EF1 Tornado — Blaine, Oklahoma

2024-11-18 · near Watonga, Blaine, Oklahoma

Event narrative

This tornado developed south of Watonga and moved due north just west of US-270 and then SH-8 through the west side of Watonga. At least five homes and a two outbuildings were damaged, along with trees and power poles. One large tree fell onto a vehicle, and a large tree branch fell onto another.

Wider weather episode

An intense (90-knot) mid-level jet streak lifted from the Texas Big Bend region into the Southern High Plains early on the 18th. An extensive quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) took shape across West Texas and moved into portions of western Oklahoma and western-north Texas during this time. With anomalously strong kinematics and marginally sufficient wind shear, a few portions of the line produced reports of thunderstorm wind damage and multiple brief/weak tornadoes. With time, the convective system gradually weakened into portions of central and eastern Oklahoma, producing only sporadic wind gusts/damage by daybreak.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.8290, -98.4200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1222024. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.