Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2024

EF0 tornado, (Swo)Stillwater Airport, Oklahoma, April 27, 2024

This EF0 tornado ran 5.2 miles across Payne County on April 27, 2024, touching down at 3:20 PM CDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $10,000 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 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
April 27, 2024
Touchdown
3:20 PM CDT (20:20 UTC)
Lifted
3:27 PM CDT (20:27 UTC)
On the ground
7 minutes
Path length
5.2 miles (8.4 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
County
Payne County
Touchdown point
36.172, -97.129
Lift-off point
36.237, -97.082
Record number
2404271420-01

The damage survey

2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 74 mph.

  • Payne County EM Pierce Taylor regarding damage to trees and outbuildings in the area of Lone Chimney and North Western Roads.

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

A widespread, long-duration and historic severe weather and tornado outbreak occurred from the late morning through late evening on the 27th. In all, 32 tornadoes affected portions of the WFO Norman Forecast Area, the third most in a single day during the period of reliable record. This included six significant (EF-2+) tornadoes and one violent (EF-4) tornado that struck Marietta (Love County). ||Synoptically, a slow-moving and deep mid/upper-level wave progressed across the Four Corners region during the day. At the surface, an area of low-pressure strengthened/deepened across southwest Kansas, with a trailing dryline extending near and just west of the 100th meridian through much of the day. As ascent overspread this feature, numerous (organized) severe thunderstorms developed across the WFO Norman Forecast Area, even by as early as daybreak/early morning hours. The boundary layer was characterized by strong instability and wind shear, favorable for an organized/supercell storm mode. Initial supercells across western Oklahoma produced a few reports of large hail and the first (brief) tornadoes of the event just after 10 AM. Supercell storm development continued across portions of the area, focusing along an axis from western-north Texas into north-central Oklahoma through much of the afternoon. The first significant (EF-2) tornado of the event impacted the eastern edge of Knox City (Knox County, Texas) just after 3 PM. Through the evening, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) organized and swept across much of southern/central Oklahoma and adjacent north Texas. Numerous mesovortex-type tornadoes developed and impacted the aforementioned areas. Ahead of the main convective line, strong warm air advection, driven by an increasing (45-60 knot) low-level jet, promoted the development of pre-frontal/line supercell thunderstorms. Multiple of these storms became strongly tornadic, producing multiple strong and long-tracking tornadoes. This included an EF-2 tornado impacting the western portions of Ardmore, an EF-3 tornado making a direct impact on the historic downtown district and adjacent neighborhoods in Sulphur, an EF-3 tornado traversing western portions of Hughes County, just west of Holdenville, and an EF-4 tornado destroying a Dollar Tree distribution center and nearby large retail stores on the western side of Marietta. The latter three tornadoes resulted in fatalities (1 in Sulphur, 2 near Holdenville and 1 in Marietta) along with additional injuries. ||Beyond severe weather outcomes, a significant flash flooding event occurred from the late evening of the 27th through mid-morning of the 28th. The corridor of highest rainfall, with observed 24-hour totals of 5-to-8 inches, occurred across portions of south-central into southeast Oklahoma, on the heels of a cluster of significant tornado impacts earlier in the evening. Additional flooding occurred across far northern Oklahoma (Kay County) during the evening of the 27th.

A tornado touched down near Richmond Road just west of Country Club Road in northern Payne County damaging trees in the area. Trees and outbuildings were also damaged near Lone Chimney Road and Western Road to the northeast. This tornado may not have been continuous along this path.

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 Apr 27, 1:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 27, 1:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Norman OK
122 PM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM...

.SHORT TERM...
(This evening through Sunday)
Issued at 112 PM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

Dangerous convective environment in place today and into tonight.
Storms have already fired out west with severe and tornado
warnings already issued this morning. A special balloon sounding
issued by the NSSL near Weatherford shows a concerning profile
with 2500 J/kg SBCAPE, 0-1km SRH near 25 kts, effective shear of
60 knots all indicative of a volatile air mass in place. A PDS
Tornado Watch has already been issued for western Oklahoma and
western north Texas with the expectation this will likely be
expanded eastward within the next several hours. Guidance has
trended a bit slower with the forward progression of supercell
thunderstorms, and the latest indication is central Oklahoma
should be impacted by dangerous supercell thundrestorms capable of
producing strong to violent tornadoes within the 3 PM to 9 PM time
frame.

