Present*)
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
1 02/19/1951 1830 44 20 F2 0 5 Caddo/ Canadian/ Kingfisher Spring Creek community (8 NE Gracemont) - Ft. Reno - 6 E Okarche (southern Kingfisher County)
2 07/07/1952 1330 4 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 6 WSW Mustang
3 04/14/1953 1850 16 440 F2 0 0 Canadian/ Grady 5 SW Yukon - 8 E Tuttle
4 11/18/1953 2240 0.1 17 F0 0 0 Canadian 2.5 E El Reno
5 04/29/1954 2100 2 10 F2 0 0 Canadian 3 WSW Yukon
6 06/03/1956 0355 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Canadian just W of Mustang
7 06/03/1956 0355 0.1 10 F2 0 0 Canadian just W of Mustang - Mustang
8 07/02/1956 1837 16 400 F2 0 0 Canadian 15 SW - 1.5 E El Reno
9 04/22/1957 2015 31 10 F2 0 0 Caddo/ Canadian between Binger and Eakly - N of Calumet
10 05/22/1957 1030 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Canadian 5 SE Yukon
11 06/12/1957 1000 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Canadian 6 W Calumet
12 03/25/1959 1445 0.5 200 F1 0 0 Canadian 1 N El Reno
13 03/26/1961 1430 0.1 10 F2 0 0 Canadian 5 NW El Reno
14 04/08/1961 1545 1.3 100 F2 0 0 Canadian 6 ESE El Reno
15 04/30/1961 1730 1 200 F2 0 0 Canadian near Piedmont
16 04/30/1961 1800 0.5 10 F2 0 0 Canadian 11 W El Reno
17 05/04/1961 1815 9 10 F2 0 0 Canadian SW of Okarche
18 05/04/1961 1845 13 10 F1 0 0 Canadian S of Okarche - Piedmont
19 05/04/1961 2025 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Canadian N of Yukon
20 06/16/1963 0310 0.8 150 F2 0 0 Canadian Near Union City
21 05/01/1964 1630 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 5 WSW Yukon - NW Oklahoma City
22 06/10/1967 2135 17 10 F0 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 4 N El Reno - 3 NW Lake Hefner
23 04/30/1970 0045 32 440 F1 0 0 Grady/ Canadian/ Oklahoma 6 WNW Minco - northwest Oklahoma City - 5 NW The Village
24 04/30/1970 0100 47 500 F2 0 6 Grady/ Canadian/ Oklahoma 4 NW Pocasset - Mustang - Oklahoma City - 2 W Arcadia
25 06/11/1970 1410 13 100 F3 0 1 Canadian/ Oklahoma S of Yukon - Oklahoma City (near NW 150th/MacArthur)
26 06/19/1970 1745 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Canadian Near Piedmont
27 05/24/1973 1600 13 300 F4 2 4 Canadian WNW of Union City- Union City- SE of Union City
28 06/04/1973 1800 2 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 2 NE Yukon
29 04/20/1974 1500 64 100 F3 0 3 Grady/ Canadian/ Oklahoma/ Lincoln SW of Minco - 2 SE Mustang - S Oklahoma City - Del City - Midlothian
30 05/23/1974 1835 0.1 100 F1 0 0 Canadian Near I-40/Mustang Road
31 04/30/1978 1740 2 50 F1 0 0 Canadian S part of El Reno
32 04/30/1978 1740 6 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 3 E El Reno - 2 SW Richland
33 04/30/1978 1755 7 70 F0 0 0 Canadian 4 WSW Richland - Richland - 1 NE Richland
34 04/30/1978 1757 6 77 F0 0 0 Canadian 2 W Richland - 1 S Piedmont
35 04/30/1978 1820 9 1760 F4 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 2 S Piedmont- NW Oklahoma City- 9 W Edmond
36 06/21/1978 1115 1.5 40 F1 0 0 Canadian 3 W- 3 WNW Calumet
