EF3 Tornado — Roger Mills, Oklahoma

2007-05-05 · near Sweetwater, Roger Mills, Oklahoma

Event narrative

This is a continuation of the tornado that began in northern Beckham about 2 1/2 miles south of Sweetwater.

The tornado continued to produce damage as it moved north along Highway 30 into Sweetwater. The church and post office were damaged...as were several outbuildings and businesses.

Damage continued for approximately 5 miles north of Sweetwater, with some substantial tree damage noted on the west side of Highway 30...and numerous power lines downed.

The tornado appeared to have dissipated just south of E1040 road in southern Roger Mills County. Monetary damages were estimated.

Wider weather episode

An upper level storm system moved slowly into south central Colorado during the afternoon. A dry line had become established and was located along the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle border. Also, favorable upper level winds were rotating around the upper level storm system, crossing the dryline over western Oklahoma. As the afternoon progressed, convergence along the dryline became maximized over this area. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours and they quickly became supercells. Two of the supercells produced several tornadoes. The northern tornadic storm produced five tornadoes from southwest of Roll to just east of Arnett. The southern tornadic storm also produced five tornadoes in Oklahoma from near Sweetwater to near Sharon. Large hail was also observed. The supercells moved northeast out of Oklahoma during the late evening hours. Monetary values for the tornado damage were estimated.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.4200, -99.9200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 35762. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.