Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2026
EF4 tornado, (End)Vance Afb Enid to (Wdg) Woodring Arpt, Oklahoma, April 23, 2026
From (End)Vance Afb Enid to (Wdg) Woodring Arpt, this EF4 tornado ran 9.5 miles across Garfield County on April 23, 2026, touching down at 8:11 PM CDT and reaching 600 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 1.
Preliminary. This is NWS OUN's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Enid. The rating, the path and the casualties are the survey's and can change while it is revised. The Storm Prediction Center compiles the official record of 2026 from these surveys and publishes it in the spring of 2027; this page moves to that tornado's permanent address when it does.
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 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 mphthis tornado
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 survey
- Rating, as surveyed
- EF4, preliminary
- Date
- April 23, 2026
- Touchdown
- 8:11 PM CDT (01:11 UTC)
- Lifted
- 8:48 PM CDT (01:48 UTC)
- On the ground
- 37 minutes
- Path length
- 9.5 miles (15.3 km)
- Path width
- 600 yards (549 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- County
- Garfield County
- Touchdown point
- 36.326, -97.927
- Lift-off point
- 36.377, -97.803
- Highest wind the damage implies
- 180 mph
- Surveyed by
- NWS OUN
- The office's name for it
- Enid
- Survey last edited
- June 19, 2026
- Record number
- None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.
What the survey found
This long track tornado began to the south and west of Vance AFB at 811 CDT. The storm moved to the northeast, producing EF4 damage in a neighborhood just east of US81 as well as near S 30th Street and E Rupe Road. Finally, the storm moved to the east and northeast, dissipating just to the west of Enid Woodring Regional Airport.
Although some minor adjustments to the tornado path may occur as investigation of aerial damage imagery continues, this will likely be a near-final assessment.
Written by NWS OUN in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.
The damage survey
147 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF4. The highest wind the damage implies is 180 mph.
- Siding off west side of house
- Numerous large limbs snapped and tossed SE
- Northern end of snapped poles being replaced during survey
- Lowered to lower-bound after reviewing NAIP imagery - part of this roof was off before storm.
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
The first of several days of severe weather across the WFO Norman Forecast Area featured intense thunderstorms (supercells) across northern Oklahoma on the evening of the 23rd. An emerging upper trough and sharp dryline facilitated development of scattered intense supercell thunderstorms across portions of northern Oklahoma, with reports of large to very large hail, thunderstorm wind damage and several tornadoes. In addition to a family of well-documented tornadoes from east of Medford, Oklahoma (Grant County) to near Braman, Oklahoma (Kay County), a violent tornado impacted areas around Vance Air Force Base and the south/east extents of Enid, Oklahoma. This tornado prompted a rare Tornado Emergency, the first in the WFO Norman Forecast Area since May 19th, 2024.
The Enid Tornado initially developed near or on the southwest portion of Vance Air Force Base and moved east-northeast crossing over the southern edge of the runway complex, but remaining south of the majority of structures on the base. However as the tornado crossed US-81, it moved through the Gray Ridge Estates neighborhood where most of the houses in the neighborhood sustained damage, and many destroyed or receiving significant damage. Damage to at least three homes in this neighborhood was rated EF4. ||After moving northeast out of this neighborhood, the tornado moved through open land. Although the tornado continued moving through areas without structures, damage done to trees east of Leona Mitchell Blvd and north of Fox Drive was significant. At least one tree was debarked, and a hardwood tree was pulled from the ground and displaced 20 feet to the east. Farther northeast, significant ground scouring and severe tree damage was observed as the tornado crossed E0455 Road and South 16th Street. At Southgate Road, a number of structures were destroyed including two metal buildings, a warehouse and an outbuilding. An RV parked in this area was picked up and the chassis of this RV was found about 305-310 yards northeast of its origination point. Damage was rated EF4 in this area as well.||The tornado moved through more open land damaging trees as it approached S 30th Street. Radar and damage patterns indicate that the tornado moved in a loop briefly just southwest of South 30th Street and Rupe Road. A home was destroyed (EF4) and a number of other structures and trees were destroyed or heavily damaged along South 30th Street. Coming out of the loop, the tornado moved southeast across S 30th Street thereby continuing in relatively open land as opposed to moving northeast toward a d neighborhood on the southeast side of Enid. A farmstead was hit at S 42nd Street and Rupe Road destroying a barn, damaging the house and trees on the property.||Crossing Rupe Road, radar indicated the tornado likely moved in a loop again northeast of Rupe Road and S 42nd Street, before moving southeast and east and dissipating near Boggy Creek just west of Woodring Airport.