37 08/22/1979 1814 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Canadian 2 W Piedmont
38 08/22/1979 1855 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Canadian 3 W Union City
39 11/20/1979 1420 0.2 27 F1 0 0 Canadian SW of El Reno
40 05/22/1981 1849 17 1333 F4 0 0 Caddo/ Canadian 1 W Binger- 11 WNW Union City
41 05/22/1981 1932 2 100 F1 0 0 Canadian 5 WNW Union City
42 05/30/1982 1940 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Canadian W of El Reno
43 05/17/1983 2155 10 200 F2 0 0 Canadian 5 WNW- 7 NNE El Reno
44 06/15/1988 1215 1 20 F0 0 0 Canadian 3 N Union City
45 05/15/1990 1705 5 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 10 SW Calumet
46 05/26/1990 1851 0.1 23 F0 0 0 Canadian 1 N Concho
47 03/26/1991 2343 0.1 20 F0 0 0 Canadian 1 W Union City
48 04/12/1991 1505 1 30 F0 0 0 Canadian 8 WNW- 7 NW Calumet
49 05/11/1992 1120 6 73 F0 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher Piedmont- 2 SW Cashion
50 10/07/1992 1455 0.2 23 F1 0 3 Canadian SW Oklahoma City (near SW 27th/ Czech Hall)
51 06/03/1995 2025-2030 5 200 F1 0 0 Canadian 3 NNE Union City- 5 SE El Reno
52 06/13/1998 1815 0.2 30 F0 0 0 Canadian 5 WNW El Reno
53 06/13/1998 1817-1822 0.2 30 F0 0 0 Canadian 4 NW El Reno
54 06/13/1998 1845 0.1 30 F0 0 0 Canadian 2 WNW Yukon
55 05/03/1999 1758-1807 4 100 F0 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher 1.5 W Okarche - 4 N Okarche
56 05/03/1999 1800 0.2 25 F0 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher Okarche
57 05/03/1999 1903 0.1 25 F0 0 0 Canadian 2.5 WNW Union City
58 05/03/1999 1913-1914 0.8 100 F0 0 0 Canadian 2 NNE Union City
59 05/03/1999 1916-1918 1 75 F0 0 0 Canadian 4 NNE Union City - 5 NNE Union City
60 05/03/1999 1925 0.1 25 F0 0 0 Canadian 3 ESE El Reno
61 05/03/1999 1929-1941 9 150 F1 0 0 Canadian/ Blaine/ Kingfisher 3 NNE Geary - 7 S Omega
62 05/03/1999 1934-1946 6 150 F1 0 0 Canadian 6 WNW Yukon - 3 W Piedmont
63 05/03/1999 1948-2000 8 200 F2 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher 1.5 W Piedmont - 6 NNW Piedmont
64 05/03/1999 1958-2022 10 150 F1 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher N side of Piedmont - 2 W Cashion - 4 NW Cashion
65 05/03/1999 2056-2058 1 50 F0 0 0 Canadian SW Edge of El Reno
66 05/03/1999 2103-2137 22 350 F3 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher 1 NNE El Reno - 8 SE Kingfisher
67 10/22/2000 1636 0.2 30 F0 0 0 Canadian 5 SSE Calumet (at I-40 near MM 117)
68 05/09/2003 2053-2054 0.5 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 3.9 N - 4 N Union City
69 03/27/2004 1854 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Canadian 2 SSW Okarche
70 05/29/2004 1817-1915 20 1760 F2 0 0 Blaine/ Canadian/ Kingfisher 9 WNW Geary - 11.2 W Okarche
71 05/29/2004 1904-1914 5 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 2 N - 4.5 ENE Calumet
72 05/29/2004 1914-1920 2 20 F1 0 0 Canadian 4 NNE Calumet - 3.5 WNW Concho
73 05/29/2004 1922 0.1 20 F0 0 0 Canadian 2 NW Concho
74 05/29/2004 1945-1947 1 50 F1 0 0 Canadian 6.5 W - 5.5 W Piedmont
