EF1 Tornado — Le Flore, Oklahoma

2025-05-19 · near Calhoun, Le Flore, Oklahoma

Event narrative

This tornado developed near Calhoun and moved northeast across Calhoun Road and Roy Monks Road, where trees were uprooted and large tree limbs were snapped. The tornado uprooted numerous trees and snapped numerous tree limbs as it crossed Latham Road, Highway 59, and Waterfield Street. The tornado continued to move northeast and likely dissipated west of County Road 1240. The survey team attempted to access areas east of Highway 59 where the tornado likely tracked, but all available roads into those areas were severely flooded by the Poteau River, thus the path east of Waterfield Street is estimated based on the continuation of a tornadic debris signature and tight velocity couplet from the KSRX WSR-88D. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms developed over central Oklahoma along and ahead of a dry line during the afternoon of the 19th, as an upper level disturbance approached the Southern Plains. These thunderstorms moved northeast off the dry line and across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the mid afternoon and evening hours. The atmosphere east of the dry line across eastern Oklahoma became very unstable during the afternoon and evening, and this instability combined with strong deep-layer and low-level wind shear, resulted in the development of a few supercell thunderstorms and a severe squall line. Multiple tornadoes, large hail slightly larger than golf ball size, and damaging wind gusts occurred with these thunderstorms across eastern Oklahoma. Locally heavy rainfall also produced some localized flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.1020, -94.7460)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1264123. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.