||Despite the intensity of this tornado, there was only one injury that required transport.||Scientific notes: Researchers at the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the University of Illinois performed a variety of calculations to estimate the potential wind speed of the tornado. Two researchers performed a treefall pattern analysis to match the observed pattern of treefall to a simulated pattern from a vortex model. One researcher used this method to determine a probabilistic wind speed distribution from treefall near Southgate Road using six different sets of constraints. The calculated median maximum 3-second velocity in all of these six experiments was over 205 mph, and the interquartile range of two of these six experiments was completely over 200 mph. ||A second researcher also performed a treefall analysis with a Monte Carlo simulation slightly adjusting the input variables. Taking the runs with the lowest 0.5% error, a median estimated maximum wind velocity of 94 m/s (210 mph) was calculated.||A third researcher made calculations of the 300 yard displacement of the RV near Southgate Road using simulations with a 3-dimensional vortex model that does include modeled vertical motion of the tornado, again using a Monte Carlo simulation. Of the simulations that provided the closest match the displacement of the RV, the maximum winds of these simulations were 91-97 m/s (204-217 mph).||Based on these engineering calculations that included both 3-dimensional vortex modeling (including vertical motions) and 3-second averaging wind speed averaging consistent with the EF-scale values, it is very highly likely that this tornado produced winds that would be classified as an EF5 tornado in the vicinity of Southgate Road.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:59 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.
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 23, 6:12 PM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Updated at 605 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
- Multi-hazard risk potential on Thursday; Severe weather possible east of a dryline and along a front, fire weather concern across portions of western Oklahoma.
- Unsettled weather pattern continues on Friday into the weekend; Multiple opportunities for strong-to-severe thunderstorms.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 23, 6:12 PM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Norman OK
612 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 605 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
- Multi-hazard risk potential on Thursday; Severe weather possible
east of a dryline and along a front, fire weather concern
across portions of western Oklahoma.
- Unsettled weather pattern continues on Friday into the weekend;
Multiple opportunities for strong-to-severe thunderstorms.
&&
.NEAR TERM...
(Rest of today and tonight)
Issued at 131 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
Multi-hazard risk potential continues with fire and severe weather
concerns.
THE SET-UP: Models show a mid-level disturbance moving eastward from
the Four Corners into KS and possibly the Panhandles area this
afternoon/evening. At the sfc, a cold front is expected to stretch
across portions of southern KS near the OK/KS state line late this
afternoon while a sharpening dryline will extend southward from the
front across parts of western OK and western north TX. The front is
then expected to move south across portions of the area later this
evening into Friday.
FIRE WEATHER: Drier air will continue to move into portions of the
fa west of the dryline this afternoon. The dry air along with
breezy/gusty southwest winds, hot temperatures, and slow to green up
vegetation will combine to lead to elevated to near critical/locally
critical fire weather conditions this afternoon/early evening. A Red
Flag Warning remains in effect until 9 PM across parts of western
OK, primarily where the vegetation has been the slowest to greenup
and least amount of rain has occurred. Conditions are expected to
improve this evening. However, the frontal boundary is expected to
move southward causing a wind shift to the N and NE which could
cause a problem with any ongoing fires.
SEVERE WEATHER: There are two different ways that the fa could
potentially get storms which is either development near the dryline
and/or development near the front.
DRYLINE SCENARIO: There is still uncertainty on whether any storm
development will occur near the dryline this afternoon/evening.
The biggest uncertainty is whether the cap will be able to be
broken. The morning OUN sounding showed a strong cap in place over
the area. The question is how much will this cap weaken today
and/or enough lift can develop. Currently, there is a plan to do a
20Z special sounding so we should hopefully have a better idea of
the strength of the cap when that data is in.
Some of the models/CAMs show the cap holding but a few do show one
or two storms developing late this afternoon. For this to occur, the
clouds will need to continue to decrease/clear out providing strong
sfc heating. The heating along with convergence along the dryline
may provide enough lift to overcome the cap. If a storm does
develop, the moist, unstable airmass east of the dryline will make
severe storms likely with initially very large hail being the main
concern although if a storm can sustain itself into this evening
then the tornado threat will increase due to a strengthening low
level jet.
