Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 9, 2003

Several windows were reported broken.

A barn was knocked down along with a truck overturned.

Hail was observed near the intersection of Banner Road and Reno Avenue.

Hail was observed falling on the east side of town.

Hail was reported falling a half a mile east of Wiley Post Airport on 63rd Street.

This area received primarily hail damage, however some wind damage was sustained. A 50 foot section of the south wall and the roof of a large tin barn collapsed due to strong winds.

Hail damage was sustained by many residents along and a couple miles north of Highway 51. Several homes had holes in siding and many broken windows. Many vehicles were also damaged. A few horses received deep lacerations due to the large hail after the strong winds which also accompanied the hail caused a large tin barn wall to collapse. Many wheat and rye fields were reported to have damaged crops.

Hail was observed on North Council Road near Wiley Post Airport.

Hail was observed near the intersection of Britton Road and Northwest Expressway.

Hail was observed near the intersection of Northwest 122nd and North Pennsylvania Avenue.

Hail was reported falling near the intersection of West Britton Road and North MacArthur Boulevard west of Lake Hefner.

This very brief tornado was caught on video by a storm chaser. It occurred in open country with no damage reported.

This brief F1 tornado began a quarter of a mile north of Highway 152 on NS267 Road then moved east for a mile dissipating a half a mile south of Highway 152 on NS268 Road. The tornado launched a pickup camper 150 yards, snapped large tree limbs, and blew a cotton silo 50 yards. The tornado crossed Highway 152 and damaged a mobile home. The roof was peeled away to the north and exterior walls were removed with insulation blown around. It was still sitting on cinder blocks and it could not be determined by the survey team whether it was tied down. The mobile home appeared to be abandoned. Large tree limbs were downed towards the end of the path.

This is the first segment of a tornado that started in Caddo County and moved east-northeast before dissipating just after crossing into Grady County, nine miles west-northwest of Minco. The tornado began near the intersection of EW115 Road and NS274 Road then traveled 1.2 miles dissipating just to the northeast of the location a quarter mile north of EW115 Road on the county line road of NS275 Road. A homestead was damaged with tree limbs snapped, stockade fence blown over, a camper trailer blown sideways, a trampoline lofted, and swing set blown over. This occurred shortly before the tornado crossed the county line.

This is the final segment of the tornado that began in Caddo County, 1.4 miles northeast of Cogar, and moved east-northeast crossing into Grady County before dissipating. The tornado crossed the county line a quarter mile north of EW115 Road on NS275 Road. No significant damage was noted in Grady County. However, wheat swirls were seen just to the northeast of the location where the tornado crossed into Grady County.

Hail was observed near the Cimarron Road exit of Interstate 40.

An area of straight-line winds associated with a rear-flank downdraft (RFD) caused an area of damage that began in Canadian County and ended near Lake Hefner in Oklahoma County. The RFD damage path went from just west of Frisco Road between Southwest 29th Street and Southwest 15th Street in Yukon, across Route 4 and Reno Avenue, then across the Xerox Factory, continuing to near the south side of Lake Overholser where it crossed the county line. For the first two to four miles sporadic tree damage occurred. The damage then increased across the area as the storm moved further northeast. The damage path was up to two miles wide at times.

This brief tornado began 0.2 miles south of EW108 Road on Choctaw Road (NS283 Road) then moved east-northeast for half a mile before dissipating 0.6 miles west of Highway 81 on EW108 Road. A power pole was snapped, consistent with F1 damage, and two others blown over at the start of the path. Minor structural damage to a house was noted towards the end of the path.

Surrounding the multiple-vortex tornado that began 0.9 miles west-northwest of Bethany was a wider and much longer swath of straight-line wind damage from the rear-flank downdraft (RFD) with all damage blown from southwest to northeast. The RFD damage path began in Canadian County, 4.9 miles south-southwest of Yukon, and extended northeast until it ended near Lake Hefner. The swath of damage crossed the county line near Lake Overholser. The wind affected the south side of Lake Overholser including the south and east shoreline communities, then went across Woodlawn Park, surrounded the aforementioned tornado area, and finally dissipated northeast of Northwest Expressway and Meridian Avenue. Sporadic tree damage occurred during the last few miles of the path with more concentrated damage towards the beginning of the path in Oklahoma County. The RFD damage path was up to two miles wide at times.

This tornado began within the Bethany city limits and moved northeast before dissipating within Warr Acres city limits. This tornado which caused mostly F0 damage with pockets of high-end F1 damage tracked from near the intersection of Glade Avenue and Northwest 38th Street, across Northwest 50th Street and North Rockwell Avenue, and finally to Hammond Avenue and Northwest 59th Street. Most damage was in the F0 category to trees and roof shingles. Several pockets of F1 damage were noted embedded within the path, indicative of possible multiple-vortices. Most structures that received F1 damage were structures with susceptibilities to high wind. These included several churches, a self-storage facility, airport hangars at Wiley Post Airport, several warehouses, a few small homes, and several businesses. The tornado damaged approximately 70 airplanes and 40 hangers were damaged or destroyed at Wiley Post Airport. Many of the airplanes damaged were inside the hangers.A man suffered fatal injuries (indirect) in Warr Acres. An eighty year old man from Woodward, Oklahoma was visiting relatives in Warr Acres. He injured his head as he was seeking shelter and died from his injuries two days later. The structure he was in was not affected by the storm.

