Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, May 24 to 25, 1998

A large complex of severe thunderstorms moved from southern Kansas into northern and central Oklahoma during the evening of May 24th and the early morning of May 25th, resulting in 16 tornadoes, most of which occurred in Grant County. The strongest tornado, an F3, occurred near Lamont in Grant County. There were also reports of hail up to 3.5 inches in diameter, straight line wind damage, and flooding. The first tornado, an F0, touched down in an open field 1 mile south of Amorita in Alfalfa County at 1745 CST lasting for less than one minute with no reports of damage. The second tornado, also an F0, was reported 5 minutes later by media chasers to have touched down in an open field 3 miles east northeast of Amorita. Touchdown was very brief with no damage reported. The third tornado was also observed by media chasers, this time in northeast Alfalfa County 8 miles east of Amorita. The tornado, an F1, damaged one house and knocked down power lines as it moved southeast and weakened while crossing into western Grant County for a total damage path lengh of 5 miles. There were no reports of damage with this segment of the tornado in Grant County and thus was rated an F0. An unusual aspect of this tornado was that it was reported to be rotating anticyclonically. The fourth and fifth tornadoes were also rated F0, the fourth reported by media chasers to have touched down in an open field 4 west northwest of Wakita with no damage, and the fifth observed by Wakita Fire Department to be on the ground for 2.5 miles from 2 miles southwest of Wakita to 2 miles south of Wakita. No damage was reported. An off-duty National Weather Service meteorologist observed the sixth tornado, an F0, in an open field 9 miles west of Medford. The seventh tornado, also an F0, produced no damage as it rotated anticyclonically 3 miles southeast of Wakita. The eighth and ninth tornadoes, both F0, occurred simultaneously 6 miles west of Medford. The eighth tornado touched down just north of Highway 11 while the ninth tornado touched down just south of Highway 11. One house and a business were damaged by the tenth tornado which occurred in Grant County from 2 miles southwest of Medford to 2 miles south of Medford. The eleventh tornado, an F0, was observed by an off duty National Weather Service meteorologist to be knocking down trees and power lines in a 5 mile long damage path in southern Grant County. The twelvth tornado, an F1, snapped trees in half and damaged a private airstrip 4 miles east northeast of Pond Creek while the thirteenth tornado, also an F1, damaged several homes and knocked down trees and power lines 1 mile north of Salt Fork. The fourteenth tornado, an F0, was reported by spotters to have touched down briefly in an open field causing no damage. The most destructive tornado occurred near the city of Lamont where damage estimates reached 2 million dollars. National Weather Service meteorologists conducted a survey of the area and found a damage path 5 1/4 miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide with F3 damage occurring 2 miles west of Lamont where a well-built brick home had all of its exterior walls destroyed. In addition, 6 single-family homes were destroyed 1.5 miles south of Lamont, while in the city of Lamont 3 single-family dwellings sustained major damage. Nine single-family homes sufferred minor damage. Nearly a dozen vehicles were destroyed, including automobiles, pickup trucks, farm trucks, and farm tractors. Several barns were destroyed including one barn where 30 sheep were also killed. More than 70 utility poles were ripped down in a 3 mile stretch. The Lamont tornado, as it is referred, was unusual in its direction of movement. Several eye witnesses reported a southeast to northwest movement. WSR-88D data also showed the mesocyclone associated with the tornado moving from south to north in a looping manner when the tornado was reported. The last tornado, the sixteenth of this episode, touched down briefly in an open field 5 miles northwest of Tonkawa at 2130 CST. Tonkawa Emergency Management reported no damage. Thus, this tornado was rated an F0. In addition to these tornadoes, a large macroburst containing damaging straight-line winds occurred from 13 miles west of Medford (Grant County) to 4 miles west northwest of Pond Creek. Satellite dishes owned by Classic Cable Company, which were rated at 110 mph, were flattened by the winds. Straight-line wind damage was also reported in Alva where one man sustained minor injuries when he was blown into the bed of a pickup truck. Also in Alva at least 3 mobile homes suffered major damage; several carports were destroyed; awning and minor roof damage occurred to many homes; and trees and power lines were blown down. One indirect fatality occurred in Alva when a man slipped and suffered a heart attack while seeking shelter in a storm cellar. Other reports of straight-line wind damage include major roof damage to an old schoolhouse gymnasium in the city of Jefferson in Grant County. Two large cedar trees were also uprooted in Jefferson. A tree limb was blown through a picture window 14 miles north northeast of Camp Houston in Woods County. Windows were also blown out of a shed, and numerous trees were downed. Four to six inch tree limbs were blown down 9 miles west of Cherokee in Alfalfa County. In Thomas in Custer County one utility pole was snapped and large limbs were blown down. Power lines were knocked down in Edmond in Oklahoma County. Severe winds also damaged the roof of the Fred Humphrey Pavillion in Shawnee in Pottawatomie County. The largest hail reported measured 3.5 inches in diameter and occurred in Medford in Grant County. Three reported events of at least tennis ball size hail occurred in Goltry (Alfalfa County) in less than 2 hours: tennis ball size hail at 2140 CST and 2230 CST, and baseball size hail at 2305 CST. Between 30 and 100 percent of the wheat crop was destroyed due to large hail from about 2 miles west of Jet to near Goltry. Another area south of Cherokee, near the junction of US 64 and SH 8 also sustained major wheat crop damage. In addition numerous vehicles had their windows broken. Tennis ball size hail also damaged the wheat crop and numerous vehicles in Okarche in Canadian County while in Watonga in Blaine County golf ball size hail damaged RV vehicles and street lights. Quarter size hail damaged several vehicles 6 miles north of Piedmont in Canadian County. Lightning struck a house in Piedmont causing a house to catch on fire. The last of the severe thunderstorms moved through northern Oklahoma during the early morning of May 25th, resulting in flooding near Cherokee and the National Wildlife Refuge in Alfalfa County, where 5.5 inches of rain fell. Several streets and the city park were also flooded in Blackwell in Kay County during the evening of May 24th.