F0 tornado, Sayre, Oklahoma, October 9, 2001

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.

Rating

F0

Date

October 9, 2001

Touchdown

2:42 PM CDT (19:42 UTC)

Path length

0.1 miles (0.2 km)

Path width

25 yards (23 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Beckham County

Touchdown point

35.330, -99.770

Lift-off point

35.330, -99.770

Record number

1185

A major tornado outbreak occurred across western Oklahoma during the afternoon and early evening of October 9th. Nineteen tornadoes were confirmed, with three rated F3. The first F3 tornado developed in northeast Beckham County, near Elk City, and tracked northeastward for 11 miles before dissipating. As the tornado entered Custer County, a home of wood frame with brick exterior had most of its interior and exterior walls destroyed. The tornado then continued across an unpopulated area, causing major damage to trees and fences, before dissipating 2.5 miles west of Foss Dam. The second F3 tornado developed in Washita County, near Cordell. The Oklahoma State Emergency Management Office estimated that 477 single-family homes were damaged, 132 considered uninhabitable. In addition, 40 businesses were damaged, 22 considered uninhabitable. Damage was estimated near 100 million dollars, and nine injuries were reported. The last F3 tornado developed in Kiowa County and produced F3 damage soon after entering Washita County. Several vehicles and large pieces of farm equipment were tossed and destroyed. About 4 miles north-northeast of Mountain View, 3 homes suffered major damage, with one rated F3. As the tornado continued northeastward, F3 damage was inflicted on a farm, where a house and several barns and outbuildings were leveled. A 10,000 gallon diesel tank ended up in an open field about one-quarter mile away from its original position.For simplicity, the tornadoes that occurred on this day were identified by the supercell thunderstorm that produced them, beginning with A and ending with E. Each tornado was then given its own number. For example, the 3rd tornado produced by supercell thunderstorm A is called A3. In addition, some tornadoes tracked across multiple counties.

A3. Numerous trees were damaged by this tornado.

A4. A few trees were damaged by this tornado.

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

5 minutes of warning. NWS OUN issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:37 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:00 UTC.

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 Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:34 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.

Clinton-Sherman (CSM), 52 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

29 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.