Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2016
EF1 tornado, Byng, Oklahoma, April 26, 2016
This EF1 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Pontotoc County on April 26, 2016, touching down at 9:50 PM CDT and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- April 26, 2016
- Touchdown
- 9:50 PM CDT (02:50 UTC)
- Lifted
- 9:52 PM CDT (02:52 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 2.0 miles (3.2 km)
- Path width
- 200 yards (183 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- County
- Pontotoc County
- Touchdown point
- 34.905, -96.693
- Lift-off point
- 34.913, -96.658
- Record number
- 1604262050-01
What the Weather Service recorded
The 26th began with a few isolated storms forming out ahead of the dryline and becoming severe. Later in the afternoon, the dryline surged east and storms fired along the boundary. These storms quickly became severe and gradually merged into a line as they moved eastward through the evening.
A tornado moved through far northern Pontotoc County north of Byng. A home just west of US-377 suffered significant damage and a few other buildings were damaged. The tornado may have affected portions of far southern Seminole County on the other side of the Canadian River, but this area was inaccessible to the survey team.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:47 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.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 26, 8:29 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 8:29 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 829 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016 .UPDATE... LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THE REST OF THIS EVENING WITH INDIVIDUAL STORMS POSSIBLE EAST OF THE LINE. STORMS HAVE ENDED IN WESTERN PARTS OF FA AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO END FROM WEST TO EAST. HAVE DONE A QUICK UPDATE TO ADJUST POPS/WX GRIDS TO BETTER SHOW THE TRENDS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 644 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016/ DISCUSSION... 0Z TAF DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION... WIDESPREAD STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING WITH VERY LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS LIKELY. TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. RAIN WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST LATER THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT. CEILINGS WILL IMPROVE OVERNIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVING ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY WILL CAUSE WINDS TO SHIFT. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 349 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016/ DISCUSSION... THE PRIMARY CONCERN THROUGH THIS EVENING WILL BE SEVERE WEATHER, WHICH IS CURRENTLY ISOLATED BUT DEVELOPING ACROSS NORTHCENTRAL OKLAHOMA AS WELL AS JUST SOUTH OF THE RED RIVER IN WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. AT THE SURFACE, A SHARP DRYLINE HAS CAUGHT UP WITH A COLD FRONT NEARLY ALONG THE STATE LINES IN WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. ALOFT, A LARGE SCALE TROUGH DIGGING ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. INTO THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS, WITH THE LEFT EXIT QUADRANT OF THE 300 MB JET MAXIMA RIGHT OVER WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM, STRONG LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS IN PLACE, WITH A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE ALOFT. WITH CAPE VALUES IN THE 3000-4000 J/KG RANGE, THE POTENTIAL EXIST FOR SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS TO FIRE UP. LATEST OUN 18Z SPECIAL SOUNDING STILL SHOWED A LOW LEVEL INVERSION CAP IN PLACE ABOVE THE BOUNDARY LAYER. HOWEVER, LOW BASED FORCING ALONG THE DRYLINE/COLD FRONT ALONG WITH SOME MID LEVEL FORCING ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO BREAK THE CAP, RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD CONVECTION FOR LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE STRONG CAPE VALUES COULD CERTAINLY RESULT IN LARGE HAIL UP TO BASEBALL SIZE AND/OR SEVERE WIND GUSTS UNDER THE SUPERCELL STORMS. ALTHOUGH HAIL WILL BE OUR MOST LIKELY CONCERN, SHEAR VALUES OF 45 TO 50 KTS IN THE 0-6 KM LAYER COULD CERTAINLY FAVOR A FEW TORNADOS DEVELOPING WITH THESE STORMS. ALTHOUGH MESOSCALE MODELS ARE NOT IN FULL AGREEMENT, THE HRRR SEEMS TO HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON THE SCENARIO, WITH WIDESPREAD CONVECTION BREAKING OUT ALONG THE SURFACE BOUNDARIES IN WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS FROM NOW THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS, THEN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. THESE STORMS WILL BE RATHER QUICK MOVING, SO HYDROLOGY ISSUES/FLOODING CHANCES WOULD BE LOW. THE SEVERE THREAT WILL BE RAMPING DOWN TOWARD THE MIDNIGHT HOURS WITH POPS DECREASING WELL DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF WEDNESDAY AS THE COLD FRONT AND DRIER AIR PUSH THROUGH. