TornadoLookup

Home / Oklahoma / Cleveland

EF3 tornado in Cleveland County, Oklahoma

Tornado November 3, 2024 · Cleveland County, Oklahoma

EF3
Rating
2.4 mi
Whole path
400 yd
Path width
6
Injuries
$16.0M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Cleveland County → Oklahoma County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado developed just northeast of SE 104th Street and Sunnylane Road in southeast Oklahoma City, and moved north-northeast. A number of homes were damaged, including at least one with most of the exterior walls collapsed and significant roof damage. The tornado moved into Oklahoma County by crossing Southeast 89th Street between Sunnylane Road and Sooner Road.

The wider storm

An expansive (high-amplitude) longwave trough, in combination with unseasonable moisture/instability and wind shear, yielded a prolonged period of severe weather and flooding across the southern two-thirds of Oklahoma and portions of western-north Texas. While thunderstorms began during the daytime on the 2nd, the episode's first (and most impactful) convective period occurred during the late evening hours of the 2nd into early morning of the 3rd. Both linear and cellular convective modes were observed during this time, producing numerous reports of damaging winds and a localized tornado event along the Interstate 44 corridor. This included three EF-3 tornadoes, causing significant damage across the eastern/southeastern suburbs of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area and in areas east of Duncan/Comanche in Stephens County.

Another widespread round of strong to severe thunderstorm activity occurred from the early afternoon into mid-evening on the 3rd, primarily across south-central into southeast Oklahoma. Once again, a mixed-mode event produced numerous reports of severe weather (mainly wind and a few tornadoes).

Began near Moore (35.3640, -97.4380).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

12 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1224841. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.