EF3 tornado in Rogers County, Oklahoma

This is the first segment of a two-segment tornado. This tornado developed northeast of Owasso near Limestone, and moved east-southeast through Keetonville. Homes were damaged, outbuildings were destroyed, and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado turned to the east-northeast as it approached Claremore, where numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, and numerous trees and power poles were blown down. It blew a large portion of the roof from Will Rogers Downs on the east side of town, and destroyed numerous recreational vehicles at a park near the Downs. The tornado continued to move east, then northeast, as it moved away from Claremore and toward the Rogers/Mayes County line. Numerous homes were damaged or destroyed between Claremore and the county line. Numerous outbuildings were destroyed, and many trees and power poles were blown down. In total, more than 40 homes and businesses were destroyed by the tornado, and about 1200 others were damaged. Nineteen injuries occurred in Rogers County from the tornado. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 145 to 155 mph. The tornado continued into Mayes County.

Severe thunderstorms developed over western Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 25th, along a sharpening dry line, and moved east across Oklahoma through the evening and into the early morning hours of the 26th. The atmosphere east of the dry line across Oklahoma was moist and very unstable. Wind fields above the ground and deep layer wind shear strengthened during the afternoon through the early morning hours of the 26th, as an upper level disturbance translated into the Southern Plains. Additionally, low level wind shear increased late in the evening and continued very strong into the early morning hours of the 26th. These conditions were very supportive for the development of supercell thunderstorms. One of these supercells became particularly intense and long-tracked as it moved across northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas, producing multiple tornadoes, several of which were strong. Large hail to base ball size and swaths of damaging straight-line wind also occurred, resulting in considerable damage.