75 04/24/2006 1823-1838 3 30 F1 0 0 Canadian 5.5 W -3.1 WSW El Reno
76 04/24/2006 1830-1842 3 200 F1 0 0 Canadian 5.1 SW - 5 SSW El Reno
77 03/29/2007 1505-1525 8 50 EF2 0 5 Canadian NW Oklahoma City: near NW 39th/Sara (2 E Yukon) - N of Memorial Road / Morgan Road (3.5 ESE Piedmont)
78 05/08/2007 2226-2230 2 40 EF0 0 0 Canadian 2.4 W - 3.8 NW Union City
79 05/08/2007 2243-2250 1.8 150 EF1 0 0 Canadian El Reno (just SW of I-40/US-81 - just S of Choctaw Rd/Elm Rd. [2.5 SSE - 1 S El Reno]
80 05/08/2007 2308 0.6 80 EF1 0 0 Canadian 5 WSW Piedmont
81 05/08/2007 2321 0.2 30 EF1 0 0 Canadian 3 NNW Piedmont
82 08/19/2007 0100-0106 3 30 EF0 0 0 Caddo/ Canadian 1.7 ENE Cogar - 9 W Union City
83 08/19/2007 0132-0138 7 75 EF1 0 0 Grady/ Canadian 1 ESE Minco - 1 N Union City
84 05/07/2008 1557-1609 8 120 EF1 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 1 E Yukon - 1 ENE Warr Acres
85 05/10/2010 1546-1552 7 30 EF0 0 0 Canadian/ Kingfisher/ Logan 5.5 N Piedmont - 0.5 E Cashion
86 05/10/2010 1546-1554 4 40 EF0 0 0 Canadian 3.5 NNE Union City - 6 SE El Reno
87 05/24/2011 1450-1635 63 1760 EF5 9 181 Canadian/ Kingfisher/ Logan 4 ESE Hinton - El Reno - Piedmont - Cashion - 4 NE Guthrie
88 05/24/2011 1537-1539 1.5 50 EF0 0 0 Canadian 3 NW Richland
89 04/13/2012 2352-2355 2 75 EF1 0 0 Canadian Oklahoma City (1 N - 3 NNW Mustang; near SW 54th St/Mustang - near SW 29th St/Tucson)
90 05/29/2012 1926-1928 1 30 EF1 0 0 Canadian 2 SW Piedmont (near NW 150th St/Richland Rd)
91 05/29/2012 2015-2016 1 30 EF0 0 0 Canadian 2.5 WSW Union City
92 05/29/2013 1600 0.2 20 EF1 0 0 Canadian 6 W Calumet
93 05/31/2013 1655-1656 0.4 30 EF0 0 0 Canadian 7 S Calumet
94 05/31/2013 1703-1744 16 4576 EF3 8 26 Canadian 8 S Calumet - 5.5 S El Reno - 6 SSW Richland
95 05/31/2013 1712-1713 0.5 120 EF0 0 0 Canadian 5 NW Union City
96 05/31/2013 1713-1714 0.5 350 EF0 0 0 Canadian 5.5 SSW El Reno
97 05/31/2013 1729-1741 5 150 EF2 0 1 Canadian 6.5 W - 4.5 SW Yukon
98 05/31/2013 1751-1809 6 600 EF1 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 5 SE Yukon (NW of SW 15th/Morgan) - W Oklahoma City (near SW 15th/Meridian)
99 05/31/2013 1755-1757 0.5 50 EF0 0 0 Canadian 6 S El Reno
100 03/25/2015 1712 0.7 50 EF0 0 0 Canadian 6 WSW - 5 WSW Yukon
101 04/26/2016 1908-1912 4 50 EF0 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 1 NE Mustang (near SW 59th/Sara - SW Oklahoma City (NE of SW 29th/County Line Road)
102 05/18/2017 1605-1610 3 50 EF0 0 0 Canadian/ Blaine 4 SE - 5.5 E Greenfield
103 05/25/2019 2128-2132 2.2 75 EF3 2 29 Canadian 2 S - 2.5 ESE El Reno
104 10/13/2021 0359-0408 6 150 EF1 0 0 Canadian west Mustang (SE of SH-152 and Frisco Road) - southwest Oklahoma City (SW of SW 29th St and County Line Road)
105 10/26/2021 2254 0.3 20 EF0 0 0 Canadian Union City (southeast side)
106 04/23/2022 1815-1816 0.3 50 EF? 0 0 Canadian 4 SSW Mustang
107 10/24/2022 0727-0733 3 50 EF0 0 0 Canadian 6.5 W - 4 W Mustang
108 02/26/2023 2057-2107 11 200 EF1 0 0 Grady/ Canadian 3 W Tuttle - far southwest OKC - 4 WNW Mustang
 

