EF2 tornado in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

This tornado snapped or uprooted numerous trees and damaged numerous homes. It moved east-northeast for several miles but turned more easterly after crossing the Neosho River. The most significant damage occurred as the tornado crossed Highway 137, where a metal building and several homes were severely damaged. Many hardwood trees were also snapped above the ground in that area. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 115 to 125 mph.

Severe thunderstorms developed along a nearly stationary frontal boundary over central Oklahoma during the early afternoon hours of the 20th. Very unstable air combined with strong low-level and deep-layer shear resulted in long-lived supercells forming over central Oklahoma and moving eastward into eastern Oklahoma. Several tornadoes occurred from these storms across Osage, Washington, and Nowata Counties. The storms organized into bow echos and line segments over eastern Oklahoma, from which several other tornadoes developed during the early evening hours across Ottawa, Adair, and Le Flore Counties. Damaging wind and large hail was also widespread across the region from these storms.