Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2008
EF0 tornado, Beggs, Oklahoma, June 5, 2008
This EF0 tornado ran 4.4 miles across Okmulgee County on June 5, 2008, touching down at 11:35 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $15,000 of property damage.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- EF0
- Date
- June 5, 2008
- Touchdown
- 11:35 PM CDT (04:35 UTC)
- Lifted
- 11:41 PM CDT (04:41 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 4.4 miles (7.1 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- County
- Okmulgee County
- Touchdown point
- 35.789, -96.142
- Lift-off point
- 35.813, -96.112
- Record number
- 0806052235-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An upper level storm system developed into the southern Rockies causing low pressure to deepen over the Southern High Plains. A dry line extending from this low, which was centered over western Kansas much of the day, translated into western Oklahoma during the afternoon. Thunderstorms developed on the dry line and progressed east into eastern Oklahoma during the evening hours with widespread severe weather resulting from these storms.
A tornado damaged a barn, blew down power poles and power lines, and blew down a number of trees.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
1 minute of warning. NWS TSA issued a tornado warning for this county at 04:34 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 05:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 03:00 UTC and running to 07:01 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03:00 UTC | 07:01 UTC | Tornado Watch | TSA |
| 03:46 UTC | 05:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA |
| 04:34 UTC | 05:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | TSA |
| 04:43 UTC | 05:32 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA |
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 forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:53 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 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), 00:00Z
4.6 hours before the tornado, 132 km from the path. June 6, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2209 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -40 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2675 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1457 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 339 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 408 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.2
- Supercell composite
- 21.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.3 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
7.4 hours after it, 132 km from the path. June 6, 2008.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1545 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -37 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 430 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 622 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 222 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.7
- Supercell composite
- 7.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.3 K/km
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Paden | Okfuskee, OK | LARGE LIMBS DOWN |
| 04:04 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 3 W Depew | Creek, OK | |
| 04:21 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | Bristow | Creek, OK | |
| 04:21 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Bristow | Creek, OK | PEA TO PENNY SIZE HAIL |
| 04:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Mounds | Okmulgee, OK | POWER LINES DOWN...TREES DOWN AND A METAL SHED DESTROYED AND BLOWN ACROSS A FIELD NEAR 221ST AT N150 ROAD. ALSO POWER POLES BROKEN AT N150 ROAD AND GRIMES ROAD. LOCATION IN NORTHERN OKMULGEE COUNTY |
| 04:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Beggs | Okmulgee, OK | LARGE LIMBS DOWN. |
| 04:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mounds | Creek, OK | 2 TO 3 INCH TREE LIMBS DOWN AT 180TH STREET AND HIGHWAY 75 |
| 05:00 UTC | TSTM WND GST 62 | 2 Ne Bixby | Tulsa, OK | |
| 05:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Broken Arrow | Wagoner, OK | SEVERAL LARGE TREE BRANCHES DOWN AT 51ST AND COUNTY LINE ROAD |
| 05:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Nnw Oneta | Wagoner, OK | TREE BLOWN DOWN NEAR 51ST STREE AND COUNTY LINE ROAD. OTHER TREE DAMAGE REPORTED. |
| 05:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Broken Arrow | Tulsa, OK | POWER POLE SNAPPED AT 61ST AND LYNN LANE |
| 05:08 UTC | DENSE FOG | 6 Nnw Oneta | Wagoner, OK | TREE BLOWN DOWN NEAR 51ST STREE AND COUNTY LINE ROAD. OTHER TREE DAMAGE REPORTED. |
| 05:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Haskell | Muskogee, OK | SEVERAL TREES BLOWN DOWN. |
| 05:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 10 Nne Coweta | Wagoner, OK | A FEW LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN. |
| 05:23 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Tulsa | Tulsa, OK | STREET FLOODING ON SHERIDAN AND 44TH |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 5, 2008
40 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 5 | 12:15 PM MDT | EF0 | Prowers, CO | 6.5 | 150 | $5,000 | ||
| June 5 | 2:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Logan, KS | 1.0 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 2:41 PM CDT | EF0 | Logan, KS | 1.0 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 2:59 PM CDT | EF1 | Pratt, KS | 1.1 | 100 | $65,000 | ||
| June 5 | 3:13 PM CDT | EF0 | Gove, KS | 1.0 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 3:39 PM CDT | EF0 | Trego, KS | 1.0 | 75 | |||
| June 5 | 3:40 PM CDT | EF2 | Rock, NE | 29.9 | 50 | $200,000 | ||
| June 5 | 3:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Trego, KS | 1.7 | 75 | |||
| June 5 | 4:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Clay, KS | 14.3 | 100 | |||
| June 5 | 4:20 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, KS | 4.6 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 4:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Clay, KS | 10.1 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 5:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Charles Mix, SD | 9.9 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| June 5 | 5:08 PM CDT | EF0 | Washington, KS | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 5:41 PM CDT | EF0 | Marshall, KS | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 6:20 PM CDT | EF1 | Nemaha, NE | 2.6 | 100 | |||
| June 5 | 6:23 PM CDT | EF1 | Nemaha, NE | 6.5 | 220 | |||
| June 5 | 6:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Nemaha, NE | 0.7 | 100 | |||
| June 5 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Atchison, MO | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 7:02 PM CDT | EF0 | Fremont, IA | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 7:11 PM CDT | EF0 | Fremont, IA | 1.3 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 7:23 PM CDT | EF0 | Atchison, MO | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 7:24 PM CDT | EF0 | Page, IA | 1.2 | 80 | |||
| June 5 | 7:27 PM CDT | EF0 | Brown, KS | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 5 | 7:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Richardson, NE | 1.3 | 100 | |||
| June 5 | 7:39 PM CDT | EF2 | Richardson, NE to MO | 18.4 | 880 | $250,000 | ||
| June 5 | 7:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Holt, MO | 4.4 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| June 5 | 7:59 PM CDT | EF0 | Atchison, MO | 10.5 | 100 | $210,000 | ||
| June 5 | 8:12 PM CDT | EF0 | Cass, IA | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 8:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Minnehaha, SD | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 8:42 PM CDT | EF2 | Minnehaha, SD | 2.6 | 100 | |||
| June 5 | 9:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Moody, SD | 0.8 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| June 5 | 9:24 PM CDT | EF1 | Union, IA | 3.0 | 150 | $25,000 | ||
| June 5 | 10:57 PM CDT | EF0 | Linn, KS | 1.0 | 25 | $50,000 | ||
| June 5 | 11:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Bates, MO | 0.3 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| June 5 | 11:49 PM CDT | EF1 | Clarke, IA | 7.6 | 125 | |||
| June 5 | 12:10 AM CDT | EF1 | Warren, IA | 18.3 | 150 | $180,000 | ||
| June 5 | 12:23 AM CDT | EF0 | Lafayette, MO | 0.3 | 25 | $500 | ||
| June 5 | 12:36 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IA | 9.8 | 125 | $75,000 | ||
| June 5 | 12:45 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IA | 14.3 | 150 | 2 | $250,000 | |
| June 5 | 12:49 AM CDT | EF0 | Jasper, IA | 10.9 | 75 | $25,000 |
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.