Significant Tornadoes in Canadian County

  Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
  02/19/1951 1830-2000 44 20 F2 0 5 Caddo/ Canadian/ Kingfisher Spring Creek community (8 NE Gracemont) - Ft. Reno - 6 E Okarche (southern Kingfisher County)

This tornado struck the Spring Creek community in northern Caddo County at 6:30 pm CST, injuring 5 people from one family when a house collapsed in the area. A store and a vacant house were also damaged in the community.

The tornado continued northeastward into Canadian County, striking the Fort Reno area at 7:17 pm CST before dissipating 6 miles east of Okarche in southern Kingfisher County at 8:00 pm CST. The hail that accompanied the tornado in Kingfisher County caused $500 in property damage. Estimated damage from this tornado was $32,500.

The Fort Reno area incurred about $15,000 in damages and several buildings were demolished including a large barracks and large hay shed while other buildings were damaged including Lucas Hall. The weather equipment at Fort Reno was destroyed with the rain gauge being found several hundred yards from its original location. Several farms in Canadian County were also damaged.

  04/30/1970 0100 47 500 F2 0 6 Grady/ Canadian/ Oklahoma 4 NW Pocasset - Mustang - Oklahoma City - 2 W Arcadia

The first report of damage from a tornado was located 4 miles northwest of Pocasset in Grady County, or 25 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The tornado moved along a northeastward path through parts of Canadian and Oklahoma counties, and damaged was last reported 2 miles west of Arcadia. Only 2 or 3 people reported seeing the funnel, but a number of persons heard a loud noise, like that made by a jet engine.

In several areas roofs or buildings were moved at a right angle to the path of the storm, indicating a rotating column of air. Most of the damage occurred at Mustang in Canadian County, located just southwest of Oklahoma City, and along a path up to a half mile wide from the southwest corner of Oklahoma City to the northeast corner of the city.

A farmstead northwest of Pocasset received $10,000 in damages, and there was extensive damage to a home and several outbuildings 2 miles west of Arcadia. Two semi-trailer trucks were blown off the road and turn over on their sides along the westbound U.S. Interstate Highway I-40 lanes as the trucks were entering the Oklahoma City limits.

At Mustang, damages were estimated at $500,000 and were confined mainly to a shopping center and the city hall in the north part of Mustang. About 3 miles northeast of Mustang, a school building was extensively damaged and had most of its windows blown out.

One mile west of Mustang, wind equipment belonging to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) recorded a wind speed of 110 mph. About 7 miles southwest of Mustang, a NSSL rain gauge measure 5 inches of rain.

In Oklahoma City, the damage was estimated at $6.3 million. Damage occurred to 1,473 homes, 293 businesses, 8 schools, 12 churches, and 300 signs. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company officials reported 30,000 telephones out of service, primarily in northwest Oklahoma City and Mustang. Oklahoma Gas and Electric officials reported that 215 utility poles were downed.

It is possible that several tornadoes were produced by the parent supercell thunderstorm instead of a single, long-track tornado.

  06/11/1970 1410 13 100 F3 0 1 Canadian/ Oklahoma S of Yukon - Oklahoma City (near NW 150th/MacArthur)

This tornado destroyed two farm homes, a barn, and other outbuildings in an area just south of Yukon and the moved northeastward to northwest Oklahoma city where a nursing home was heavily damaged. One of the nursing home residents was slightly injured.

05/24/1973 1600 13 300 F4 2 4 Canadian WNW of Union City - Union City - SE of Union City

This violent tornado touched down several miles west-northwest of Union City and moved east-southeastward through the city before it turned more southeastward for several miles.  An estimated $1 million of damage was done in Union City, with 27 homes and 18 mobile homes destroyed.  In addition, 20 homes sustained major damage and 23 homes had minor damage.  Severe commercial buildings and churches were also heavily damaged.  Farm animals were killed and crops damaged.  A total of six people were killed and two people were seriously injured. It was noted that the intensity and destruction of this tornado was immense. There were also two funnels aloft reported in the area at the time of the event. This was one of the most thoroughly studied tornadoes in history, as multiple research scientists from the National Severe Storms Laboratory documented the event through experimental Doppler radar and storm chase teams.

  04/20/1974 1500 64 100 F3 0 3 Grady/ Canadian/ Oklahoma/ Lincoln SW of Minco - 2 SE Mustang - S Oklahoma City - Del City - Midlothian

A funnel cloud was observed 3 miles southwest of Minco in Grady County at about 3:00 pm CST. The funnel touched down about 2 miles southwest of Mustang at 3:28 pm CST and periodically lifted and touched the ground again at it moved to the east-northeast at 30 mph. This tornado dissipated in Lincoln County at 5:30 pm CST.

