Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2019
EF3 tornado, El Reno, Oklahoma, May 25, 2019
This EF3 tornado ran 2.2 miles across Canadian County on May 25, 2019, touching down at 10:28 PM CDT and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed 2 people and injured 29, and did $400,000 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 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 mphthis tornado
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
- EF3
- Date
- May 25, 2019
- Touchdown
- 10:28 PM CDT (03:28 UTC)
- Lifted
- 10:32 PM CDT (03:32 UTC)
- On the ground
- 4 minutes
- Path length
- 2.2 miles (3.5 km)
- Path width
- 75 yards (69 m)
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 29
- Property damage
- $400,000
- County
- Canadian County
- Touchdown point
- 35.500, -97.955
- Lift-off point
- 35.510, -97.919
- Record number
- 1905252128-01
The damage survey
55 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 143 mph.
- unknown damage at this gas facility. was identified by El Reno FD. No details
- overturned and pushed vehicles
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
Scattered supercells merged into a linear system that produced a variety of severe weather on the 25th.
An intense QLCS tornado developed south of El Reno, just south of Interstate 40 and about a mile west of US-81. Initially the tornado affected rural areas, but as it moved east-northeast, it moved through the northwestern portion of an automobile dealership at the northwest corner of Interstate 40 and US-81. There it overturned or displaced a number of vehicles and removed the roof and collapsed many exterior walls of an automobile service building.||Immediately northeast of the automobile dealership, the tornado moved through the southeastern portion of a mobile home park destroying many mobile homes. Although the tornado was relatively narrow, the destruction of mobile homes was complete in the path while mobile homes just a couple of blocks away suffered minimal damage. Two residents of one mobile home were killed when their home was destroyed.||Just to the northeast of the mobile home park, the tornado hit a two-story motel. Most walls of the second story were collapsed in the portion of the motel that was in the most intense part of the tornado path and the tornado was rated EF3 at this motel. ||Crossing US-81, the tornado significantly damaged another automotive service building and produced significant roof damage to a home on SE 27th Street. The tornado weakened as it moved east-northeast along and just north of SE 27th Street damaging trees before dissipating near Alfadale Road.
The deaths
2 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.
| Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | M | Mobile/Trailer Home | Direct |
| 47 | F | Mobile/Trailer Home | Direct |
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
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 May 25, 6:44 PM CDT, 3 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 25, 6:44 PM CDT, 3 hours 44 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Norman OK 644 PM CDT Sat May 25 2019 .DISCUSSION... 00Z TAFs. && .AVIATION... Main issue will be a line of thunderstorms expected to move across the area this evening. Strong winds will be possible with these storms. There will likely also be MVFR ceilings early Sunday morning with the highest chances at KCSM and KWWR. And some non- convective low-level wind shear is expected at most sites early Sunday morning. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 253 PM CDT Sat May 25 2019/ DISCUSSION... The focus today is centered around near-term convective/flooding threats. Little change was made beyond today to the forecast. Latest surface analysis shows decreasing hints of diffuse composite surface boundary somewhere near the Kansas border. Regardless, persistent low-level southerly flow continues to transport moisture northward and is expected to rectify the convectively overturned environment sampled by 12z OUN sounding. The already moist low level environment is probably augmented by moist ground/vegetation some. Nearly all sites across the area have low 70 dew points. On the western extend of anomalous low-level moisture plume and where diabatic heating has been relatively strong, along with influence from eastern upper level trough, storms have developed. Expanding cold pool is likely with thees storms along the northern caprock and growth upscale as they move eastward is expected. This activity has been more expansive with earlier CI than most CAMs indicated, and it seems that a more aggressive timing and spatial coverage of multi-cell clusters and eventually an MCS than the average CAM output shows is warranted. If storms can remain