Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2023

EF1 tornado, Gate to Laverne, Oklahoma, June 17, 2023

From Gate to Laverne, this EF1 tornado ran 8.5 miles across Harper and Beaver counties on June 17, 2023, touching down at 7:42 PM CDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $42,000 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 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    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
EF1
Date
June 17, 2023
Touchdown
7:42 PM CDT (00:42 UTC)
Lifted
7:50 PM CDT (00:50 UTC)
On the ground
8 minutes
Path length
8.5 miles (13.6 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$42,000
Counties
Harper and Beaver counties
Touchdown point
36.763, -100.019
Lift-off point
36.720, -99.888
Record number
2306171842-01

The damage survey

23 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

  • Large power poles - 7 in this stretch of highway
  • Several steel oil tanks moved/blown to the north onto road
  • Center pivot irrigation damaged N side of hwy

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

During the early evening hours of the 17th, a discrete supercell formed over the central TX Panhandle and moved towards the northeastern TX Panhandle. At the same time a complex of storms was entering the western OK Panhandle and moved east across the area and expanded southward towards the eastern combined Panhandles. These storms produced hail up to 3 in diameter and wind gusts upwards of 70-80 mph with some minor wind damage. Some of the largest hail sizes and strongest winds occurred with the grunt of the complex across the OK Panhandle.

Another unseasonably strong upper trough approached the region during the day on the 17th. Widespread thunderstorm development occurred across the High Plains, from southwest Kansas into the central Texas Panhandle by the late afternoon. The combination of anomalously (for mid-June) high magnitudes of wind shear and instability produced widespread severe weather outcomes across southern, central and northern Oklahoma. By the late evening hours, convection had organized into a mature bow echo across north-central Oklahoma, where numerous significant wind gusts (and damage) were observed. Similar outcomes occurred into portions of northeastern Oklahoma towards early morning hours of the 18th.

This tornado developed just inside the Beaver-Harper county line. It caused some roof damage and tree damage to a home before crossing into Harper County.

This tornado moved into Harper County from Beaver County OK (see report from the Oklahoma panhandle from NWS Amarillo). At the Beaver County-Harper County line, the tornado caused roof damage to a home as well as tree damage. It continued to damage trees and power poles as the tornado moved to just northeast of Laverne. A barn was damaged along US-283 just north of Laverne before the tornado dissipated. In addition to the tornado, a large area of wind damage was observed south of the tornado creating areas of wind damage in the town of Laverne.

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 17, 6:48 PM CDT, 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 6:48 PM CDT, 54 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
648 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

...New AVIATION...

.SHORT TERM ...
(This evening through Sunday night)
Issued at 218 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

Severe thunderstorms will be possible to north and northeastern
combined Panhandles. First discrete cells may be possible east of
the dryline mainly impacting the eastern third of the combined
Panhandles. After that, a mid to upper level shortwave trough is
progged to move through the southern Plains helping to form storms
across the northern to northeastern third of the combined
Panhandles going into this evening. The discrete cells if they can
break a small cap will fire off between 4PM and 7PM. The line of
thunderstorms that is progged to move across the northern zones of
the FA, as well as eastern CO and western KS, is expected to be
between 7 PM and 11 PM CDT. Plenty of instability and deep layer
sheer are expected to be in place allowing for the potential for
all severe threats to include a tornado or two to be in play.

For this afternoon, areas in the north to northwestern FA are
expected to reach into the upper 70s to mid 80s. Areas further
south are expected to approach the low 90s. Winds have currently
been out of the southeast here at the Amarillo Airport as of this
writing. This has kept much of the area under Td's in the upper
50s to lower 60s. However, much of the western to southwestern TX
Panhandle is expected to see a shift in the winds to the southwest
bringing lower Td's and will tighten up a potential dryline just
east of Amarillo. As long as this occurs Amarillo and areas south
and west will be shutoff from any thunderstorm chances
today/tonight. East of this dryline is where there will be a
potential for a discrete storm or two in the late afternoon. Going
into this evening, an H5 shortwave trough is expected to traverse
much of the central to southern Plains. This will bring in a weak
cold front from the Colorado as well. The front intersecting with
the dryline will lead to concerns for possible tornadoes just
like last Thu. Which some spin ups along boundary interactions may
lead to some landspout formations as well. Instability and deep
layer shear will also lead to a potential for hail up to 3" with
these storms.

CAMs suggest that the storms should be out of the combined
Panhandles by 11PM tonight. After that much of the FA will be
under northerly winds that are expected to become even lighter
after midnight and turn back to the west.

36

&&

.LONG TERM ...
(Monday through next Friday)
Issued at 218 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

The Panhandles get a much needed reprieve from rain and severe
weather beginning Sunday, but unfortunately will be replaced with
increasing heat through midweek. Zonal flow on Sunday will quickly
give way to amplified ridging by Monday as high pressure builds
over the southern Plains. Temperatures will rise near or into the
90s most days, with localized highs around 100 not unlikely Mon-
Wed. Shortwave troughs could begin to make their way around the
ridge and into the area as early as Tuesday, but the best chance
for storms to return for parts of the area appears to be Wed-Fri
with an emphasis on Thursday.