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT TERM, WEDNESDAY WILL BE SUNNY, WITH MORE MILDER AND SEASONABLY NORMAL TEMPERATURES ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE COLD FRONT. HOWEVER, THE COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO LIFT BACK NORTHWARD AS A WARM FRONT, BRINGING MOISTURE BACK INTO THE AREA. ANOTHER LARGE SCALE SYSTEM COMING FROM THE SOUTHWEST WILL AGAIN BRING POPS OF TSRA BACK INTO THE FORECAST BEGINNING LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY, AND POSSIBLY LINGERING AROUND INTO SATURDAY ACROSS CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. IN THE EXTENDED RANGE, BOTH GFS & ECMWF SUGGEST ANOTHER LARGE WAVE MOVING IN FROM THE WEST, REINTRODUCING LOW TSRA POPS FOR LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... OKLAHOMA CITY OK 56 77 50 79 / 100 0 0 0 HOBART OK 51 77 49 79 / 10 0 0 0 WICHITA FALLS TX 55 81 53 84 / 60 0 0 10 GAGE OK 48 73 44 73 / 10 0 0 0 PONCA CITY OK 57 74 48 76 / 100 10 0 0 DURANT OK 62 82 56 84 / 100 10 0 0 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 25/30
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 26, 9:39 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 939 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016 OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-280245- HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE- ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM- WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND- POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN- COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON- CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER- WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY- 939 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN... CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...REST OF TONIGHT... .THUNDERSTORMS... THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING ACROSS PORTIONS OF OKLAHOMA. LOCATION... THE RISK AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS IS GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM STILLWATER AND SHAWNEE... TO PAULS VALLEY AND MARIETTA OKLAHOMA. TIMING... SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDNIGHT. IMPACTS... LARGE HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH ARE THE MAIN CONCERNS. A TORNADO OR TWO IS STILL POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL ACROSS THE RISK AREA SHOULD PLAN FOR SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS THROUGH THIS EVENING. .DISCUSSION... A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA... GENERALLY EAST OF INTERSTATE 35... THROUGH THE REST OF THE EVENING HOURS. STORMS HAVE ENDED FOR WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO END FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... .THUNDERSTORMS... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY OCCUR FRIDAY ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WHICH COULD PRODUCE FLOODING. THE GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE STORMS WILL BE OVER WESTERN NORTH TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA. GET GRAPHICS AND MORE DETAILS AT WEATHER.GOV/NORMAN...AND FOLLOW OUR WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 26, 9:26 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
926 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0914 PM TSTM WND GST 3 SW PARKLAND 35.81N 96.88W
04/26/2016 M62 MPH LINCOLN OK TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
MDAYLocal storm report, Apr 26, 9:37 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
937 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0932 PM TSTM WND GST 1 S STROUD 35.74N 96.66W
04/26/2016 M60 MPH LINCOLN OK BROADCAST MEDIA
&&
MDAYLocal storm report, Apr 26, 9:38 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
938 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0930 PM TSTM WND GST 4 NNE SULPHUR 34.56N 96.95W
04/26/2016 M57 MPH MURRAY OK MESONET
&&
MDAYLocal storm report, Apr 26, 9:39 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
939 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0930 PM TSTM WND GST 3 ESE BYARS 34.86N 97.00W
04/26/2016 M61 MPH MCCLAIN OK MESONET
&&
MDAYLocal storm report, Apr 26, 9:42 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
942 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0935 PM TSTM WND GST 3 ESE BYARS 34.86N 97.00W
04/26/2016 M64 MPH MCCLAIN OK MESONET
&&
MDAYLocal storm report, Apr 26, 9:44 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
944 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0630 PM FLASH FLOOD 3 SW SNYDER 34.63N 98.99W
04/26/2016 KIOWA OK OTHER FEDERAL
AN AUTOMATED USGS GAUGE RECORDED A FLASH FLOOD ALONG
OTTER CREEK AT U.S. HWY 62 NEAR SYNDER. CREEK LEVEL
REACHED 12.2 FEET...FLOOD STAGE IS 11 FEET. FLOODING IS
ONGOING.