Straight-line winds associated with a rear-flank downdraft (RFD) caused an area of tree limb damage in the Nichols Hills area. The path of damage began near North Rotary Park and extended to about half a mile west of the Broadway Extension between Northwest 63rd Street and Wilshire Boulevard. The area of damage was a mile wide at times.

This brief nighttime tornado, within the Oklahoma City limits, was video taped by a storm chaser. The tornado began near the intersection of Northwest 57th Street and Sapulpa Avenue then moved northeast before dissipating just southwest of Hefner Parkway and Northwest Expressway. There was minor damage to fencing and aluminum car ports. Tree limbs were also downed. The heaviest damage was sustained at a restaurant just before the tornado dissipated. The restaurant's roof was damaged.

This long track tornado began 0.25 miles northeast of the intersection of North Kelly Avenue and East Wilshire Boulevard, just northeast of the KWTV-9 TV station and near the WB-34 TV station...neither tall tower was toppled. As the tornado moved northeast to Interstate 35, the width of the damage consistently was a third of a mile wide, and the maximum damage was F1 with widespread tree damage, snapped power poles, and roof damage to a number of homes south of Britton Road. The damage intensified to F2 on the west side of Interstate 35 where the roof was taken off of one wing of the Clara Waters Community Corrections Center. South of East Hefner Road and east of Interstate 35, an industrial building at a horse ranching operation sustained F3 damage. At that location, the steel frame, fastened to the concrete foundation with four one-inch diameter steel rods, was destroyed and steel reinforced concrete was pulled out of the ground. The tornado next produced F2 damage to the front portion of the Oakdale School at North Sooner Road and East Hefner Road. The Witcher Baptist Church, just south of the school, sustained F1 damage. East of Sooner Road and north of Hefner Road, the tornado weakened, producing F1 damage on the southeast side of the River Oaks Golf Club/Community. South of Northeast 122nd Street, between North Air Depot Boulevard and North Midwest Boulevard, the tornado strengthened again and the path widened to over three-quarters of a mile wide as the tornado turned more to the northeast. South of Northeast 122nd, between Midwest Boulevard and Douglas Boulevard, significant damage occurred to homes and trees. One home was completely destroyed (F3), two homes were heavily damaged (F2), and a vehicle was tossed 25 yards. The tornado turned to the southeast and damage weakened to F1 approximately 0.3 miles west of the intersection of North Post Road and Hefner Road. The tornado then turned back east-northeast causing a sheet metal hay barn to be completely blown down with hay intact. Several poles were downed towards the north, 0.25 miles west of the barn. Partial barn roof removal was found southwest of location in an open field. Another area of F1 damage began 0.3 miles north of the intersection of North 108th Street and Westminster Boulevard. A metal roof was peeled off and several tree limbs downed in this location. The tornado intensified to F2 just shortly after this, downing high tension poles 0.5 miles north of the intersection of Anderson Road and 108th Street. A farm just to the west of this location had a roof missing. The roof slid off the garage to the east. Large barn on west side lost west end of roof with debris inside. Northeast wall section of barn was essentially undamaged. A house also had shingle damage and broken windows. To the north of the farm, trees were damaged and poles were snapped.The tornado continued northeast causing the metal roof of a building, located 0.4 miles south of the intersection of Hiwassee Road and Memorial Road (North 136th Street), to peel off and be thrown 30 yards to the south. Tree damage was also found south of this location. A farm was damaged 0.8 miles south of the intersection. A barn was heavily damaged with debris thrown to the north. A pecan fork was also downed. There was also shingle damage just south of the barn. The tornado then caused damage to an outbuilding at the corner of Northeast 122nd Street and Henney Road. In an area just west of the intersection of Choctaw Road and Memorial Road, the northwest part of the roof of a house located on Spruce Valley Drive was removed, along with removing the roof of a mobile home located on Cedar Bend Road.As the tornado continued northeast, it uprooted trees and downed tree limbs. Shortly before the tornado dissipated, a mobile home rolled off of cinder blocks, but was otherwise undamaged. The tornado did some more minor tree damage before dissipating.The tornado first moved northeast causing a damage path which was located from 6.9 miles south of Edmond to 4.8 miles northwest of Jones. The tornado then turned southeast with a path from 4.8 miles northwest of Jones to 3.9 miles west-northwest of Jones. After the tornado turned back to the northeast, the path extended from 3.9 miles west-northwest of Jones to 2.8 miles south of Luther. The tornado traveled a total of 17.8 miles before dissipating.

A metal grain elevator was heavily damaged.

Hail was reported at the junction of Interstate 44 and Lake Hefner Parkway.

