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Moore Tornado (2013)

Tornado May 20, 2013 · McClain County, Oklahoma

EF4

Rating

13.8 mi

Whole path

1,280 yd

Path width

Deaths

212

Injuries

$2.0B

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,280 yards (0.73 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF4 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF4 is devastating damage: well-built houses levelled, consistent with estimated gusts of 166–200 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

The violent Newcastle-Moore tornado was first observed developing about one-half mile south of State Highway 37 in northwest Newcastle to the east of Rockwell Avenue. EF4 damage was observed soon after the tornado crossed State Highway 37. The tornado continued to expand in size as it approached the Canadian River and moved into Cleveland County.

Of the 212 direct injuries documented with this tornado, 5 are estimated to have occurred in McClain County.

The wider storm

A tornado outbreak occurred during the afternoon and evening hours of the 20th. Several tornadoes occurred from central Oklahoma down through south central Oklahoma near the Red River. The strongest tornado touched down near Newcastle and traveled through Moore and south Oklahoma City. This tornado caused catastrophic damage in these areas, with a maximum rating of EF-5. The tornado claimed 24 lives and caused billions of dollars in damage. In addition to the tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds cause damage in many areas.

Began near Newcastle (35.2840, -97.6280).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Stephens County EF1 Coal County EF0 Stephens County EF0 Lincoln County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 451537. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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