F1 tornado in Carter County, Oklahoma

This tornado was reported by the Ratliff City Fire Department across extreme northwest Carter County. Shortly after forming, the tornado destroyed one barn and blew off the roof of another, then produced intermittent damage while moving toward Ratliff City. A shed was picked up and blown about 1/4 block on the north side of Ratliff City, while in Ratliff City, a roof was blown off a cinder block feed store; the front-facing wall and windows were blown out of a store; a haybarn was destroyed, and power poles and trees were downed. The damage path then turned more easterly with numerous large oak trees, approximately 12-14 inches in diameter, ripped out of the ground immediately east of town. In addition, a well-secured playground set made of wood was blown northeastward through a chain-linked fence. Scattered power pole and tree damage then continued to 4 1/2 miles east of Ratliff City.

A very large and severe line of thunderstorms formed across southwest Kansas during the late afternoon of the 27th, and moved southward into Oklahoma during the evening. Widespread damage due to straight-line winds accompanied the line of thunderstorms, with most of southwest and south central Oklahoma sustaining damage. The cities of Lawton, Fort Sill, Ardmore, and Dougherty reported the most costly damage, estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, which supplies electricity to most of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area, indicated nearly 160,000 residents were without power during the storm, which is close to the power loss experienced during the Christmas 2000 ice storm and the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak in central Oklahoma. One fatality, due to a fallen telephone pole, occurred in the city of Lawton in Comanche County.