This is the first segment of a tornado that began in Oklahoma County, south of Luther, then moved northeast paralleling Interstate 44. The tornado moved into Lincoln County before dissipating 3.3 miles south-southwest of Wellston. The first area of damage found was located a half a mile south of the intersection of Luther Road and Memorial Road (Northeast 136th Street). The damage in this area was a tree and many tree limbs downed. A house was damaged a quarter of a mile west of the intersection of Memorial Road and Dobbs Road. The house lost a room on the second floor on the south side of the house. The poorly attached roof was also lifted and thrown over with one large section staying almost intact. A shed to the north of the house was damaged with three large limbs from a silver maple found in and near the shed. A trampoline was thrown into trees about 20 yards away and bent around a trunk. A large cedar tree was also broken.The area along Dobbs Road from Memorial Road to approximately a half a mile north of Memorial Road sustained some damage. The majority of which was tree damage with many downed trees and tree limbs and several uprooted trees. An open shed, located 0.14 miles north of the intersection, had its roof peeled back towards the northeast. A mobile home also sustained some light damage in this same location. A small shed was found overturned 0.25 miles north of Memorial Road, along with sheet metal in field and a tree uprooted to the northwest of the small shed. An old mobile home, that appeared to be abandoned, was destroyed 0.3 miles north of the intersection. Across the road from the mobile home, a sheet metal barn lost its walls, but the hay was still intact. A trailer was also pushed over on to a truck in this area.A shed and scattered tree limbs were downed 0.3 miles south of the intersection of Harrah Road and Northeast 150th Street. A half a mile east of Harrah Road a large tree limb, approximately one foot in diameter, was found snapped. On the county line, 0.15 miles north of the intersection of Pottawatomie Road and EW096 Road (NE 150th Street), several tree limbs were downed.This tornado created a path 7 miles long with F1 damage sustained in the area near the intersection of Dobbs Road and Memorial Road.

This is the final segment of the tornado that began four miles south of Luther in Oklahoma County and moved northeast into Lincoln County before dissipating south-southwest of Wellston. The tornado had an entire path length of 7 miles, of which 3.6 miles were in Lincoln County. The extent of the damage found in Lincoln County was determined to be of F0 damage. Many tree limbs were broken or snapped along the path. A section of fence was downed and a tree was broken in the area of NS331 Road north of EW095 Road. Sheet metal was found in the trees along with broken limbs located north of EW095 Road and west of Highway 102. A power pole was found bent with broken tree limbs found in the fence line, north of EW095 on Highway 102 just before the tornado dissipated.

This tornado began just south-southwest of Davenport and moved northeast through southeastern portions of town. The tornado continued northeast entering the Stroud city limits southwest of downtown before dissipating within town, east of downtown. The tornado began northwest of the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and EW091 Road. Shortly after touching down, the tornado peeled the southwest side of a barn roof. The tornado entered the Davenport city limits causing minor tree damage. A metal roof was slightly peeled just north of the intersection of Broadway and Frisco Street. The tornado continued across southern and eastern portions of town downing tree limbs and breaking a few windows. On the east edge of Davenport, the left field light standards of the baseball field were blown over and a referee box behind home plate had blown north-northwestward about 30 feet and broken apart. The right field light standards appeared intact. The only notable damage in town was on the eastern edge (to the southwest of the baseball field) where a sturdy wood-frame car port was apparently lifted and then collapsed on the owner's SUV. Minor damage to shingles and siding continued as the tornado moved northeast towards Stroud.The first area of damage of note within Stroud occurred north of West Elm Street approximately 0.4 miles west of Highway 377. Numerous tree limbs and small decorative trees were downed along with sections of privacy fences blown over and shingle damage to several homes. As the tornado continued northeast, one of two areas of F1 damage was found near the center of town. A home just southwest of the corner of South 9th Avenue and West Oak Street had a missing roof. The home sustained the heaviest roof damage in the southwest corner where all ceiling joists were missing. The ceiling/roof section was found upside down about 100 feet northeast of the house with the ceiling fan still attached but badly damaged. The east half of the small house still had a ceiling. A car port on the north side of the house was still attached but showed cracks indicating it may have shifted. A small home behind this house had a portion of its roof and siding peeled off. Other nearby damage occurred just west of Highway 377, halfway between West Joe Street and West Hillcrest Street. An engineered metal storage building had the southeast corner of roof and east wall blown out with the south wall caved in.The other area of F1 damage began along the railroad tracks on North First Street just east of South 4th Avenue where an open metal storage structure collapsed. More damage was noted at a building behind the fire station (located just north of the railroad tracks and just east of North 3rd Avenue). The south-facing cinder block wall of this building fell outward. About half of the roofing material, including tar paper, was missing from this roof. Vehicle windows were also broken in this location.The remainder of damage in town was light, typified by shingles missing, large tree limbs downed, garage doors damaged, windows broken, and fences downed. The track appeared to end somewhat abruptly at the east edge of town, where a food storage facility and another industrial building did not appear to have much damage.In Stroud seventy homes were damaged with six rendered uninhabitable. Nine businesses were also damaged.