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.
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
- 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
&&
CRLocal 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.
&&
CRLocal storm report, Jun 17, 7:13 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
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</html>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.
- 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
The surface observations
West Woodward (WWR), 51 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 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.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17 | 1:50 PM MDT | EF0 | Las Animas, CO | 2.0 | 10 | |||
| June 17 | 4:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Baldwin, AL | 3.6 | 20 | |||
| June 17 | 6:08 PM CDT | Unrated | Beaver, OK | 2.2 | 50 | |||
| June 17 | 6:18 PM CDT | Unrated | Stonewall, TX | 4.3 | 50 | |||
| June 17 | 6:45 PM CDT | Unrated | Fisher, TX | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| June 17 | 9:24 PM CDT | Unrated | Alfalfa, OK | 1.5 | 30 | |||
| June 17 | 12:40 AM CDT | EF1 | Rogers, OK | 10.9 | 1,000 | $75,000 | ||
| June 17 | 12:56 AM CDT | EF1 | Rogers, OK | 5.2 | 800 | $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.