&&
TLINDLEYThe 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
2.8 hours before the tornado, 74 km from the path. April 27, 2016.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2869 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3868 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1035 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 179 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.2
- Supercell composite
- 13.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.1 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
9.2 hours after it, 74 km from the path. April 27, 2016.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 119 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -271 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 506 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1775 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 73 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.6 K/km
The surface observations
Ada_municipal_airport (ADH), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Norman radar (KTLX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:53 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.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2016 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 26, 2016
35 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | 12:52 PM CDT | EF1 | Warren, MO | 5.5 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 1:24 PM CDT | EF0 | Saint Charles, MO | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 3:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Geary, KS | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| April 26 | 3:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Sumner, KS | 1.1 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 5:38 PM CDT | EF1 | Vanderburgh, IN | 7.5 | 250 | $250,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:42 PM CDT | EF0 | Shawnee, KS | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| April 26 | 5:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Haskell, TX | 1.5 | 25 | |||
| April 26 | 7:20 PM EDT | EF0 | Greene, IN | 0.1 | 75 | $15,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Smith, KS | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| April 26 | 8:08 PM CDT | EF0 | Canadian, OK | 4.1 | 50 | $12,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Oklahoma, OK | 10.0 | 150 | $10,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:49 PM CDT | EF0 | Oklahoma, OK | 3.7 | 100 | $4,000 | ||
| April 26 | 9:22 PM CDT | EF0 | Grayson, TX | 0.2 | 80 | $200,000 | ||
| April 26 | 9:44 PM CDT | EF1 | Osage, OK | 3.8 | 450 | |||
| April 26 | 9:52 PM CDT | EF1 | Osage, OK | 6.9 | 900 | $15,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Creek, OK | 5.6 | 550 | $20,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Pawnee, OK | 7.0 | 800 | $150,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:00 PM CDT | EF0 | Grayson, TX | 2.4 | 150 | 5 | $450,000 | |
| April 26 | 10:11 PM CDT | EF0 | Grayson, TX | 6.0 | 75 | $80,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:18 PM CDT | EF1 | Tulsa, OK | 3.8 | 600 | $150,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Tulsa, OK | 2.7 | 350 | $100,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:36 PM CDT | EF1 | Tulsa, OK | 1.0 | 150 | $10,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:11 PM CDT | EF1 | McIntosh, OK | 7.5 | 400 | $100,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:16 PM CDT | EF0 | Craig, OK | 10.1 | 500 | $20,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:34 PM CDT | EF1 | Muskogee, OK | 5.1 | 800 | $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:35 PM CDT | EF0 | Mayes, OK | 4.7 | 750 | $20,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:46 PM CDT | EF1 | Cherokee, OK | 7.2 | 700 | $150,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:58 PM CDT | EF1 | Delaware, OK | 10.1 | 850 | $100,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Pushmataha, OK | 1.5 | 500 | $125,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:07 AM CDT | EF1 | Ottawa, OK | 1.6 | 350 | $150,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:21 AM CDT | EF1 | Newton, MO | 0.8 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:23 AM CDT | EF1 | Sequoyah, OK | 4.3 | 500 | $25,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:29 AM CDT | EF1 | Benton, AR | 9.1 | 600 | $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:41 AM CDT | EF1 | Benton, AR | 2.0 | 350 | $30,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:53 AM CDT | EF1 | Crawford, AR | 2.4 | 300 | $50,000 |
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.