Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2018

EF0 tornado, Ada, Oklahoma, June 24, 2018

This EF0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Pontotoc County on June 24, 2018, touching down at 3:12 PM CDT and reaching 10 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $1,000 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 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
June 24, 2018
Touchdown
3:12 PM CDT (20:12 UTC)
Path length
0.2 miles (0.3 km)
Path width
10 yards (9 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1,000
County
Pontotoc County
Touchdown point
34.740, -96.620
Lift-off point
34.740, -96.620
Record number
1806241412-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A line of storms came down out of Kansas just after midnight on the 24th, sweeping through northern Oklahoma. A second round formed right on the tail of the first, making its way southward through Oklahoma later that morning through the afternoon.

An Ada Police officer observed this tornado near county road 1570 southeast of Ada. This brief tornado did cause some tree damage.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:40 UTC and running to 22:54 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:40 UTC22:54 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchOUN
19:59 UTC21:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
20:31 UTC21:06 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN

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. The outlook in force was issued at 20:01 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

8.2 hours before the tornado, 89 km from the path. June 24, 2018.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2018-06-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 67 joules per kilogram, CIN -259, lifted condensation level 1329 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2018-06-24The 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 -49 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 43 knots.193958Sfc1 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
67 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-259 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1329 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
392 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
12.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Norman, OK (KOUN), 00:00Z

3.8 hours after it, 89 km from the path. June 25, 2018.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2018-06-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 218 joules per kilogram, CIN -476, lifted condensation level 2275 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2018-06-25The 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 74 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 53 knots.193958Sfc1 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
218 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-476 J/kg
Surface CAPE
10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2275 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.1
0-3 km lapse rate
3.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Ada_municipal_airport (ADH), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
18:15 UTC82.471.6140° 9 kt151011.5
18:35 UTC84.271.6130° 6 kt1010.8
18:55 UTC82.471.6110° 5 kt1011.5
19:15 UTC82.471.6110° 4 kt1012.2
19:35 UTC82.471.60° 0 kt1012.9
19:55 UTC82.473.40° 0 kt1013.2-RA
20:15 UTC69.866.2350° 15 kt301016.9+TSRA
20:35 UTC64.464.440° 10 kt191016.6+TSRA
20:55 UTC64.464.480° 6 kt1013.9-VCTSRA
21:15 UTC64.464.480° 4 kt1013.9VCTS
21:35 UTC64.464.4100° 11 kt161011.9-TSRA
21:55 UTC64.464.490° 8 kt181012.2-VCTSRA

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

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:12 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
20:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGByngPontotoc, OKCARPORT WAS FLIPPED AND A FENCE WAS BLOWN DOWN.
20:15 UTCTSTM WND GST 601 W AdaPontotoc, OK
20:17 UTCTSTM WND GST 60AdaPontotoc, OK
20:19 UTCTSTM WND GST 604 E AdaPontotoc, OK
20:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Sse AdaPontotoc, OKPOWER LINES DOWN AND BLOCKING ROADWAY AT STATE HWY 3/COUNTY RD 1580.
20:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 58CentrahomaCoal, OK
21:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGMill CreekJohnston, OKDAMAGE TO METAL ROOFING.
21:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGConnervilleJohnston, OKTREE LIMBS DOWN.
21:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Nnw RaviaJohnston, OK
21:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wnw StonewallPontotoc, OKROOF BLOWN OFF OF RESIDENCE.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2018 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 24, 2018

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 2410:18 AM MDTEF0Routt, CO0.330
June 2411:14 AM MDTEF0Jackson, CO0.050
June 243:51 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, MN0.450
June 245:10 PM CDTEF0Roberts, SD0.05
June 247:12 PM CDTEF0Fillmore, NE0.125
June 247:14 PM CDTEF0Fillmore, NE0.735
June 247:17 PM CDTEF0Fillmore, NE0.225
June 247:43 PM CDTEF0Fillmore, NE0.735

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.