Complicating this is the high potential for very heavy rainfall
which will quickly lead to flash flooding issues where these
storms set up. The WPC has issued a high risk of flash flooding
for parts of east-central Oklahoma, though it should be stressed
that there is uncertainty with the placement of this. Central and
southern Oklahoma are at risk of dangerous flash flooding issues.

Repeated rounds of thunderstorms are expected, and the public
should not let their guard down after a storm has passed.
Many public events are occurring today and with people out of the
office/school, there is a high concern in our office of people
being out on the roads or away from shelters. We urge those who
can to remain near a shelter today as the environment resembles
that of previous historic tornadic outbreaks. Please heed
warnings!

Thompson

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Sunday night through next Friday)
Issued at 112 PM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

Thunderstorms should exit our forecast area tomorrow morning.
ADditional forecast details will be given with later packages.

&&

.AVIATION...
(18Z TAFS)
Issued at 1131 AM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

Severe thunderstorms will continue to develop across western and
northern Oklahoma and western north Texas through the afternoon
with the potential for large hail and strong tornadoes. Recent
short-term guidance has suggested that storms will be arriving a
bit later into central Oklahoma (around 3-5 PM), and these storms
will also bring the threat of large hail and tornadoes
(potentially strong). Tonight, there is a high potential for
repeated thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall across parts of
central, southern, and southeastern Oklahoma. This activity could
exit our forecast area as early as 7-8 AM.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Oklahoma City OK  60  79  55  79 / 100  20   0  10
Hobart OK         56  80  51  81 /  70   0   0  10
Wichita Falls TX  59  81  56  83 / 100  10   0   0
Gage OK           50  77  46  81 /  10  10  10  10
Ponca City OK     60  79  49  77 / 100  40  10  10
Durant OK         63  77  61  82 /  90  90  10  10

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...Flood Watch through Sunday evening for OKZ004>008-010>013-
     015>020-022>032-035-037>048-050>052.

TX...Flood Watch through Sunday evening for TXZ086-089-090.

&&

SHORT TERM...01
LONG TERM....01
AVIATION...01
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 27, 2:57 AM CDT, 12 hours 23 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Norman OK
257 AM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-280800-
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-
257 AM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of northern...
western...central...and southern Oklahoma...and western north
Texas.

.DAY ONE..Today and Tonight...

.Thunderstorms...
There is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms today across
a large portion of northern into central and southern Oklahoma and
portions of western north Texas. An enhanced risk covers much of
the remainder of western north Texas and Oklahoma.

Multiple rounds of severe storms will be possible across the area
today and tonight. Hail to the size of baseballs, damaging wind
gusts of up to 80 mph and tornadoes, some of which could be
strong, will all be possible.

.Heavy Rainfall...
Multiple rounds of thunderstorms will also result in a risk for
flooding by late today and tonight particularly near and east of
I-35.

Fire Weather...
Near critical fire weather conditions are possible this afternoon
across northwest Oklahoma.

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

.Thunderstorms...
There will be a chance of severe thunderstorms Sunday across
southeast Oklahoma. A chance of thunderstorms will return across
the area Wednesday and continue through Friday. Although
widespread severe is not expected a few strong to severe storms
appear possible.

.Flooding...
Chance of heavy rainfall and possible flooding will continue
Sunday morning across southeast Oklahoma.

.Fire Weather...
Near critical fire weather conditions may develop Tuesday
afternoon across northwest 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, Apr 27, 2:51 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 27, 3:07 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
307 PM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

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

0241 PM     Hail             Hobart                  35.03N 99.10W
04/27/2024  E1.25 Inch       Kiowa              OK   Public

            Report from mPING, time is radar estimated.

&&

JH
Local storm report, Apr 27, 3:20 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
320 PM CDT Sat Apr 27 2024

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

0232 PM     Hail             2 W Tonkawa             36.70N 97.35W
04/27/2024  E2.25 Inch       Kay                OK   Public

            Report from mPING, time is radar estimated.