FRONTAL BOUNDARY SCENARIO: The better chance for storms and
severe storms for the fa will be near the frontal/outflow boundary
late this afternoon into the overnight hours. Storms are expected
to develop near the cold front later this afternoon in KS
possibly all the way to the triple point near the KS/OK border.
Storm development is expected to continue this evening/overnight
as the outflow/effective cold front moves south across the region.
The better chance for storm development/severe storms will
gradually shift east of the area as the boundary moves southward
but some storms could affect at least eastern portions of the fa,
generally near/east of I-35 into early Friday. With the moist,
unstable airmass in place south of the front, some of the storms
could become strong to severe this evening/overnight. Initially
all hazards will be possible but the main concern is expected to
transition to a damaging wind threat as more storms develop and
form into line(s) of storms.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Friday through Saturday night)
Issued at 131 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
Unsettled weather pattern continues into the weekend.
FRIDAY: Severe storms will be possible across portions of the fa but
there is some uncertainty as to where.
Showers/storms could be ongoing across portions of the fa Friday
morning as the boundary continues to move south. A few of these
storms may be strong with gusty winds. Models show the boundary
eventually stalling across portions of the area Friday afternoon.
The question is where. Currently, it looks from as far north as I-40
corridor area but more likely further south. New storm development
will be possible near this effective front and any other lingering
outflow or differential heating boundaries. A moist, unstable
airmass and modest shear will make severe storms possible late
Friday afternoon/evening. Large hail and damaging winds will be the
primary concerns.
SATURDAY: Severe storms will be possible again Saturday but will be
at least somewhat dependent on what occurs Friday and Friday night.
The previously mentioned frontal boundary that is expected to stall
somewhere over the fa Friday is forecast to lift northward as a warm
front Saturday with a dryline into or just west of the fa Saturday
afternoon. Thunderstorm development will be possible near the warm
front but there is some uncertainty of the frontal position by
Saturday afternoon. Storm development will also be possible near the
dryline. A moist, unstable airmass will continue south of the warm
front and east of the dryline. Strong to severe storms will be
possible capable of all hazards.
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Sunday through Wednesday)
Issued at 150 AM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
Sunday continues to look like a repeat of the prior Thursday's
forecast, with potential for significant severe and fire weather,
though with significant uncertainties/caveats. A strong upper trough
looks to quickly move out from the Desert Southwest into the Plains
during the day, with a dryline taking shape across the central flank
of the forecast area. While these broad scale factors are coming
into focus, mesoscale details remain highly uncertain and likely
will have feedback from prior days activity. Robust heating and
moistening of the boundary layer, along with at least modest
synoptic-scale lift, appear to be necessary conditions for
thunderstorm development east of the dryline during the evening
due to the presence of another strong EML. Should these
conditions be met, then intense thunderstorms with risks for large
to very large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes would
materialize. For now, this concern is highest along and east of
the U.S. Highway 81 corridor.
Across western Oklahoma (behind the dryline), a punch of hot, dry
and windy weather will offer another period of at least near-
critical fire weather concern. Depending on the nature of
precipitation leading into Sunday, additional fire weather
headlines will be possible where fuels remain concerningly dry.
"Tamer" (dry and mild) weather is expected to finally return on
Monday behind a departing Pacific Front. Continued southwest flow
and occasional passages of upper systems will foster renewed
chances for rain and storms by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Ungar
&&
.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 605 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
VFR/MVFR ceilings expected this TAF period. Showers/storms will be
possible tonight into Friday morning with an outflow
boundary/effective cold front that is expected to move south
across portions of the area. These showers/storms will generally
be near and east of I-35. There is also a low chance for a storm
or two to develop near the dryline in SW parts of the fa early
this evening. However, chances are too low to mention in any TAFs.
Winds will also shift to the N and NE north of this boundary.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Oklahoma City OK 60 81 58 84 / 40 10 0 20
Hobart OK 54 85 57 89 / 10 0 0 10
Wichita Falls TX 61 89 62 93 / 10 10 0 10
Gage OK 48 82 52 84 / 0 0 0 20
Ponca City OK 54 77 55 80 / 70 10 0 40
Durant OK 68 86 63 86 / 30 20 20 10
&&
.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for OKZ004-005-009-
010-014-021-033.
