Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 1994

F0 tornado, Carter County, Oklahoma, April 26, 1994

This F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Carter County on April 26, 1994, touching down at 1:30 PM CDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
April 26, 1994
Touchdown
1:30 PM CDT (18:30 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Carter County
Touchdown point
34.350, -97.170
Record number
190

The warnings

13 minutes of warning. NWS OUN issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:17 UTC, 13 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 18:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:20 UTC18:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
17:58 UTC18:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
18:17 UTC18:45 UTCTornado WarningOUN
19:13 UTC20:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
19:25 UTC20:00 UTCTornado WarningOUN
19:53 UTC20:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z

6.5 hours before the tornado, 99 km from the path. April 26, 1994.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1994-04-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -39395, lifted condensation level 2552 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1994-04-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 48 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39395 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2552 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Norman, OK (KOUN), 00:00Z

5.5 hours after it, 99 km from the path. April 27, 1994.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1994-04-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 602 joules per kilogram, CIN -57, lifted condensation level 1649 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1994-04-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -4 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 66 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
602 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-57 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1420 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1649 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
71 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3
0-3 km lapse rate
7.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Ardmore Municipal (ADM), 15 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
17:00 UTC8172180° 15 kt1007.5
18:00 UTC7970.88140° 15 kt1006.1
18:07 UTC150° 10 kt1006.1TSRA
19:00 UTC7472140° 10 kt1006.8
20:00 UTC727220° 5 kt1006.4
20:15 UTC120° 15 kt1004.4TSRA

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1994 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 26, 1994

65 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 266:03 AM CDTF1Story, IA1.030$5,000 to $50,000
April 2612:00 PM CDTF2Washington, MN5.01,3001$500,000 to $5 million
April 2612:50 PM CDTF0Archer, TX0.120
April 261:03 PM CDTF1Dunn, WI4.01,200$50,000 to $500,000
April 261:05 PM CDTF2Archer, TX9.5150$50,000 to $500,000
April 261:10 PM CDTF2Barron, WI4.01,200$50,000 to $500,000
April 262:20 PM CDTF2Price, WI12.01,200$50,000 to $500,000
April 262:40 PM CDTF0Montague, TX0.110
April 262:55 PM CDTF0Wise, TX0.110
April 263:07 PM CDTF0Montague, TX2.8100
April 263:25 PM CDTF1Atoka, OK9.080$500 to $5,000
April 263:30 PM CDTF1Montague, TX5.0200$50,000 to $500,000
April 263:30 PM CDTF0Montague, TX0.110
April 263:37 PM CDTF0Cooke, TX0.110
April 263:45 PM CDTF2Cooke, TX16.02008$5 million to $50 million
April 263:46 PM CDTF1Pittsburg, OK3.073$50 to $500
April 263:50 PM CDTF0Cooke, TX1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
April 263:55 PM CDTF1Vilas, WI4.5150$5,000 to $50,000
April 264:02 PM CDTF1Pushmataha, OK12.080$500 to $5,000
April 264:05 PM CDTF0Cooke, TX0.110$500 to $5,000
April 264:10 PM CDTF0Cooke, TX4.0100$5,000 to $50,000
April 265:10 PM EDTF0Hillsborough, FL0.110$500,000 to $5 million
April 264:20 PM CDTF1Latimer, OK6.050$5,000 to $50,000
April 262:30 PM MSTF0Mohave, AZ3.020
April 264:30 PM CDTF0Grayson, TX0.110
April 264:40 PM CDTF0Grayson, TX0.110
April 264:52 PM CDTF0Comanche, TX0.110
April 265:11 PM CDTF0Comanche, TX0.110
April 265:15 PM CDTF0Grayson, TX0.110
April 266:03 PM CDTF0DeSoto, MS3.050$500 to $5,000
April 266:05 PM CDTF0Erath, TX0.110
April 266:18 PM CDTF1Bryan, OK8.540$50,000 to $500,000
April 266:20 PM CDTF2Bosque, TX1.01001$50,000 to $500,000
April 266:35 PM CDTF0Bryan, OK1.540$500 to $5,000
April 266:50 PM CDTF1Greene, MO0.533$5,000 to $50,000
April 266:55 PM CDTF0Polk, MO2.050
April 267:00 PM CDTF0Fannin, TX0.110
April 267:00 PM CDTF2Lamar, TX6.0100$50,000 to $500,000
April 267:05 PM CDTF0DeSoto, MS1.050$50 to $500
April 267:06 PM CDTF0Bosque, TX0.110
April 267:20 PM CDTF0Fannin, TX0.110
April 267:20 PM CDTF0Fannin, TX0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 267:22 PM CDTF1Laclede, MO2.550$5,000 to $50,000
April 267:25 PM CDTF0Marshall, MS0.523$50 to $500
April 267:25 PM CDTF0Lamar, TX0.110
April 267:45 PM CDTF1Wright, MO1.050$5,000 to $50,000
April 267:50 PM CDTF0Marshall, MS0.210$50 to $500
April 268:20 PM CDTF0Callaway, MO0.620
April 268:30 PM CDTF0Bosque, TX0.110
April 268:35 PM CDTF0Red River, TX0.110
April 268:50 PM CDTF0Erath, TX0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 269:30 PM CDTF0Douglas, IL1.0100
April 269:31 PM CDTF1Coles, IL3.0130$500,000 to $5 million
April 269:35 PM CDTF0Jefferson, MO0.330$500 to $5,000
April 269:40 PM CDTF1Lake, IL to IN2.020$5,000 to $50,000
April 269:40 PM CDTF0Will, IL3.020$5,000 to $50,000
April 269:43 PM CDTF1Bosque, TX0.110$50,000 to $500,000
April 269:45 PM CDTF1Iroquois, IL1.020$5,000 to $50,000
April 269:45 PM ESTF0Pulaski, IN0.130
April 269:45 PM ESTF2Pulaski, IN20.0440$50,000 to $500,000

All 66 of them

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.