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EF1 tornado in McClain County, Oklahoma

Tornado May 6, 2015 · McClain County, Oklahoma

EF1
Rating
1.0 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

Storm chasers observed a tornado in the southeast part of Newcastle. Aerial images indicated two outbuildings lost their roofs or were destroyed (DI 1, DOD 5).

The wider storm

A potent Spring storm system took shape across the Southern and Central Plains. Strong surface cyclogenesis took shape during the day, allowing ample moisture to return northward with strong southerly flow. At the same time, a strong upper level shortwave trough allowed strong mid level westerlies to overspread much of the Plains region. With large instability and wind shear, the stage was set for widespread severe storm development. Storms initiated within the open warm sector ahead of the dryline. The first storm developed near Lawton and moved northeast along I-44 into parts of central Oklahoma, resulting in several tornadoes and large hail. Additional supercells spawned tornadoes across northern Oklahoma, and the slow moving nature of storms lead to several occurrences of flash flooding. Storms continued well into the night.

Began near Newcastle (35.2202, -97.5783).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Grady CountyEF3 Oklahoma CountyEF1 Cleveland CountyEF0 Caddo CountyEF0 Caddo CountyEF0 Major CountyEF0 Grady CountyEF0 Garfield CountyEF0 Cleveland CountyEF0 Dewey CountyEF0 Caddo CountyEF0 Grant CountyEF0 Grady CountyEF0 Grady County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 581824. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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