discrete/quasi-discrete before moving into western Oklahoma, there would be a low-end tornado threat. As low-level jet strengthens this evening, low-level shear will increase. By then, cold pool growth should favor linear evolution by then. There may be a tendency for convection to be cold pool dominate, thus limiting the tornado potential. However, similar to last night, we'll have to watch any northwest-southeast oriented segments with cold pool/shear balance for leading edge circulations well into the evening, particularly if topped with radar evidence of an organized/sustained updraft. This displacement last night precluded more substantial QLCS tornado potential. Significant moisture transport vectors and anomalous PWATs will lead to intense rainfall rates. Even with indications of steady forward propagation the ground is quite saturated so even though the duration may not be particularly long, the potential for flooding/flash flooding is higher than typical in this scenario. The trend should be for decreasing intensity with eastward extend and a lessening of both the severe and flood potential later in the night. Sunday night, a similar scenario is expected with diurnally driven activity on the High Plains once again growing up scale and moving east-northeast posing a risk of severe storms and flooding. Given position of synoptic features, it should be confined a little more to the western sections of the area Monday. On Tuesday, western trough ejects northeast and its track suggests at least modest large scale ascent over most of our area supporting convection over a larger portion of the area. Flooding continues to be a concern given antecedent conditions, and the CAPE/shear parameter space will support severe storm potential. Wednesday's potential is a little less certain given tendency for large scale lift to shift northeastward. It may be driven by 1) how much we destabilize in the wake of potential lingering convection the previous night, and 2) position of mesoscale features such as residual boundaries. Right now, the greatest probabilities appear to be across southern portions of the area. The pattern late in the week and especially into next weekend appears to trend back toward to at least some weak western mid- upper troughing and low-level theta-e ridge, with some indication of a east-west quasi-stationary synoptic front just north of us. This would indicate a potentially active convective period continuing with heavy rain/flooding possibly still a concern. BRB && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Oklahoma City OK 67 82 68 83 / 70 10 30 10 Hobart OK 66 81 66 83 / 70 10 40 10 Wichita Falls TX 68 85 68 87 / 60 0 20 10 Gage OK 62 79 62 82 / 70 40 50 20 Ponca City OK 67 83 68 85 / 70 20 40 10 Durant OK 69 85 69 86 / 20 10 10 10 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...Flood Watch through Sunday morning for OKZ004>026-033>038. TX...Flood Watch through Sunday morning for TXZ083-084. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 25, 9:54 PM CDT, 34 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Norman OK 954 PM CDT Sat May 25 2019 OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-270300- 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- 954 PM CDT Sat May 25 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of northern... western...central...and southern Oklahoma...and western north Texas. .DAY ONE...Overnight... .Heavy rain and flooding... There is a high probability of flooding across portions of southwestern and central Oklahoma where thunderstorms are producing very heavy rainfall Saturday evening. This combined with heavy rainfall over the past few days will produce dangerous flooding situations. .Thunderstorms... There is a risk of severe thunderstorms into early Sunday morning, mainly southeast of a line from Ponca City to Kingfisher to Cordell to Hollis, and northeast of a line from Shawnee to Duncan to Wichita Falls to Knox City. Winds of 70 mph and hail to the size of golf balls will be possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday... .Thunderstorms... There is a risk for severe thunderstorms Sunday through Wednesday. The greatest risk will be on Tuesday, mainly across northern and central Oklahoma. .Heavy Rainfall and Flooding... Flooding will continue into next week and additional heavy rain from thunderstorms will exacerbate the flooding, especially across northern portions of 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, May 25, 9:47 PM CDT, 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
947 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0944 PM FLASH FLOOD 3 E SENTINEL 35.16N 99.12W
05/25/2019 WASHITA OK TRAINED SPOTTER
4 TO 8 INCHES OF WATER RUNNING ACROSS THE ROAD BETWEEN
SENTINEL AND ROCKY.
