Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2019
EF0 tornado, Skiatook Arpt to Skiatook, Oklahoma, April 30, 2019
From Skiatook Arpt to Skiatook, this EF0 tornado ran 1.2 miles across Osage County on April 30, 2019, touching down at 2:14 PM CDT and reaching 50 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.
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
- April 30, 2019
- Touchdown
- 2:14 PM CDT (19:14 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:16 PM CDT (19:16 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 1.2 miles (1.9 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Osage County
- Touchdown point
- 36.380, -96.051
- Lift-off point
- 36.389, -96.032
- Record number
- 1904301314-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Strong to severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the early afternoon hours of the 30th, to the east of a stationary frontal boundary that was located across north-central Oklahoma into northwest Texas. Moderately strong instability combined with strong wind shear resulted in the development of supercell thunderstorms, which produced multiple tornadoes, including two strong tornadoes, large hail up to half dollar size, and damaging winds. Locally heavy rainfall also occurred across portions of northeastern Oklahoma, which resulted in flash flooding.
This tornado snapped large tree limbs. It was observed by many people. Based on the damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 55 to 65 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
27 minutes of warning. NWS TSA issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:47 UTC, 27 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:30 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:02 UTC and running to 23:42 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 UTC | 09:12 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | TSA |
| 16:34 UTC | 17:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | TSA |
| 17:02 UTC | 23:42 UTC | Tornado Watch | TSA |
| 17:27 UTC | 17:48 UTC | Tornado Warning | TSA |
| 18:32 UTC | 22:30 UTC | Flood Advisory | TSA |
| 18:35 UTC | 19:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA |
| 18:47 UTC | 19:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | TSA |
| 18:56 UTC | 01:00 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | TSA |
| 20:50 UTC | 02:45 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | TSA |
| 00:45 UTC | 06:45 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | TSA |
| 02:43 UTC | 23:45 UTC | Flood 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:05 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.
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
7.2 hours before the tornado, 178 km from the path. April 30, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1242 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -1 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1985 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 541 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 153 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 146 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 4.7
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.1 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 00:00Z
4.8 hours after it, 178 km from the path. May 1, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 65 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -282 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 862 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 58 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 139 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.8 K/km
The surface observations
Tulsa International Airport(Aw) (TUL), 25 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:15 UTC | 150° 9 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:17 UTC | 74 | 71 | 150° 10 kt | 1010.8 | ||
| 17:25 UTC | 150° 11 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:30 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:35 UTC | 170° 13 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:40 UTC | 180° 16 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:45 UTC | 170° 13 kt | 1011.2 | ||||
| 17:50 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:53 UTC | 74 | 69 | 170° 10 kt | 1011.2 | ||
