Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2023
EF0 tornado, Tonkawa, Oklahoma, May 12, 2023
This EF0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Kay County on May 12, 2023, touching down at 8:06 PM CDT and reaching 10 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
- May 12, 2023
- Touchdown
- 8:06 PM CDT (01:06 UTC)
- Lifted
- 8:07 PM CDT (01:07 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.3 miles (0.5 km)
- Path width
- 10 yards (9 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Kay County
- Touchdown point
- 36.660, -97.335
- Lift-off point
- 36.660, -97.335
- Record number
- 2305121906-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed from border-to-border in the forecast area, along a cold front that extended from the West Texas Plains into Missouri River Valley. Supportive magnitudes of instability and wind shear allowed for all severe hazards to be observed. In addition to large hail and damaging winds with the strongest storms, a well-documented tornado occurred near Tonkawa in Kay County, OK.
A number of spotters and chasers observed this tornado estimated to be about 2 miles southwest of Tonkawa. Some light tree damage was reported.
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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:42 UTC and running to 07:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:42 UTC | 07:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | OUN |
| 22:58 UTC | 23:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN |
| 23:36 UTC | 00:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN |
| 00:11 UTC | 01:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN |
| 00:38 UTC | 03:45 UTC | Flood Advisory | OUN |
| 00:55 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN |
| 01:07 UTC | 01:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | OUN |
| 01:08 UTC | 04:15 UTC | Flood Advisory | OUN |
| 01:16 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | OUN |
| 01:25 UTC | 02:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | OUN |
| 01:29 UTC | 01:51 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN |
| 01:57 UTC | 02:16 UTC | Tornado Warning | OUN |
| 02:17 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN |
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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 01:01 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), 00:00Z
1.1 hours before the tornado, 160 km from the path. May 13, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3755 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -20 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 4980 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1086 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 62 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 98 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.0
- Supercell composite
- 6.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.6 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
10.9 hours after it, 160 km from the path. May 13, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -87187 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1899 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -168 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -77 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.8 K/km
The surface observations
Blackwell (BKN), 10 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:15 UTC | 89.6 | 66.2 | 180° 9 kt | 15 | 1009.1 | |
| 23:35 UTC | 84.2 | 66.2 | 130° 17 kt | 22 | 1009.5 | |
| 23:55 UTC | 80.6 | 64.4 | 130° 15 kt | 23 | 1010.2 | |
| 00:15 UTC | 77 | 66.2 | 90° 10 kt | 17 | 1010.5 | |
| 00:35 UTC | 78.8 | 64.4 | 120° 12 kt | 18 | 1010.5 | |
| 00:55 UTC | 78.8 | 66.2 | 80° 10 kt | 1010.2 | ||
| 01:15 UTC | 78.8 | 64.4 | 4 kt | 12 | 1010.2 | |
| 01:55 UTC | 78.8 | 57.2 | 90° 6 kt | 15 | 1010.2 | |
| 02:15 UTC | 73.4 | 60.8 | 150° 5 kt | 1010.2 | ||
| 02:35 UTC | 73.4 | 60.8 | 160° 6 kt | 1010.2 | ||
| 02:55 UTC | 73.4 | 62.6 | 180° 7 kt | 1010.5 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:07 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:10 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Ponca City | Kay, OK | PHOTO VIA TWITTER. |
| 23:15 UTC | HAIL 1 | 3 Nne Ponca City | Kay, OK | REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). |
| 23:42 UTC | HAIL 2 | 1 E Ponca City | Kay, OK | PHOTO VIA TWITTER. |
| 23:51 UTC | HAIL 1 | 7 Se Blackwell | Kay, OK | REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). |
| 01:03 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Tonkawa | Kay, OK | |
| 01:07 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sw Tonkawa | Kay, OK | VIA TWITTER/NWSCHAT. |
| 01:24 UTC | HAIL 2 | Tonkawa | Kay, OK | |
| 03:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Pawnee | Pawnee, OK | DELAYED REPORT. DAMAGE TO TREES AND A METAL CARPORT NEAR PAWNEE FROM FRIDAY NIGHT. PHOTOS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELAYED BY BROADCAST MEDIA. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
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 May 12, 2023
32 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12 | 12:34 PM CDT | EF1 | Custer, NE | 4.0 | 100 | |||
| May 12 | 12:39 PM CDT | Unrated | Logan, NE | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 12:42 PM CDT | Unrated | Custer, NE | 0.1 | 1 | |||
| May 12 | 12:47 PM CDT | Unrated | Custer, NE | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 2:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Greeley, NE | 13.6 | 200 | $300,000 | ||
| May 12 | 3:11 PM CDT | EF1 | Wheeler, NE | 3.4 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 3:25 PM CDT | Unrated | Wheeler, NE | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 3:55 PM CDT | Unrated | Platte, NE | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 3:55 PM CDT | EF2 | Wheeler, NE | 7.3 | 75 | |||
| May 12 | 4:00 PM CDT | Unrated | Custer, NE | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 4:09 PM CDT | EF1 | Boone, NE | 1.3 | 150 | |||
| May 12 | 4:22 PM CDT | Unrated | Madison, NE | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 4:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Pawnee, NE | 3.0 | 80 | |||
| May 12 | 4:53 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 8.9 | 200 | |||
| May 12 | 5:01 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, NE | 3.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 5:15 PM CDT | EF2 | Dodge, NE | 5.5 | 800 | |||
| May 12 | 5:17 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 5.0 | 150 | |||
| May 12 | 5:34 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 2.8 | 200 | |||
| May 12 | 5:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 5.1 | 300 | |||
| May 12 | 5:42 PM CDT | EF0 | Dodge, NE | 2.5 | 300 | |||
| May 12 | 5:46 PM CDT | EF2 | Dodge, NE | 10.4 | 1,600 | |||
| May 12 | 6:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Burt, NE | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| May 12 | 6:14 PM CDT | EF0 | Wayne, NE | 0.3 | 20 | |||
| May 12 | 6:20 PM CDT | EF2 | Burt, NE | 11.3 | 1,150 | 2 | ||
| May 12 | 6:34 PM CDT | EF0 | Wayne, NE | 0.7 | 20 | |||
| May 12 | 7:03 PM CDT | EF2 | Brown, KS | 1.5 | 500 | |||
| May 12 | 7:11 PM CDT | EF1 | Jackson, KS | 3.6 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 7:18 PM CDT | EF0 | Brown, KS to NE | 2.3 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 7:23 PM CDT | Unrated | Burt, NE | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 7:38 PM CDT | Unrated | Jackson, KS | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 7:43 PM CDT | Unrated | Burt, NE | 0.5 | 20 | |||
| May 12 | 7:49 PM CDT | Unrated | Jackson, KS | 0.0 | 10 |
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.