Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2015

EF0 tornado, Jumbo, Oklahoma, May 10, 2015

This EF0 tornado ran 1.7 miles across Pushmataha County on May 10, 2015, touching down at 6:18 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
May 10, 2015
Touchdown
6:18 PM CDT (23:18 UTC)
Lifted
6:21 PM CDT (23:21 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
1.7 miles (2.7 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Pushmataha County
Touchdown point
34.422, -95.711
Lift-off point
34.438, -95.688
Record number
1505101718-01

The damage survey

2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TSA, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0.

  • chasers reported a tornado
  • Chasers reported a tornado

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

What the Weather Service recorded

A slow-moving low pressure trough moved from the Rockies into the Plains during the 9th and 10th. Several disturbances rotating through this trough translated across the Southern Plains during this period. With very moist and unstable air in place over the region, multiple periods of thunderstorms occurred. Locally heavy rainfall as well as severe weather was prevalent across eastern Oklahoma.

Storm chasers witnessed a tornado over rugged terrain east of the Indian Nation Turnpike. The area where the tornado occurred was inaccessible by road.

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

The warnings

8 minutes of warning. NWS TSA issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:10 UTC, 8 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:31 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
14:25 UTC15:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSA
14:28 UTC20:31 UTCTornado WatchTSA
20:31 UTC04:00 UTCTornado WatchTSA
22:52 UTC05:00 UTCFlash Flood WarningTSA
22:59 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSA
23:10 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningTSA
23:36 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningTSA
23:52 UTC00:14 UTCTornado WarningTSA
02:00 UTC01:35 UTCFlood WarningTSA
04:55 UTC08:00 UTCFlash Flood 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:43 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), 12:00Z

11.3 hours before the tornado, 178 km from the path. May 10, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2015-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1564 joules per kilogram, CIN -39, lifted condensation level 614 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2015-05-10The 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 255 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
1564 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2080 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
614 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
255 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
256 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.9
Supercell composite
11.8
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Norman, OK (KOUN), 00:00Z

0.7 hours after it, 178 km from the path. May 11, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2015-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 191 joules per kilogram, CIN -72, lifted condensation level 1025 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2015-05-11The 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 94 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 76 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
191 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2630 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1025 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
155 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.1
Supercell composite
-3.2
0-3 km lapse rate
6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Atoka Municipal Airport (AQR), 41 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:35 UTC68680° 0 kt1012.5-VCTSRA
21:55 UTC6868250° 7 kt1012.9DZ
22:15 UTC6868110° 3 kt1012.2TSRA
22:35 UTC6868140° 3 kt1012.2+TSRA
22:55 UTC66.266.2260° 3 kt1012.5+TSRA
23:15 UTC66.266.20° 0 kt1011.9-TSRA
23:35 UTC66.266.20° 0 kt1012.2+TSRA
23:55 UTC64.464.40° 0 kt1012.9+TSRA
00:15 UTC64.464.4100° 3 kt1011.9VCTSRA
00:35 UTC64.464.40° 0 kt1011.5VCTSRA
00:55 UTC64.464.40° 0 kt1011.5+VCTSRA
01:15 UTC64.464.4210° 8 kt1013.5+TSRA

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

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
22:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 Ese LaneAtoka, OK
22:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 606 Ese LaneAtoka, OK
23:18 UTCTORNADO 07 Nw MoyersPushmataha, OKSTORM CHASER REPORTED 3 MINUTE LONG TORNADO OVER OPEN COUNTRY. NWS STORM SURVEY TEAM COULD NOT ACCESS AREA IN WHICH TORNADO OCCURRED.
23:30 UTCFLASH FLOODStringtownAtoka, OKDELAYED REPORT OF CREEKS AND STREAMS OUT OF THEIR BANKS AND FLOODING HOMES IN AREAS IN AND EAST OF STRINGTOWN.
23:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 E StringtownAtoka, OKDELAYED REPORT OF TREES DOWN AND TREE DEBRIS IN THE ROAD
23:55 UTCNON-TSTM WND DMG2 E StringtownAtoka, OKDELAYED REPORT OF TREES DOWN AND TREE DEBRIS IN THE ROAD
00:17 UTCTORNADOS DamonLatimer, OKREPORTED TORNADO DAMAGE CROSSING HIGHWAY 2...NEAR INTERSECTION WITH HIGHWAY 1...SOUTH OF DAMON. LOCATION ESTIMATED. LARGE TREES BLOWN DOWN. WIDTH OF DAMAGE ABOUT 50 YARDS AT THE HIGHWAY.
00:18 UTCTORNADO 24 N YanushLatimer, OKA TORNADO SNAPPED OR UPROOTED NUMEROUS TREES...DESTROYED A METAL BUILDING...SEVERELY DAMAGED TWO HOMES...DAMAGED THE CRAVENS VFD...DAMAGED AN OIL DRILLING SITE...AND DESTROYED OUTBUILDINGS. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND
01:40 UTCFLASH FLOODCoalgateCoal, OKNUMEROUS CREEKS, STREAMS, AND RIVERS OUTSIDE THEIR BANKS AND OVER ROADS. FLOODING CONTINUED INTO THE NIGHT.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2015 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 10, 2015

23 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 109:01 AM CDTEF1Pittsburg, OK3.8240$35,000
May 1010:21 AM CDTEF2Charles Mix, SD16.24009$1.5 million
May 1011:15 AM CDTEF0Davison, SD4.250
May 102:16 PM CDTEF1Denton, TX5.2100$3.5 million
May 102:39 PM CDTEF0Denton, TX2.975$40,000
May 103:28 PM CDTEF0Sioux, IA0.850
May 104:08 PM CDTEF1Grayson, TX2.6100$50,000
May 104:45 PM CDTEF1Hamilton, TX5.1105$100,000
May 106:03 PM CDTEF0Hill, TX0.650
May 106:07 PM CDTEF0Kaufman, TX0.120
May 106:34 PM CDTEF0Kaufman, TX0.150
May 107:10 PM CDTEF1Carroll, IA23.3700$1.0 million
May 107:16 PM CDTEF0Miner, SD0.350
May 107:18 PM CDTEF2Latimer, OK15.0880$100,000
May 107:20 PM CDTEF0Hill, TX1.4150
May 107:46 PM CDTEF0Latimer, OK3.775
May 108:14 PM CDTEF0Calhoun, IA1.0400
May 108:46 PM CDTEF3Van Zandt, TX10.2700243$40 million
May 109:19 PM CDTEF1Smith, TX1.4440$125,000
May 1010:50 PM CDTEF1Smith, TX1.1450$125,000
May 1011:18 PM CDTEF2Howard, AR6.740028$1.5 million
May 1011:25 PM CDTEF0Marion, TX0.3172
May 1011:28 PM CDTEF0Marion, TX2.6345

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.