| 17:55 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 18:00 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 18:05 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 18:15 UTC | 150° 10 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 18:25 UTC | 150° 8 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 18:35 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 18:40 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 18:53 UTC | 76 | 69 | 160° 14 kt | 1008.8 | VCTS | |
| 18:55 UTC | 170° 13 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 19:00 UTC | 160° 14 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 19:05 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 20 | 1009.1 | |||
| 19:10 UTC | 170° 19 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 19:15 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 19:16 UTC | 76 | 69 | 170° 14 kt | 26 | 1008.8 | VCTS |
| 19:20 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1008.8 | -RA | |||
| 19:25 UTC | 160° 15 kt | 1009.1 | -RA | |||
| 19:30 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1009.1 | -RA BR | |||
| 19:32 UTC | 74 | 70 | 180° 12 kt | 21 | 1009.1 | VCTS -RA BR |
| 19:35 UTC | 180° 11 kt | 1009.1 | -RA BR | |||
| 19:36 UTC | 74 | 70 | 180° 12 kt | 1009.1 | VCTS -RA BR | |
| 19:40 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1008.8 | -RA BR | |||
| 19:45 UTC | 170° 14 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 19:50 UTC | 170° 14 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 19:53 UTC | 75 | 71 | 170° 15 kt | 1008.5 | VCTS | |
| 19:55 UTC | 170° 17 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 20:00 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 20:05 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 20:10 UTC | 160° 13 kt | 1008.5 | ||||
| 20:15 UTC | 170° 13 kt | 1008.1 | ||||
| 20:19 UTC | 76 | 71 | 170° 14 kt | 1008.5 | -TSRA | |
| 20:20 UTC | 160° 14 kt | 1008.5 | -RA | |||
| 20:25 UTC | 160° 13 kt | 1008.1 | -RA | |||
| 20:30 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1008.1 | -RA | |||
| 20:35 UTC | 170° 14 kt | 1008.1 | -RA | |||
| 20:40 UTC | 170° 11 kt | 1008.1 | -RA | |||
| 20:45 UTC | 170° 9 kt | 1007.8 | RA | |||
| 20:50 UTC | 160° 7 kt | 1007.5 | -RA | |||
| 20:53 UTC | 75 | 71 | 150° 7 kt | 1007.5 | -TSRA | |
| 20:55 UTC | 160° 8 kt | 1007.5 | -RA | |||
| 21:00 UTC | 160° 8 kt | 1007.5 | -RA | |||
| 21:05 UTC | 160° 8 kt | 1007.1 | -RA | |||
| 21:10 UTC | 160° 9 kt | 1007.1 | -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Tulsa radar (KINX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:13 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:15 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Wnw Skiatook | Osage, OK | MULTIPLE VIDEOS OF A TORNADO WEST OF SKIATOOK AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 20 SEEN VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME AND LOCATION ESTIMATED VIA RADAR. |
| 19:50 UTC | TORNADO | 4 W Talala | Rogers, OK | TDS AND DEBRIS SIGNATURE OBSERVED FROM KINX RADAR. VIDEO PROVIDED BY BROADCAST MEDIA. |
| 19:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Talala | Rogers, OK | POWER LINES DOWN NORTHWEST OF TALALA ALONG SOUTH 4100 ROAD BETWEEN E 0300 AND E 290 JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 169. PICTURE RECEIVED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 20:00 UTC | TSTM WND GST 65 | Talala | Rogers, OK | WIND GUST OF 65 MPH MEASURED BY THE OKLAHOMA MESONET. |
| 20:38 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Talala | Rogers, OK | NOWATA FIRE DEPT REPORTS DAMAGE NORTHWEST OF TALALA WITH 2 HOMES DAMAGED. THEY HAVE NOT HEARD OF INJURIES. |
| 20:49 UTC | TORNADO | 4 W Talala | Rogers, OK | TDS AND DEBRIS SIGNATURE OBSERVED FROM KINX RADAR. |
| 20:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Talala | Rogers, OK | POWER LINES DOWN NORTHWEST OF TALALA ALONG SOUTH 4100 ROAD BETWEEN E 0300 AND E 290 JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 169. PICTURE RECEIVED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2019 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 30, 2019
55 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 30 | 11:53 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln, OK | 3.0 | 30 | $3,000 | ||
| April 30 | 12:09 PM CDT | Unrated | Murray, OK | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 12:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Payne, OK | 0.5 | 20 | $20,000 | ||
| April 30 | 12:22 PM CDT | EF1 | Murray, OK | 1.9 | 30 | $1,000 | ||
| April 30 | 1:18 PM CDT | Unrated | Labette, KS | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 2:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Okmulgee, OK | 2.5 | 100 | $30,000 | ||
