Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2011

EF2 tornado, LeFlore County, Oklahoma, May 24, 2011

This EF2 tornado ran 12.0 miles across LeFlore County on May 24, 2011, touching down at 10:44 PM CDT and reaching 1,760 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    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 mphthis tornado

    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.

The record

Rating
EF2
Date
May 24, 2011
Touchdown
10:44 PM CDT (03:44 UTC)
Lifted
11:02 PM CDT (04:02 UTC)
On the ground
18 minutes
Path length
12.0 miles (19.3 km)
Path width
1,760 yards (1609 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
LeFlore County
Touchdown point
34.826, -94.725
Lift-off point
34.967, -94.605
Record number
1105242144-01

The damage survey

3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TSA, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

The warnings

31 minutes of warning. NWS TSA issued a tornado warning for this county at 03:13 UTC, 31 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 04:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:10 UTC and running to 05:54 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:55 UTC17:00 UTCFlood WarningTSA
21:32 UTC09:33 UTCFlood WarningTSA
01:10 UTC05:54 UTCTornado WatchTSA
02:33 UTC03:15 UTCTornado WarningTSA
03:13 UTC04:00 UTCTornado WarningTSA
03:47 UTC07:00 UTCFlash Flood WarningTSA
03:53 UTC05:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSA
03:56 UTC04:45 UTCTornado WarningTSA
04:27 UTC05:00 UTCTornado WarningTSA

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 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 01:05 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.

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

3.7 hours before the tornado, 236 km from the path. May 25, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2011-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1213 joules per kilogram, CIN -94, lifted condensation level 941 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2011-05-25The 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 106 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 48 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
1213 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-94 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2191 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
941 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
200 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
6.2
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

8.3 hours after it, 236 km from the path. May 25, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2011-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2063 joules per kilogram, CIN -54, lifted condensation level 564 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2011-05-25The 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 500 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
2063 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1092 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
564 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
500 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
405 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
13.7
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:44 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.

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
02:53 UTCTORNADO7 Nw Red OakLatimer, OKINVESTIGATED BY PERSON IN ATV IN SAN BOIS MOUNTAINS. NO ROADS. 100 OR MORE TREES DOWN OR SNAPPED. WIDTH OF DAMAGE ESTIMATED 200 TO 400 YARDS IN PLACES. LENGTH OF DAMAGE MORE THAN 2 MILES...BUT COULD NOT REACH THE START O
03:08 UTCHAIL 14 S TalihinaLe Flore, OK
03:08 UTCHAIL 1TalihinaLe Flore, OKLIGHT TREE DAMAGE FROM ABOUT 3 SOUTH OF TALIHINA TO ABOUT 3 EAST OF TALIHINA AND CROSSING TALIHINA DRIVE ABOTU 7 MILES EAST OF TALIHINA. NO LARGE LIMBS.
03:44 UTCHAIL 1.755 Ssw WisterLe Flore, OK
03:44 UTCTORNADO5 W HodgenLe Flore, OKBEGINNING POINT OF A 12 MILE LONG TORNADO THAT DESTROYED A MOBILE HOME AND DAMAGED SEVERAL OTHERS. ALSO DAMAGED PERMANENT HOMES...AND SNAPPED OR UPROOTED MANY TREES. RATED EF-2.
03:48 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD6 S WisterLe Flore, OK
03:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 W HodgenLe Flore, OKSMALL BARN DESTROYED...MOBILE HOME SHIFTED OFF FOUNDATION...SEVEREAL TREES SNAPPED. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
03:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGHeavenerLe Flore, OKSTRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
03:56 UTCTSTM WND DMGHoweLe Flore, OKMANY LARGE TREES BLOWN DOWN. DAMAGE EXTENDS TO SOUTHWEST ABOUT 4 MILES. PROBABLE TORNADO.
03:57 UTCTSTM WND DMGHoweLe Flore, OKSEVERAL TREES DOWN.
03:59 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N SpiroLe Flore, OKPOWER POLES DOWNED. SEVERAL TREES DOWN AND HAD BLOCKED PART OF HWY 59 BETWEEN HEAVENER AND HOW. POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE.
04:07 UTCTSTM WND GST 70BokosheLe Flore, OK
04:14 UTCTSTM WND DMGSpiroLe Flore, OKMANY TREES BLOWN DOWN AND DAMAGED. POWER LINES DOWNED. ONE TREE FELL ON A MOVING CAR. OCCUPANT WAS PINNED IN CAR. NO SERIOUS INJURY.
04:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Se PoteauLe Flore, OKTOR096 POWERLINES DOWNED IN MONROE.
04:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGBokosheLe Flore, OKTOR 096 TREES BLOWN DOWN IN BOKOSHE.
04:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGSpiroLe Flore, OKSVR 376 POWERLINES DOWN.
04:39 UTCTORNADO3 Ene RolandSequoyah, OKBEGINNING POINT OF A 5.25 MILE LONG TORNADO THAT DESTROYED A BARN...DAMAGED HOMES AND A METAL BUILDING...AND SNAPPED OR UPROOTED A NUMBER OF TREES. RATED EF-1. TORNADO CONTINUED INTO CRAWFORD COUNTY ARKANSAS.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 24, 2011