TX...None.
&&
NEAR TERM...25
SHORT TERM...25
LONG TERM....09
AVIATION...25In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 23, 7:06 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
706 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0656 PM Hail 6 W Braman 36.92N 97.44W
04/23/2026 E3.00 Inch Kay OK Broadcast Media
&&Local storm report, Apr 23, 7:09 PM CDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
709 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0707 PM Tornado 4 SW Braman 36.88N 97.39W
04/23/2026 Kay OK Broadcast Media
Tornado as well as a satellite tornado.
&&Local storm report, Apr 23, 7:13 PM CDT, 58 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
713 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0704 PM Tornado 5 wsw of Braman 36.86N 97.41W
04/23/2026 Kay OK Broadcast Media
Corrects previous tornado report from 4 NNE
Nardin.
&&Local storm report, Apr 23, 7:14 PM CDT, 57 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
714 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0707 PM Tornado 4 WSW Braman 36.88N 97.39W
04/23/2026 Kay OK Broadcast Media
Corrects previous tornado report from 4 SW
Braman. Tornado as well as a satellite
tornado.
&&Local storm report, Apr 23, 7:48 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
748 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0748 PM Hail Pond Creek 36.67N 97.80W
04/23/2026 M1.00 Inch Grant OK Emergency Mngr
&&Special weather statement, Apr 23, 7:58 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Norman OK
758 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
OKZ037-038-044-240130-
Tillman OK-Cotton OK-Comanche OK-
758 PM CDT Thu Apr 23 2026
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern
Comanche, northwestern Cotton and east central Tillman Counties
through 830 PM CDT...
At 758 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 4
miles west of Chattanooga, moving east at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 40 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Southwestern Lawton, Geronimo, Chattanooga, and Faxon.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3434 9875 3445 9881 3462 9848 3443 9834
TIME...MOT...LOC 0058Z 247DEG 36KT 3442 9873
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
30The 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
1.2 hours before the tornado, 133 km from the path. April 24, 2026.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2735 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -39 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3554 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 830 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 224 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 326 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 4.0
- Supercell composite
- 18.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.8 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
10.8 hours after it, 133 km from the path. April 24, 2026.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1690 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -44 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 564 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 617 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 11 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 82 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.5 K/km
The surface observations
Vance Afb/Enid (END), 5 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 Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:10 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 2026 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 23, 2026
19 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 23 | 1:46 PM CDT | EF1 | Harrison, IA | 2.9 | 500 | |||
| April 23 | 4:52 PM CDT | Unrated | Audubon, IA | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| April 23 | 5:34 PM CDT | Unrated | Fremont, IA | 0.5 | 20 | |||
| April 23 | 5:34 PM CDT | EF0 | Fremont, IA | 1.8 | 80 | |||
| April 23 | 6:03 PM CDT | EF0 | Wabaunsee, KS | 3.3 | 30 | |||
| April 23 | 6:04 PM CDT | EF0 | Wabaunsee, KS | 0.5 | 0 | |||
| April 23 | 6:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Page, IA | 2.1 | 20 | |||
| April 23 | 6:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Morris, KS | 0.9 | 30 | |||
| April 23 | 7:00 PM CDT | EF2 | Kay, OK | 10.4 | 400 | |||
| April 23 | 7:07 PM CDT | EF0 | Kay, OK | 0.4 | 0 | |||
| April 23 | 7:08 PM CDT | EF0 | Lyon, KS | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| April 23 | 7:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Kay, OK | 2.9 | 50 | |||
| April 23 | 7:20 PM CDT | EF0 | Madison, IA | 1.4 | 20 | |||
| April 23 | 7:58 PM CDT | EF1 | Gentry, MO | 4.3 | 100 | |||
| April 23 | 8:42 PM CDT | EF1 | Decatur, IA | 2.2 | 150 | |||
| April 23 | 8:57 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 1.7 | 75 | |||
| April 23 | 9:11 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| April 23 | 9:11 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay, MO | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| April 23 | 12:14 AM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, MO | 1.0 | 200 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.
Sources
NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.