Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2025

EF1 tornado, Newcastle, Oklahoma, June 3, 2025

This EF1 tornado ran 2.8 miles across McClain County on June 3, 2025, touching down at 5:00 PM CDT and reaching 125 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $60,000 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 3, 2025
Touchdown
5:00 PM CDT (22:00 UTC)
Lifted
5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
2.8 miles (4.5 km)
Path width
125 yards (114 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$60,000
County
McClain County
Touchdown point
35.208, -97.585
Lift-off point
35.210, -97.536
Record number
2506031600-01

The damage survey

26 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.

  • Can see where the vortex moved through - about 100' wide.
  • one tree snapped about 6-8" dia
  • large tree uprooted; DII drone
  • West-facing portion of roof tarped

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

Widespread severe thunderstorms, organized along a passing cold front, impacted much of Oklahoma and western-north Texas on the afternoon and evening of the 3rd. In addition to reports and observations of thunderstorm wind damage and large hail, six tornadoes occurred across the WFO Norman Forecast Area. Flash flooding also occurred during the evening hours across southeastern Oklahoma due to repeated rounds of heavy thunderstorms.

This tornado developed in southeast Newcastle northwest of Portland Avenue and southeast 32nd Street, and moved generally east between SE 32nd Street and SE 24th Street. At least one home had roof damage and one barn was destroyed. Tree and powerline damage was also observed along the tornado path. The tornado damaged trees along a treeline just west of the Canadian River as it dissipated.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

2 minutes of warning. NWS OUN issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:58 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:19 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:17 UTC and running to 23:48 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
05:00 UTC05:54 UTCFlood WatchOUN
19:17 UTC23:48 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchOUN
20:15 UTC20:42 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
20:37 UTC21:05 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
21:32 UTC22:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
21:35 UTC22:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
21:58 UTC22:19 UTCTornado WarningOUN
22:11 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
22:46 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN
22:51 UTC02:00 UTCFlood AdvisoryOUN
22:57 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUN

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:55 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), 12:00Z

10.0 hours before the tornado, 15 km from the path. June 3, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2025-06-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1587 joules per kilogram, CIN -112, lifted condensation level 833 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°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 2025-06-03The 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 193 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 knots.193958Sfc1 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
1587 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-112 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1798 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
833 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
193 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3
0-3 km lapse rate
5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Norman/Westheimer (OUN), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:45 UTC78.873.4140° 14 kt1007.1-RA
21:45 UTC78.873.4240° 4 kt221005.1+TSRA
22:55 UTC69.866.2200° 8 kt1006.8TSRA
23:45 UTC71.669.8140° 9 kt1007.5

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

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:56 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
20:48 UTCHAIL 1.252 Nw NewcastleMcclain, OKCorrects previous hail report from 2 NW Newcastle.
20:48 UTCHAIL 1.752 Nw NewcastleMcclain, OK
21:04 UTCHAIL 11 Nw MooreCleveland, OKReport from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.).
21:11 UTCHAIL 13 Sw Tinker Air Force BCleveland, OKReport from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.).
21:11 UTCHAIL 1.253 E Valley BrookOklahoma, OK
21:11 UTCHAIL 1.254 Se Valley BrookCleveland, OKReport from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.).
21:19 UTCTSTM WND GST 58Tinker Air Force BaseOklahoma, OKKTIK.
21:49 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Sse Warr AcresOklahoma, OKRoof damage. mPING report. Time estimated from radar.
22:01 UTCTSTM WND GST 603 Ese Bridge CreekGrady, OKSpotter Network report.
22:04 UTCTORNADO4 Se NewcastleMcclain, OKTDS observed from KTLX.
22:48 UTCHAIL 14 S PinkPottawatomie, OKReport from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.).
22:50 UTCHAIL 15 Ne EtowahPottawatomie, OKReport from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.).
23:11 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ssw NormanCleveland, OKIntersection shut down with multiple stalled vehicles at Lindsey st and Elm ave.
23:38 UTCTSTM WND DMGPauls ValleyGarvin, OKDelayed report. Tree and powerline damage in Pauls Valley. Time estimated from radar.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2025 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 3, 2025

18 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 32:24 PM CDTEF0Jackson, MO0.840
June 32:35 PM CDTEF1Jackson, MO3.750
June 33:45 PM CDTEF0Grant, OK0.230
June 33:49 PM CDTUnratedNoble, OK0.120
June 34:35 PM CDTEF0Canadian, OK0.620$3,000
June 34:37 PM CDTEF0Wright, MO0.4100$8,000
June 35:39 PM CDTEF1Garvin, OK2.4150$10,000
June 35:58 PM CDTEF0Lee, IA0.5100
June 36:10 PM CDTUnratedArcher, TX0.150
June 36:39 PM CDTEF1Mercer, IL1.6175
June 36:42 PM CDTEF1Mercer, IL10.8250
June 36:46 PM CDTEF1Warren, IL7.850
June 36:57 PM CDTEF0Rock Island, IL1.225
June 36:57 PM CDTEF1Rock Island, IL14.4300
June 36:59 PM CDTEF1Mercer, IL3.8100
June 37:06 PM CDTEF1Rock Island, IL12.4300
June 38:28 PM CDTEF0Atoka, OK4.5100
June 39:05 PM CDTEF0Boone, IL0.375

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.