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F1 tornado in Beckham County, Oklahoma

Tornado April 17, 2002 · Beckham County, Oklahoma

F1
Rating
0.3 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$40K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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 observed by the Elk City Fire Dept., near Highway 34, in northeast Beckham County. A sw-ne oriented, anchored mobile home was blown 50 yards northward with only the foundation remaining. A 16 foot stock trailer, oriented n-s, was twisted 180 degrees, and barns were destroyed.

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 Elk City (35.5167, -99.3667).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F3 Woodward CountyF2 Woods CountyF2 Alfalfa CountyF0 Major CountyF0 Alfalfa County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5287607. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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