F1 tornado, Purcell to Lexington, Oklahoma, November 9, 1998

1. F040 to 72 mph

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

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

F1

Date

November 9, 1998

Touchdown

9:15 PM CST (03:15 UTC)

Path length

4.5 miles (7.2 km)

Path width

130 yards (119 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$110,000

Counties

McClain and Cleveland counties

Touchdown point

35.000, -97.380

Lift-off point

35.030, -97.320

Record number

686

A long line of severe thunderstorms moved across most of western and central Oklahoma during the evening of the 9th producing 1 tornado, widespread straight-line wind damage, and large hail. As the line of thunderstorms moved into northwest Oklahoma, large limbs were downed in Burlington in Alfalfa County. Lightning then started 3 fires as the line of thunderstorms moved east. Lightning first struck a power pole in Enid in Garfield County, causing a power outage and a small fire. Lightning then struck a fence in Gracemont in Caddo County destroying it. Two young boys who were playing next to the fence were injured and needed to be hospitalized. An oil tank battery then exploded 5 miles north of Cyril, also in Caddo County, when lightning struck it. A small fire then started but was quickly extinguised. Father south in Comanche County, thunderstorm winds produced a 1/4 mile swath of damage 4 miles south of Sterling. A mobile home was destroyed, and several barns were damaged. A house porch was also destroyed. Near Chickasha in Grady County, a storage building was destroyed; another building was damaged, and a portion of a roof from a local tavern was damaged. Trees were blown down across a road in Guthrie in Logan County, while in Duncan in Stephens County, a roof was blown off a storage shed; an airport hangar was damaged, and power lines were downed. Numerous trees were uprooted 5 miles west of Stillwater in Payne County. Numerous large tree limbs were downed on the Oklahoma/Canadian County line and in Spencer and Edmond in Oklahoma County. Lightning also struck a house in the 5000 block of NW 20th St. in Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County causing a fire. Trees were downed in Blanchard in McClain County; a pear tree was blown down in Norman in Cleveland County, and lightning struck a tree in Purcell in McClain County, destroying it.A small and fast moving tornado, rated an F1, embedded in the line of thunderstorms, then touched down near Purcell in McClain County at S 10th St. and W Brule St., then tracked east-northeast to the main downtown business district. Tree damage was extensive in the southwest part of the city where a barn and home were also damaged. Damage in the downtown business area included collapse of a brick wall, tar roofs blown off, shingle damage, broken windows, and destroyed signs. Tree damage, downed power lines, and minor roof damage was observed in Cleveland County near Lexington.Two semi-trucks were blown over by straight-line winds on Interstate 35, 1 mile southwest of Pauls Valley in Garvin County, while in Milo in Carter County, the Baptist Church roof was damaged; windows were blown in at the house next to the church, and a twenty-one inch diameter tree was blown down. Also in Carter County in Love Grove, large tree limbs and power lines were downed. Trees were downed and blocked roads in Murray County 3 miles east of Davis, 4 miles south of Davis, and in Sulphur. Lightning also sparked a fire 2 miles west of Roff in Pontotoc County, that consumed 20 large bales of hay. In Ada, also in Pontotoc County, numerous trees were uprooted; roofs were blown off of a house, garage, and 2 barns; a tree was blown into a house, and a well and well house were heavily damaged. In Seminole County, numerous trees were uprooted in the city of Seminole along with a carport being damaged, while in Sawakwa, also in Seminole County, trees were downed and blocked many roads. Minor damage occurred to a house in Mill Creek in Johnston County. Numerous tree limbs and power lines were also downed. The last report of damage came from Marietta in Love County where widespread wind damage occurred in the city of Marietta including damage to house roofs, cars and businesses. Numerous trees were downed, and 80 percent of the city was left without power. A semi-truck was also blown over.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 10:59 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

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.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1998 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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