The tornado passed about a mile south of the NWS forecast office located near the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Wind gusts of 66 mph along with 2-inch diameter hail were observed at the forecast office.

A major portion of the reported damage occurred as the storm moved through the southern Oklahoma City and Del City areas. There was extensive damage to homes in that area as several houses were unroofed. A total of 3 injuries were reported in the great Oklahoma City area. Fortunately, none of the injuries were serious.

As the continued moving to the east-northeast through eastern Oklahoma County, the next report of damage was 3 miles northwest of Harrah where several farm buildings were destroyed. Several more farm buildings were destroyed in the Midlothian area.

If more data had been available at the time, it is possible that 2-3 tornadoes may have occurred with one tornado dissipating and another tornado forming near the end point of the previous tornado. However, with the data that was available at the time, it appeared that one long-track tornado occurred.

  04/30/1978 1820 9 1760 F4 0 0 Canadian/ Oklahoma 2 S Piedmont- NW Oklahoma City- 9 W Edmond

A large, massive tornado touched down 1/2 mile north of the intersection of Oklahoma State Highways 3 and 4 in Canadian County and moved east-northeast into Oklahoma County, dissipating 9 miles west and 1 mile north of Edmond. It passed 1 mile southeast of the community of Piedmont where the heaviest damage was inflicted. At this location a housing addition was severely damaged with 15 houses completely destroyed or heavily damaged. Ten rural homes were also heavily damaged just to the east-northeast of the housing addition. Several large missiles including automobiles, oil storage tanks, and stock feeders were picked up by the tornado and carried up to a half mile.

The damage path was at least a mile across throughout the tornado's life cycle. Hailstones up to 2.5 inches in diameter were also reported with the storm. The same parent supercell thunderstorm which produced this giant tornado, had also previously generated 4 tornadoes in and near El Reno and Richland in Canadian County.

  05/22/1981 1849 17 1333 F4 0 0 Caddo/ Canadian 1 W Binger- 11 WNW Union City

This large tornado formed a mile west of Binger, OK and moved northeast through northeastern Caddo County and southwestern Canadian County before dissipating at the Canadian River, 11 miles west and 3 miles north of Union City. This large, intense tornado created projectiles from refrigerators automobiles, trucks, combines, and utility poles. Dead cattle were founded hanging from denuded trees. Large oil storage tanks, butane tanks, and motor vehicles  were moved to distances up to a half mile by the tornadic winds. Fortunately, all farmsteads in the path of the tornado had underground shelters, and the occupants were able to take shelter during the storm. The tornado was rated F4, and a Fujita Scale damage path map shows the tornado path length, width and approximate damage intensity.

  10/07/1992 1455 0.2 23 F1 0 3 Canadian SW Oklahoma City (near SW 27th/ Czech Hall)

Severe thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon of October 7th in southwest and central Oklahoma along a strong cold front. These storms later moved east into northeast Oklahoma during the late afternoon hours. The main threat from these storms was strong winds, although some hail up to quarter size was reported.

A small tornado developed in southwest Oklahoma City and moved through a residential area occupied by mostly mobile homes and modular homes. Six mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, and one garage was damaged. A 60-year-old man was in one of the mobile homes with his 2 granddaughters when the home was destroyed, and all 3 suffered minor injuries. The damage was estimated at $150,000.

  03/29/2007 1505-1525 8 50 EF2 0 5 Canadian NW Oklahoma City: near NW 39th/Sara (2 E Yukon) - N of Memorial Road / Morgan Road (3.5 ESE Piedmont)

Showers and thunderstorms developed during the morning hours of March 29th over central Oklahoma. During the afternoon hours, thunderstorms began to show brief, but persistent signs of rotation, that later resulted in three tornadoes. The most significant tornado of the day struck the western Oklahoma City metro area, producing EF2 damage. Other tornadoes were reported near Okeene, and over northwest Garfield county. Damage was reported with each of these thunderstorms, which included roof damage, tree and power line damage, and automobile accidents. No fatalities were reported, but five direct injuries were reported in western Oklahoma City.

The tornado developed around 3:05 pm CST near the intersection of NW 39th Street and Sara Road in western Oklahoma City, and moved north northeast. In this area several homes suffered roof and garage door damage. The tornado continued north along and just west of the Kilpatrick Turnpike. Significant damage was noted along NW 63rd Street, where a home was heavily damaged, several travel trailers and a boat were rolled and damaged. Several vehicles were also pushed by the wind.