Although POPs are non-mentionable Tuesday (for good reason given
the low chance for precip to reach the sfc, much less enough to
measure), the potential for dry thunderstorms capable of strong
downburst wind gusts may need to be monitored. 12z GFS forecast
soundings show moistening in the mid to upper levels atop very dry
and warm low levels as a disturbance moves through. With DCAPE
values potentially up to 2000 J/kg thanks to a strong inverted-V
signature, strong wind gusts could try to make their way to the
surface as any precip attempts to fall. This is an outside chance
of occurring and could easily change moving forward, but could be
something worth keeping an eye on.

Wed-Fri, deterministic and ensemble guidance is in fair agreement
that multiple rounds of shortwaves could impinge on ridging and
provide support for convection during this time frame. Rich deep
layer moisture and moderate to strong instability may be in place
for parts of the area on any of these days. Although upper-level
wind fields may not be as impressive as what we've been seeing
recently, sufficient wind shear for organized storms may be in
place as well. As of this forecast period, Thursday appears to
have the best probability (30-40%) for these ingredients to come
together, although the other days may emerge with increased
potential as well (20-30% POPs Wed & Fri). Strength of ridging as
well as concerns with capping and overlap of best ingredients
will be factors to keep in mind moving forward to assess
extent/location of any strong to severe storm potential.

Harrel

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 631 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

Strong to severe storms are ongoing across much of the northern
Panhandles this evening with persistent VCTS near KGUY. Storms
north of KDHT should stay north and east of the site. Line of
storms Gusts over 40-50 kts will be possible as a line of storms
moves through KGUY within the next hour, clearing the area by
02-03z. Winds will turn north/northwest at 10-15 kts at all sites
by 02z. Winds will become S/SW through the day at 10 kts tomorrow.

Harrel

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Amarillo TX                58  91  61  98 /  10   0   0   0
Beaver OK                  56  87  60  97 /  60   0   0   0
Boise City OK              52  87  56  93 /  30   0   0   0
Borger TX                  58  93  65 101 /  30   0   0   0
Boys Ranch TX              56  92  59  98 /   0   0   0   0
Canyon TX                  57  92  62  99 /   0   0   0   0
Clarendon TX               59  90  63  99 /  30   0   0   0
Dalhart TX                 53  88  56  95 /  10   0   0   0
Guymon OK                  54  88  57  97 /  50   0   0   0
Hereford TX                58  93  62  99 /   0   0   0   0
Lipscomb TX                56  88  62  98 /  60   0   0   0
Pampa TX                   57  90  63  98 /  40   0   0   0
Shamrock TX                59  90  61  98 /  40   0   0   0
Wellington TX              61  92  63 101 /  30   0   0   0

&&

.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...None.
OK...None.
&&

SHORT TERM...36
LONG TERM....38
AVIATION...38
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 17, 2:36 PM CDT, 5 hours 6 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
236 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-317-180745-
Cimarron-Texas-Beaver-Dallam-Sherman-Hansford-Ochiltree-Lipscomb-
Hartley-Moore-Hutchinson-Roberts-Hemphill-Oldham-Potter-Carson-
Gray-Wheeler-Deaf Smith-Randall-Armstrong-Donley-Collingsworth-
Palo Duro Canyon-
236 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Texas and Oklahoma
Panhandles.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

Thunderstorms are expected to develop this afternoon and tonight
across the Oklahoma Panhandle as well as the northern and eastern
half of the Texas Panhandle. Some storms will likely become severe,
with large hail, damaging winds, and possibly isolated tornadoes
the primary hazards.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Thunderstorms may develop Wednesday night, Thursday afternoon,
Thursday night, and Friday afternoon across at least parts of the
Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. If storms develop, a few may
become strong to severe, with large hail and damaging winds the
primary hazards.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will likely be needed late this afternoon and
evening.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 17, 6:58 PM CDT, 44 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
658 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0650 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 W Hooker              36.86N 101.23W
06/17/2023  M70 MPH          Texas              OK   Mesonet

&&

CR
Local storm report, Jun 17, 7:07 PM CDT, 35 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
707 PM CDT Sat Jun 17 2023

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0537 PM     Hail             4 SW Turpin             36.85N 100.90W
06/17/2023  E2.50 inch       Beaver             OK   Public

            picture submitted via social media. Time
            estimated on radar.

&&

CR
Local storm report, Jun 17, 7:13 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jun 17, 7:18 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jun 17, 7:19 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jun 17, 7:36 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
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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.

Dodge City, (KDDC), 00:00Z

0.7 hours before the tornado, 114 km from the path. June 18, 2023.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2023-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2103 joules per kilogram, CIN -4, lifted condensation level 1060 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2023-06-18The 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 -9 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 33 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
2103 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2731 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1060 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.2
0-3 km lapse rate
7.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

West Woodward (WWR), 51 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:44 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 2023 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 17, 2023

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 171:50 PM MDTEF0Las Animas, CO2.010
June 174:30 PM CDTEF0Baldwin, AL3.620
June 176:08 PM CDTUnratedBeaver, OK2.250
June 176:18 PM CDTUnratedStonewall, TX4.350
June 176:45 PM CDTUnratedFisher, TX1.050
June 179:24 PM CDTUnratedAlfalfa, OK1.530
June 1712:40 AM CDTEF1Rogers, OK10.91,000$75,000
June 1712:56 AM CDTEF1Rogers, OK5.2800$10,000

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.