F0 tornado in Major County, Oklahoma

Tornado April 17, 2002 · Major County, Oklahoma

Rating

4.0 mi

Path length

300 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado was captured on video by a storm chaser, approximately 2 miles south of Highway 412 in northern Major County. The tornado moved northward for 4 miles before crossing the Cimarron River into Woods County. No structures were affected in Major County.

The wider storm

Numerous severe thunderstorms were observed over western Oklahoma during the afternoon and evening of the 17th and early morning of the 18th. Four tornadoes were confirmed, and there were several reports of very large hail, even one report of softball size hail (4.5 inches in diameter). The tornadoes were at night with the largest tornado, believed to be up to one mile wide, causing a maximum of F2 damage over a 34 mile path across northwest Oklahoma. Another tornado resulted in F3 damage.

Began near Orienta (36.4333, -98.7333).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F3 Woodward County F2 Woods County F2 Alfalfa County F1 Beckham County F0 Alfalfa County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5287528. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.