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EF3 tornado in Cleveland County, Oklahoma

Tornado May 19, 2013 · Cleveland County, Oklahoma

EF3
Rating
23.0 mi
Whole path
1,150 yd
Path width
2
Deaths
10
Injuries

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,150 yards (0.65 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

A long track tornado began in Cleveland County in east Norman to the north of Lake Thunderbird along 96th Avenue to the south of Tecumseh Road. The tornado moved northeast, crossing the eastern arm of Lake Thunderbird. A number of homes were significantly damaged as the tornado moved east-northeast through neighborhoods from near Indian Hills Road and 168th Avenue SE to the Pottawatomie County line. The tornado then moved into Pottawatomie County.

The wider storm

A moist and very unstable airmass was in place over the eastern two thirds of Oklahoma, to the east of a dryline. Additionally, strong wind shear was present as a mid-level jet streak carved into the southern Plains. Several supercells developed along the dryline during the mid and late afternoon hours, producing large hail. Two supercells in central Oklahoma also produced tornadoes, including a few significant, damaging tornadoes.

Began near Lake Thunderbird Dam (35.2531, -97.3001).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Oklahoma CountyEF2 Pottawatomie CountyEF1 Oklahoma CountyEF1 Oklahoma CountyEF1 Lincoln CountyEF0 Pottawatomie County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 451505. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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