Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 2026
EF1 tornado, Dale to Aydelotte, Oklahoma, April 3, 2026
From Dale to Aydelotte, this EF1 tornado ran 3.5 miles across Pottawatomie County on April 3, 2026, touching down at 9:57 PM CDT. It killed nobody.
Preliminary. This is NWS OUN's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Dale 2. 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 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 survey
- Rating, as surveyed
- EF1, preliminary
- Date
- April 3, 2026
- Touchdown
- 9:57 PM CDT (02:57 UTC)
- Lifted
- 10:03 PM CDT (03:03 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 3.5 miles (5.7 km)
- Path width
- 0 yards (0 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Pottawatomie County
- Touchdown point
- 35.423, -96.953
- Lift-off point
- 35.391, -96.910
- Surveyed by
- NWS OUN
- The office's name for it
- Dale 2
- Survey last edited
- June 5, 2026
- Record number
- None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.
What the survey found
A few minutes after the Dale tornado dissipated, a separate circulation was noted on radar, which tightened and moved to the south and southeast. This tornado likely began northwest of the
Leo Road and Wolverine Road intersection. While moving to the
southeast, sporadic EF0 damage to trees was noted on Leo Avenue,
north of Garretts Lake Road. EF1 damage was assessed to a gas station awning
along Oklahoma State Highway 18 and Westech Road. The event time is
estimated from radar.
Written by NWS OUN in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.
The damage survey
16 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.
- Uprooted tree. Barn in background not damaged much.
- Multiple metal fence panels damaged or destroyed on the west and south sides of this facility. Several plastic greenhouses damaged
- Light debris from this location blown to the ENE
- Single pole. Apparently broken but already replaced
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 high-amplitude (closed) upper storm system moved eastward across the Rockies on the 3rd and fostered a severe convective episode across portions of Oklahoma and western-north Texas. Initial thunderstorm development during the afternoon focused along a cold front from southwest into north-central Oklahoma, with a mix of multicell and supercell storm modes producing hail. Later in the evening, an intense complex of thunderstorms moved from west-central into east-central Oklahoma, including across the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area. This cluster produced swaths of damaging winds and several tornadoes. By the late evening, increasing frontal thunderstorms moved towards the Red River, producing intermittent wind gusts/damage and flooding.
The first of two tornadoes in Pottawatomie County began west of Dale and north of I-40, near S3340 Road. This tornado produced sporadic damage between I-40 and Westech Road, just south of Dale. Damage to trees and a few power lines was noted |as the tornado curved to the northeast. A tree was uprooted just south |of Garretts Lake Road and US Highway 177 north of Shawnee. The tornado |dissipated a short time later.
A few minutes after the tornado near Dale dissipated, a separate circulation was noted on radar, which tightened and moved to the south and southeast. This tornado likely began northwest of the Leo Avenue and Wolverine Road intersection. While moving to the southeast, sporadic EF0 damage to trees was noted on Leo Avenue, north of Garretts Lake Road. EF1 damage was assessed to a gas station awning along Oklahoma State Highway 18 and Westech 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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:56 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 3, 6:43 PM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Updated at 626 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
- Cold front brings potential for strong to severe storms and locally heavy rainfall/flooding this afternoon into Saturday morning.
- Dry conditions and cooler, seasonable temperatures are expected Saturday and into early next week.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 6:43 PM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Norman OK
643 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 626 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
- Cold front brings potential for strong to severe storms and
locally heavy rainfall/flooding this afternoon into Saturday
morning.
- Dry conditions and cooler, seasonable temperatures are expected
Saturday and into early next week.
&&
.NEAR TERM...
(Rest of today and tonight)
Issued at 142 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
After a pleasant day of weather on Thursday, another round of strong-
to-severe thunderstorms and heavy rain/flooding potential arrives
this afternoon and continues through the night.
Current satellite imagery captures a broad upper trough meandering
eastward across the Rocky Mountains, while a rather active branch of
the subtropical jet begins to impinge across the area. At the
surface, a cold front continues to sink slowly southeastward across
northern portions of the area, currently extending from ~Cheyenne to
Cherokee.