Another area of significant damage was noted along Wilshire Blvd., just west of the Kilpatrick Turnpike. In this area a travel trailer was destroyed, with additional damage to a home and several outbuildings. Two people were directly injured in the travel trailer. In addition, several hardwood trees were snapped, indicative of EF2 damage. The tornado appeared to have been at its widest toward the end of its path along Morgan Road just north of NW 122nd Street, and it was at this point along the path where the intensity appeared to have been at its highest. Several homes sustained significant roof and siding damage and several wooden power poles were snapped. A metal building was severely damaged. Just to the east of this location, three large electrical transmission towers were damaged. Spotty light damage continued a little further north before the tornado dissipated along Morgan Road north of Memorial Road at 3:25 pm CST. Three additional people were directly injured on the Kilpatrick Turnpike. This EF2 tornado injured 5 people and caused an estimated half of a million dollars in damage.

05/24/2011 1450-1635 63 1760 EF5 9 181 Canadian/ Kingfisher/ Logan 4 ESE Hinton (14 SW Calumet) - near Calumet - El Reno - Piedmont - Cashion - 4 NE Guthrie

This tornado began very close to the Caddo/Canadian County border and quickly became a strong/violent tornado. The tornado destroyed numerous trees, many of which were debarked, before crossing U.S. Interstate Highway I-40. Three people died in vehicles near the I-40 Calumet exit, and two other fatalities occurred just northeast of that location. Cars were thrown thousands of feet off the roadways. It is believed that the tornado reached its maximum intensity just after crossing I-40, and it was here that a mobile radar measured winds of greater than 210 mph just off the surface.

The tornado side-swiped the El Reno Oklahoma Mesonet station (located 5 miles west of El Reno) along its path, and the site measured wind gusts of 131 and 151 mph. From this location, the tornado continued northeast, narrowly missing the town of Piedmont. Widespread EF-3, occasional EF-4 damage occurred between El Reno and Piedmont. More widespread EF-4 damage was seen west and north of Piedmont. Especially hard hit was the Falcon Lake neighborhood, near the Kingfisher County border. Two children were killed at this location.

The tornado entered far southeast Kingfisher County before moving into Logan County. However, EF-3 damage occurred just over the Kingfisher County border, debarking trees and significantly damaging buildings. As the tornado continued northeast, the damage was mainly considered EF-2, with damage to mostly outbuildings and trees. The tornado then continued into Logan County.

The tornado moved into Logan County and resulted in two additional fatalities (both of whom were outside when the tornado struck) near Cashion. The tornado destroyed several manufactured homes (both double and single-wide) after entering Logan County. Large high-transmission line tresses collapsed. Trees were debarked with only stumps remaining. Several buildings had most of their exterior walls collapse, with only the inner walls remaining. EF-2 to occasionally EF-3 damage occurred as the tornado neared Guthrie. Luckily, most of the town of Guthrie was spared to the tornado as it moved west and then north of the center of the city. Finally, the tornado dissipated northeast of Guthrie with some minor tree damage. The tornado’s path total path length was 63 miles, and it was on the ground for nearly one hour and 45 minutes. This was the first EF-5 tornado to occur in Oklahoma since the Enhanced Fujita Scale was adopted by the National Weather Service in 2007.

05/31/2013 1703-1744 16 4576 EF3 8 26 Canadian 8 S Calumet - 5.5 S El Reno - 6 SSW Richland

A tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon and early evening hours of May 31st. A stalled front and deeply mixed dryline served as a focus for thunderstorm development. The front/dryline triple point was where the most intense supercells initiated. These storms traveled eastward, eventually impacting the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Several tornadoes occurred, including the El Reno tornado, which unfortunately claimed several lives. In addition to the tornado, very large hail and heavy rains led to flash flooding in Oklahoma City. This flash flood event ranked as one of the worst in Oklahoma City history in terms of fatalities and damages to property. The event lasted well into the overnight hours of June 1st.

On May 31, 2013, an intense, long-track tornado formed southwest of El Reno. This exceptionally wide tornado took a complex path, rapidly changing in both speed and direction. The tornado spared El Reno and its airport from a direct hit, tracking just south of those locations. The tornado damaged numerous homes along with a few businesses near El Reno. Additionally, intense sub-vortices destroyed crops in numerous fields in the area.