47 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 242:35 PM CDTEF0Haskell, KS0.550
May 242:10 PM MDTEF0Prowers, CO0.375
May 243:20 PM CDTEF3Blaine, OK13.288012
May 243:31 PM CDTEF3Caddo, OK8.6800
May 243:34 PM CDTEF0Gray, KS0.450
May 243:45 PM CDTEF0Finney, KS0.350
May 243:47 PM CDTEF0Major, OK0.780
May 243:50 PM CDTEF5Canadian, OK63.11,7609181
May 244:55 PM EDTEF0Russell, VA4.250$30,000
May 244:37 PM CDTEF0Canadian, OK1.550
May 244:52 PM CDTEF2Stafford, KS11.850021
May 245:06 PM CDTEF4Grady, OK33.3880148
May 245:09 PM CDTEF1Barton, KS5.1751$250,000
May 245:20 PM CDTEF0Rush, KS0.675
May 245:26 PM CDTEF4Grady, OK23.188061
May 245:35 PM CDTEF0Rush, KS6.21,200
May 245:45 PM CDTEF0McClain, OK0.750
May 245:46 PM CDTEF0Montague, TX0.030
May 245:50 PM CDTEF2Payne, OK10.488018
May 246:01 PM CDTEF1Pawnee, KS4.7200$110,000
May 246:02 PM CDTEF1McClain, OK0.540
May 246:27 PM CDTEF0Rush, KS1.3150
May 246:36 PM CDTEF2Pottawatomie, OK2.05032
May 246:40 PM CDTEF0Montague, TX0.030
May 246:44 PM CDTEF1Osage, OK2.8440
May 246:49 PM CDTEF2Osage, OK17.0750$20,000
May 247:11 PM CDTEF0Barton, KS0.450
May 247:22 PM CDTEF0Barton, KS3.450
May 247:30 PM CDTEF1Johnston, OK5.51,200
May 247:34 PM CDTEF0Cooke, TX1.6100
May 247:38 PM CDTEF0Wise, TX0.030$2,000
May 247:38 PM CDTEF0Parker, TX0.440$10,000
May 247:45 PM CDTEF0Tarrant, TX1.750$1,000
May 247:50 PM CDTEF0Ellsworth, KS0.550
May 247:51 PM CDTEF2Denton, TX1.5220$750,000
May 248:23 PM CDTEF1Dallas, TX1.4500$150,000
May 248:42 PM CDTEF2Wagoner, OK10.2400$110,000
May 249:13 PM CDTEF2Wagoner, OK4.4450$400,000
May 249:48 PM CDTEF1Delaware, OK7.0150
May 249:48 PM CDTEF0Dallas, TX0.030
May 249:50 PM CDTEF1Latimer, OK2.5300
May 2410:06 PM CDTEF1Delaware, OK6.0150
May 2410:14 PM CDTEF0LeFlore, OK1.5100
May 2410:43 PM CDTEF0Kaufman, TX0.020
May 2411:37 PM CDTEF1Crawford, OK to AR5.2800$50,000
May 2411:53 PM CDTEF4Logan, AR45.72,200427$9.1 million
May 2412:25 AM CDTEF3Johnson, AR29.01,43014$13 million

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.