EF0 tornado, Arnett, Oklahoma, May 5, 2007

1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

6. EF5over 200 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

EF0

Date

May 5, 2007

Touchdown

8:39 PM CDT (01:39 UTC)

Path length

0.3 miles (0.5 km)

Path width

30 yards (27 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Ellis County

Touchdown point

35.996, -99.702

Lift-off point

35.996, -99.702

Record number

0705051939-01

An upper level storm system moved slowly into south central Colorado during the afternoon. A dry line had become established and was located along the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle border. Also, favorable upper level winds were rotating around the upper level storm system, crossing the dryline over western Oklahoma. As the afternoon progressed, convergence along the dryline became maximized over this area. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours and they quickly became supercells. Two of the supercells produced several tornadoes. The northern tornadic storm produced five tornadoes from southwest of Roll to just east of Arnett. The southern tornadic storm also produced five tornadoes in Oklahoma from near Sweetwater to near Sharon. Large hail was also observed. The supercells moved northeast out of Oklahoma during the late evening hours. Monetary values for the tornado damage were estimated.

This tornado developed in northern Roger Mills County 4 miles north of Dempsey and moved north-northeast crossing into Ellis County about 16 miles south of Arnett. No damage was reported in this rural area of the county, although the tornado was reported as a wide tornado at times. As the tornado approached U.S. Highway 283, it was reported to be a well-developed cone shaped tornado with occasional multiple vorticies. Tree limbs were reported downed where it crossed U.S. Highway 283. The tornado dissipated about a mile after crossing the highway. Monetary damages were estimated.

Emergency management officials reported a tornado touched down briefly about 10 miles south-southeast of Arnett. This tornado caused no known damage. This was the fourth tornado associated with the northern tornadic supercell.

Emergency management officials and storm chasers reported a tornado developed southeast of Arnett, and moved north. The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 60 about 2 miles east of Arnett. This is the fifth and final tornado associated with the northern tornadic supercell.

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

16 minutes of warning. NWS OUN issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:23 UTC, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:20 UTC and running to 02:58 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, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:59 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.

Gage/Shattuck (GAG), 34 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 163 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:38 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

96 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

All 97 of them

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.