The tornado developed at 5:03 pm CST (6:03 pm CDT) just northeast of the intersection of Heaston and Reuter roads. Initially, the tornado moved to the southeast at 20 to 25 mph. At 5:09 pm CST, the tornado turned to the east, just south of Reno Road between Heaston and Brandley roads. The tornado continued to expand in size just southwest of the El Reno Municipal Air Park, where its speed increased to 30 to 40 mph. As the tornado passed just south of the airport, two satellite tornadoes formed briefly on the west side of the tornado.

At 5:19 pm CST the tornado crossed Highway 81 near Reno Road as it continued to expand in size. There, the tornado abruptly turned to the north, while also accelerating to greater than 50 mph. From 5:24 to 5:26 pm CST, the tornado reached its maximum in size and intensity near the intersection of Radio and Reuter roads. The tornado, still very large, slowed down as it approached U.S. Interstate Highway 40. From 5:27 to 5:35 pm CST the tornado made a loop just north of the interstate while decelerating to less than 10 mph. After 5:35 pm CST, the tornado moved east once again, and dissipated at 5:42 pm CST near the intersection of I-40 and Banner Road.

Eight people were killed in the tornado, all in vehicles. This included three severe storm researchers who were killed east of U.S. Highway 81 as the tornado overtook their position. Additionally, several other people were killed while attempting to escape the tornado near Highway 81. Finally, two people were killed along I-40 while waiting for the storm to pass.

The monetary damages were estimated. This tornado was well sampled by two separate mobile research radar teams – the University of Oklahoma RaXPol radar, and the Center for Severe Weather Research’s Doppler on Wheels. Both radars captured high temporal and spatial resolution data relatively close to the large tornado. Both radars measured winds in the tornado of more than 200 mph. The RaXPol radar data shows winds of at least 295 mph very close to the surface. These intense winds were present in very small sub-vortices within the larger tornado circulation. An analysis of the high-resolution radar data combined with the results of the ground damage survey indicates that none of these intense sub-vortices impacted any structures in rural Canadian County. So, despite the measured wind speeds, surveyors could not find any damage that would support a rating higher than EF-3 based solely on the damage indicators used with the EF scale.

The maximum tornado width was 2.6 miles. However, the damaging wind swath was much larger, as non-tornadic downdraft winds extended for at least a mile south of the tornado. Given the difficulty of separating this damage from tornadic damage, the OU RaXPol radar was used to help determine the width.

  05/31/2013 1729-1741 5 150 EF2 0 1 Canadian 6.5 W - 4.5 SW Yukon

The storm damage survey and Doppler on Wheels mobile radar detected a long-lived anticyclonic tornado southwest of Yukon. Some structural damage was noted along with damage to trees. One person was injured. Damages were estimated.

  05/25/2019 2128-2132 2.2 75 EF3 2 29 Canadian 2 S - 2.5 ESE El Reno

An intense QLCS tornado developed south of El Reno, just south of Interstate 40 and about a mile west of US-81. Initially the tornado affected rural areas, but as it moved east-northeast, it moved through the northwestern portion of an automobile dealership at the northwest corner of Interstate 40 and US-81. There it overturned or displaced a number of vehicles and removed the roof and collapsed many exterior walls of an automobile service building.

Immediately northeast of the automobile dealership, the tornado moved through the southeastern portion of a mobile home park destroying many mobile homes. Although the tornado was relatively narrow, the destruction of mobile homes was complete in the path while mobile homes just a couple of blocks away suffered minimal damage. Two residents of one mobile home were killed when their home was destroyed.

Just to the northeast of the mobile home park, the tornado hit a two-story motel. Most walls of the second story were collapsed in the portion of the motel that was in the most intense part of the tornado path and the tornado was rated EF3 at this motel.

Crossing US-81, the tornado significantly damaged another automotive service building and produced significant roof damage to a home on SE 27th Street. The tornado weakened as it moved east-northeast along and just north of SE 27th Street damaging trees before dissipating near Alfadale Road.

 

Records taken from the Storm Prediction Center archive data, "Storm Data", and data from the National Weather Service office in Norman. Data modified as described in NOAA Tech Memo NWS SR-209 (Speheger, D., 2001: "Corrections to the Historic Tornado Database").

Historic data, especially before 1950, are likely incomplete.