Expectation remains for the development of scattered thunderstorms
along the length of the front in the 2-5 PM timeframe, as
synoptic-scale ascent begins to overspread the area. Thunderstorm
development is likely to continue during the evening into night,
especially as a warm air advection/isentropic pattern increases
near the front after sunset.
The combination of strong (>2500 J/kg MLCAPE) instability and ~40
kts of deep-layer wind shear will promote organized
thunderstorms. A large hail and damaging wind risk will likely
accompany the initial phase (i.e., supercell mode) of the
convective event, with the main risk transitioning towards
occasional damaging wind gusts as upscale growth occurs throughout
the evening. While a deep moist profile may temper the wind risk
some, local corridors of more focused risk are possible associated
with rear-inflow jet/surges of more organized linear convective
segments along and ahead of the front.
While not zero, the risk for tornadoes is expected to remain
limited this evening and tonight, primarily owing to weak low-
level wind shear and potential for undercutting effects from
storm-scale outflows and eventually the front. However, as a low-
level jet (and attendant low-level wind shear) increases after
sunset near and east of the I-35 corridor, will closely monitor
for potential of a tornado or two. This would be especially true
should an organized storm or two develop within a broad zone of
near-surface convergence during the mid-evening, as a few near-
term guidance members have shown this morning.
Perhaps the greatest risk (at least from a coverage perspective)
looks to be heavy rainfall and the associated potential for
flooding, especially in areas along/east of I-44 and along/south of
I-40 late this evening into early Saturday. A combination of >95th
percentile (from a seasonal perspective) preciptable water, slow
storm motions and potential for multiple or repeated rounds of
thunderstorms drives this concern. A Flood Watch has been
initiated for portions of the aforementioned area from 4 PM Friday
to 9 AM Saturday morning.
Ungar
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Saturday through Sunday night)
Issued at 142 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
Saturday will be dreary/rainy early, especially near and south of
the Red River. We currently expect all areas to be precipitation
free by the early afternoon, with post-frontal cloudiness clearing
from northwest-to-southeast throughout the day. Daytime highs (low
to upper-60s) will be the coolest of the next several days,
especially where clouds linger into the afternoon (i.e., central
and southeastern Oklahoma).
Conditions begin to moderate on Sunday, as greater influence from an
expanding western US upper ridge begins to be felt across the
region. Peak daytime readings look to run from the low to mid-70s
across the region with mostly clear skies and a light north to east
wind. Very splendid weather for outdoor activities to close out the
weekend!
Ungar
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Monday through Thursday)
Issued at 250 AM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
Seasonable and dry conditions will continue into Monday with
northwest flow aloft. The flow will become westerly by Tuesday,
which will result in lee cyclogenesis east of the Rockies. In
response, a strengthening surface pressure gradient will result in
breezy southerly winds.
Moisture advection appears somewhat limited, so a dry return flow
(DRF) pattern for fire weather is possible Tuesday afternoon with
the potential for elevated to near-critical fire weather
conditions across northwest Oklahoma. This area is expected to
receive limited to no rainfall with today's system, so the fuels
will likely be susceptible wildfire spread.
The breezy southerly winds will likely continue Wednesday and
Thursday with the continued risk for some fire weather
conditions; however, increasing moisture advection should limit
the risk by Thursday.
The next chance for appreciable rainfall looks to be late
Thursday into the upcoming weekend as both deterministic models
and ensemble members indicate southwest flow aloft will likely
develop across the Southern Plains.
Mahale
&&
.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 626 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
A final round of convection across most of our terminals along and
south of a cold front. Will have TEMPOs for +TSRA and potential
brief MVFR conditions due to lowering ceilings and visibilities
in rain up to through 08Z. Only terminal KWWR in northwest OK will
stay clear from any storm activity. Will also keep -SHRA in TEMPO
groups for four hours following the storm activity with much of
this ending by 12Z although longer up to 18Z at KDUA. The cold
front is currently stretched across northern and western OK and
will continue pushing through our area producing a northerly wind
shift. Our terminals ahead of the cold front will see surface
winds shift out of the north between 02-06Z with the wind shift reaching
terminal KDUA by 09Z. A strong post-frontal northerly low-level
jet may produce low-level wind shear (mainly speed shear) over
some of our terminals until 16Z.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Oklahoma City OK 50 63 41 70 / 90 10 0 0
Hobart OK 49 69 39 72 / 80 10 0 0
Wichita Falls TX 53 66 43 71 / 90 50 0 0
Gage OK 41 65 36 75 / 10 0 0 0
Ponca City OK 45 62 37 70 / 60 0 0 0
Durant OK 53 63 44 70 / 100 90 0 0
&&
.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...Flood Watch through Saturday morning for OKZ023>032-035-037>048-
050>052.