&&

JH

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

8.3 hours before the tornado, 113 km from the path. April 27, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2024-04-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2248 joules per kilogram, CIN -27, lifted condensation level 528 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2024-04-27The 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 227 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 39 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
2248 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2315 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
528 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
227 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
190 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.2
Supercell composite
11.5
0-3 km lapse rate
5.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Norman, OK (KOUN), 00:00Z

3.7 hours after it, 113 km from the path. April 28, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2024-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2161 joules per kilogram, CIN -47, lifted condensation level 788 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2024-04-28The 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 401 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 59 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
2161 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-47 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2396 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
788 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
401 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
456 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
6.0
Supercell composite
20.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Stillwater Municipal (SWO), 5 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 Norman radar (KTLX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:22 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 2024 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 27, 2024

62 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2710:11 AM CDTEF1Roger Mills, OK0.750$5,000
April 2710:18 AM CDTEF0Roger Mills, OK0.110
April 271:21 PM CDTEF1Garfield, OK0.8100$5,000
April 272:05 PM CDTUnratedBrown, KS3.925
April 272:15 PM CDTUnratedDoniphan, KS0.01
April 272:31 PM CDTEF0Nemaha, KS1.020
April 272:39 PM CDTEF1Kay, OK2.630$20,000
April 272:45 PM CDTEF0Nemaha, KS0.675
April 272:54 PM CDTEF1Kay, OK1.075$75,000
April 273:06 PM CDTEF2Knox, TX12.31,000$100,000
April 273:28 PM CDTEF2Cowley, KS1.3100
April 273:36 PM CDTEF1Cowley, KS0.620
April 274:08 PM CDTEF1Baylor, TX12.7300$100,000
April 274:10 PM CDTEF0Caddo, OK0.820
April 274:12 PM CDTEF1Gentry, MO11.6250
April 274:29 PM CDTEF1Canadian, OK6.8150$100,000
April 274:30 PM CDTEF1Elk, KS0.050
April 273:35 PM MDTEF0Hamilton, KS0.110
April 274:39 PM CDTEF1Elk, KS0.540
April 274:42 PM CDTUnratedElk, KS0.015
April 274:54 PM CDTUnratedElk, KS0.030
April 274:58 PM CDTEF0Grundy, MO4.075
April 275:15 PM CDTUnratedBaylor, TX0.620
April 275:35 PM CDTUnratedWilson, KS0.010
April 275:56 PM CDTUnratedWilson, KS0.010
April 276:11 PM CDTEF0Chautauqua, KS0.020
April 276:11 PM CDTEF0Chautauqua, KS0.010
April 276:23 PM CDTEF0Wichita, TX1.530
April 276:37 PM CDTUnratedLinn, MO0.15
April 276:43 PM CDTEF1Wichita, TX to OK6.5100$32,000
April 277:45 PM CDTUnratedMontgomery, KS0.020
April 277:55 PM CDTUnratedComanche, OK0.320
April 278:16 PM CDTUnratedOsage, OK0.175
April 278:23 PM CDTEF1Bates, MO2.5150
April 278:30 PM CDTEF1Bates, MO10.1250
April 278:45 PM CDTEF0Henry, MO2.4150
April 278:53 PM CDTEF1McClain, OK4.4225$44,000
April 279:12 PM CDTEF1McClain, OK0.540$2,000
April 279:16 PM CDTEF1Johnston, OK4.7150$50,000
April 279:17 PM CDTEF0McClain, OK1.740$2,000
April 279:20 PM CDTEF2McClain, OK4.9125$200,000
April 279:29 PM CDTEF1Cleveland, OK3.5200$100,000
April 279:42 PM CDTEF2Carter, OK11.340019$20 million
April 279:45 PM CDTEF1Oklahoma, OK8.5150$300,000
April 279:50 PM CDTUnratedWilson, KS0.010
April 2710:15 PM CDTEF1Pontotoc, OK1.530$10,000
April 2710:16 PM CDTEF1Lincoln, OK10.3250$30,000
April 2710:23 PM CDTEF3Sulphur tornado, OK9.9440130$10 million
April 2710:29 PM CDTEF0Morgan, MO3.550
April 2710:36 PM CDTEF3Holdenville tornado, OK27.91,76024$1.8 million
April 2710:37 PM CDTEF1Pontotoc, OK8.4500$250,000
April 2710:45 PM CDTEF0Carter, OK0.530
April 2710:59 PM CDTEF1Moniteau, MO1.730$200,000
April 2711:07 PM CDTEF1Murray, OK5.9250$200,000
April 2711:08 PM CDTEF4Marietta–Dickson–Baum tornado, OK26.890016$151 million
April 2711:21 PM CDTEF1Murray, OK3.5100$2,000
April 2712:01 AM CDTEF1Okmulgee, OK11.31,400$2.0 million
April 2712:14 AM CDTEF1Okmulgee, OK8.91,100$75,000
April 2712:22 AM CDTUnratedJohnston, OK1.1200
April 2712:28 AM CDTEF1Muskogee, OK6.2800

All 63 of them

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.