| April 30 | 2:29 PM CDT | EF1 | Wagoner, OK | 2.3 | 150 | $30,000 | ||
| April 30 | 2:44 PM CDT | EF2 | Washington, OK | 9.8 | 1,300 | $125,000 | ||
| April 30 | 2:51 PM CDT | Unrated | Rogers, OK | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 2:57 PM CDT | EF1 | Nowata, OK | 7.5 | 900 | |||
| April 30 | 3:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Wagoner, OK | 7.8 | 300 | $20,000 | ||
| April 30 | 3:05 PM CDT | EF1 | Boone, AR | 6.6 | 400 | $700,000 | ||
| April 30 | 3:22 PM CDT | EF1 | Lawrence, MO | 3.8 | 100 | $150,000 | ||
| April 30 | 3:42 PM CDT | EF1 | McDonald, MO | 12.3 | 880 | $650,000 | ||
| April 30 | 3:50 PM CDT | EF1 | Taney, MO | 5.4 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| April 30 | 3:51 PM CDT | Unrated | Mayes, OK | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 3:51 PM CDT | Unrated | Tillman, OK | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| April 30 | 3:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Montgomery, IL | 1.2 | 25 | |||
| April 30 | 4:13 PM CDT | EF0 | Pecos, TX | 0.9 | 200 | |||
| April 30 | 4:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Craig, OK | 6.3 | 800 | $20,000 | ||
| April 30 | 4:25 PM CDT | EF0 | Barry, MO | 5.0 | 200 | $35,000 | ||
| April 30 | 4:27 PM CDT | EF0 | Scurry, TX | 1.5 | 100 | |||
| April 30 | 4:29 PM CDT | EF1 | Ottawa, OK | 7.2 | 700 | $100,000 | ||
| April 30 | 4:34 PM CDT | Unrated | Clay, TX | 1.5 | 40 | |||
| April 30 | 4:36 PM CDT | EF1 | Clay, TX | 10.0 | 300 | $40,000 | ||
| April 30 | 5:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Taney, MO | 1.0 | 75 | $20,000 | ||
| April 30 | 5:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Ottawa, OK | 4.1 | 1,100 | $75,000 | ||
| April 30 | 5:41 PM CDT | Unrated | Barry, MO | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 6:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Christian, MO | 1.9 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 6:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Denton, TX | 1.5 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| April 30 | 6:44 PM CDT | EF1 | Douglas, MO | 8.6 | 200 | $75,000 | ||
| April 30 | 6:48 PM CDT | EF0 | Barry, MO | 1.9 | 75 | $8,000 | ||
| April 30 | 6:52 PM CDT | EF1 | Denton, TX | 2.9 | 250 | $200,000 | ||
| April 30 | 7:06 PM CDT | EF1 | Douglas, MO | 3.0 | 200 | |||
| April 30 | 7:30 PM CDT | EF1 | Wright, MO | 1.4 | 75 | $250,000 | ||
| April 30 | 7:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Dade, MO | 0.6 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| April 30 | 7:40 PM CDT | EF1 | Polk, MO | 1.8 | 100 | $300,000 | ||
| April 30 | 7:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Wright, MO | 2.4 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| April 30 | 8:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Greene, MO | 1.8 | 200 | $25,000 | ||
| April 30 | 8:21 PM CDT | EF1 | Greene, MO | 1.7 | 200 | $300,000 | ||
| April 30 | 8:28 PM CDT | EF2 | Christian, MO | 10.3 | 400 | 3 | $11 million | |
| April 30 | 8:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Dallas, MO | 1.5 | 50 | $68,000 | ||
| April 30 | 8:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Stone, MO | 23.3 | 100 | $125,000 | ||
| April 30 | 9:07 PM CDT | EF3 | Bryan, OK | 27.6 | 1,400 | 2 | 16 | $300,000 |
| April 30 | 9:34 PM CDT | EF1 | Coal, OK | 0.8 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| April 30 | 9:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Wright, MO | 2.2 | 100 | $60,000 | ||
| April 30 | 9:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Douglas, MO | 2.9 | 100 | |||
| April 30 | 9:51 PM CDT | EF1 | Texas, MO | 5.6 | 100 | |||
| April 30 | 9:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Texas, MO | 6.0 | 50 | |||
| April 30 | 10:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Phelps, MO | 0.6 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| April 30 | 10:06 PM CDT | EF0 | Phelps, MO | 5.1 | 75 | |||
| April 30 | 10:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Howell, MO | 2.2 | 100 | $12,000 | ||
| April 30 | 10:41 PM CDT | EF2 | Pittsburg, OK | 10.0 | 1,300 | 1 | $1.5 million | |
| April 30 | 11:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Iron, MO | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| April 30 | 11:51 PM CDT | EF1 | LeFlore, OK | 4.4 | 1,000 | $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.