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EF2 tornado in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

Tornado April 27, 2014 · Ottawa County, Oklahoma

EF2

Rating

11.4 mi

Whole path

325 yd

Path width

Death

Injuries

$13.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Ottawa County → Cherokee County, Kansas; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 325 yards (0.18 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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 tornado damaged or destroyed about 50 homes and businesses in and around Quapaw, destroyed several metal-framed buildings, destroyed barns and outbuildings, blew over several vehicles, snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and blew down numerous power poles. At least twelve people were injured in Quapaw from the tornado and one fatality occurred when a brick wall fell onto a vehicle that was parked along side it. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 115 to 125 mph. The tornado continued into Cherokee County, Kansas, where it destroyed homes and businesses in Baxter Springs and injured about two dozen people there.

The wider storm

Severe thunderstorms developed along a dry line as it moved into eastern Oklahoma during the afternoon hours of April 27th. These storms produced large hail up to golfball size, damaging wind gusts, and two tornadoes. Additional severe thunderstorm development occurred as a cold front moved into the region during the late evening hours.

Began near Commerce (36.9120, -94.8215).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Le Flore County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 505204. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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