TX...Flood Watch through Saturday morning for TXZ086-089-090.
&&
NEAR TERM...09
SHORT TERM...09
LONG TERM....10
AVIATION...68In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 8:41 PM CDT, 1 hour 16 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Norman OK
841 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
TXZ089-090-040215-
Clay TX-Archer TX-
841 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern Clay
and eastern Archer Counties through 915 PM CDT...
At 841 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 10
miles east of Olney, moving northeast at 45 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size 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...
Archer City, Scotland, Windthorst, southwestern Lake Arrowhead,
Shannon, and Joy.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor NOAA Weather
Radio, local radio stations or available television stations for
additional information and possible warnings from the National
Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 3377 9855 3359 9810 3346 9821 3347 9842
3340 9842 3340 9870
TIME...MOT...LOC 0141Z 210DEG 38KT 3334 9858
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH
BunkerSpecial weather statement, Apr 3, 8:53 PM CDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Norman OK
853 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
OKZ027>029-040-040230-
Grady OK-Cleveland OK-Garvin OK-McClain OK-
853 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of northwestern Garvin,
central Grady, central Cleveland and McClain Counties through 930 PM
CDT...
At 853 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from near Pocasset to 3 miles northwest of Agawam.
Movement was east at 35 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 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...
Southern Norman, Chickasha, Newcastle, Blanchard, Purcell, Noble,
Slaughterville, Lindsay, Lexington, Goldsby, Maysville, Dibble,
Wayne, Washington, Cole, Alex, Amber, Pocasset, Norge, and Bradley.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
These storms may intensify, so be certain to monitor NOAA Weather
Radio, local radio stations or available television stations for
additional information and possible warnings from the National
Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 3524 9731 3480 9729 3482 9809 3522 9803
TIME...MOT...LOC 0153Z 263DEG 29KT 3516 9795 3491 9798
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
BunkerLocal storm report, Apr 3, 9:49 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
949 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0925 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 SW Tinker Air Force B 35.38N 97.42W
04/03/2026 E80 MPH Cleveland OK Trained Spotter
&&
MahaleSpecial weather statement, Apr 3, 9:53 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Norman OK
953 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
OKZ035>037-040330-
Kiowa OK-Tillman OK-Jackson OK-
953 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern
Jackson, south central Kiowa and north central Tillman Counties
through 1030 PM CDT...
At 953 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Friendship, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.
Locations impacted include...
Snyder, Mountain Park, Roosevelt, Headrick, Friendship, Cooperton,
Altus Air Force Base, Warren, and Tom Steed Reservoir.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3488 9886 3468 9882 3467 9883 3461 9883
3460 9927 3478 9931
TIME...MOT...LOC 0253Z 261DEG 25KT 3471 9921
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH
BunkerLocal storm report, Apr 3, 9:54 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
954 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0925 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 WSW Tinker Air Force 35.41N 97.42W
04/03/2026 Oklahoma OK Public
Damaged powerlines.
&&
MahaleLocal storm report, Apr 3, 9:56 PM CDT, 1 minute before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
956 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0905 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 W Moore 35.34N 97.54W
04/03/2026 Cleveland OK Public
Downed trees.
&&
MahaleThe 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
3.0 hours before the tornado, 47 km from the path. April 4, 2026.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2098 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2810 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 903 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 152 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 157 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.5
- Supercell composite
- 8.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.0 K/km
Norman, OK (KOUN), 12:00Z
9.0 hours after it, 47 km from the path. April 4, 2026.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -89651 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1268 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -427 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -193 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.4 K/km
The surface observations
Shawnee Municipal Airport (SNL), 6 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 Norman radar (KTLX), 32 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:54 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 3, 2026
5 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.
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.