&&
JTLocal storm report, May 25, 9:55 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
955 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0953 PM TSTM WND GST 5 W ALBERT 35.23N 98.50W
05/25/2019 M57 MPH CADDO OK TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
JTLocal storm report, May 25, 10:01 PM CDT, 27 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1001 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0958 PM HAIL 7 W FORT COBB RESERVOIR 35.21N 98.61W
05/25/2019 E1.25 INCH CADDO OK TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
JTLocal storm report, May 25, 10:04 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1004 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1002 PM FLASH FLOOD 3 N CARNEGIE 35.15N 98.60W
05/25/2019 CADDO OK TRAINED SPOTTER
FLASH FLOODING SOUTH OF ALFALFA ACROSS HIGHWAY AT THE
COTTON GIN ABOUT 4-5 MILES SOUTH OF ALFALFA. SPOTTER WAS
PUSHED TO DITCH BUT GOT BACK ON ROAD.
&&
JTLocal storm report, May 25, 10:14 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1014 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1010 PM FLASH FLOOD 5 N CARNEGIE 35.17N 98.60W
05/25/2019 CADDO OK TRAINED SPOTTER
FLOODING FROM 1/4 TO 1/2 MILE SOUTH OF CR 1270 ON HWY 58
NORTH OF CARNEGIE.
&&
JTLocal storm report, May 25, 10:15 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1015 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1009 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 S RETROP 35.13N 99.36W
05/25/2019 BECKHAM OK TRAINED SPOTTER
60 YARDS OF 3-4 INCH DEEP FLOWING WATER ACROSS HWY 6
SOUTH OF RETROP.
&&
JTThe 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
3.5 hours before the tornado, 58 km from the path. May 26, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1531 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -29 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3625 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1082 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 98 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 111 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.5
- Supercell composite
- 12.6
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.6 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
8.5 hours after it, 58 km from the path. May 26, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 97 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -335 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 919 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 262 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 278 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.0 K/km
The surface observations
El Reno (RQO), 7 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), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:27 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 2019 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 25, 2019
21 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 4:59 PM CDT | Unrated | Hockley, TX | 1.1 | 30 | |||
| May 25 | 5:39 PM CDT | EF2 | Hale, TX | 1.7 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:42 PM EDT | EF1 | Carroll, OH | 0.5 | 50 | $60,000 | ||
| May 25 | 6:08 PM CDT | Unrated | Hale, TX | 4.6 | 100 | |||
| May 25 | 7:04 PM CDT | Unrated | Greer, OK | 0.3 | 30 | |||
| May 25 | 7:14 PM CDT | Unrated | Beckham, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 25 | 8:27 PM EDT | EF1 | Indiana, PA | 5.1 | 35 | |||
| May 25 | 8:32 PM EDT | EF0 | Indiana, PA | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| May 25 | 7:40 PM CDT | Unrated | Hall, TX | 0.0 | 30 | |||
| May 25 | 10:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Oklahoma, OK | 0.9 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 10:49 PM CDT | EF0 | Oklahoma, OK | 0.7 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| May 25 | 10:53 PM CDT | EF0 | Oklahoma, OK | 0.5 | 30 | $10,000 | ||
| May 25 | 10:56 PM CDT | EF0 | Cleveland, OK | 0.7 | 30 | $10,000 | ||
| May 25 | 10:57 PM CDT | EF0 | Oklahoma, OK | 0.2 | 30 | $2,000 | ||
| May 25 | 11:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Tazewell, IL | 1.1 | 200 | |||
| May 25 | 11:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Tazewell, IL | 0.7 | 150 | |||
| May 25 | 12:04 AM CDT | EF1 | Creek, OK | 2.6 | 200 | $40,000 | ||
| May 25 | 12:14 AM CDT | EF1 | Creek, OK | 10.7 | 1,000 | $250,000 | ||
| May 25 | 12:21 AM CDT | EF1 | Creek, OK | 12.5 | 1,400 | $760,000 | ||
| May 25 | 12:27 AM CDT | EF1 | Tulsa, OK | 12.3 | 2,200 | $1.1 million | ||
| May 25 | 12:51 AM CDT | EF0 | Tulsa, OK | 1.8 | 400 | $175,000 |
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.