EF2 Tornado — Beckham, Oklahoma

2017-05-16 · near Carter, Beckham, Oklahoma

Event narrative

The Elk City tornado initially developed near the North Fork of the Red River about 3 miles northwest of Carter. Damage was primarily to trees and power poles for the first few miles as it moved northeast approaching State Highway 34.

One fatality occurred on State Highway 34 (Merritt Road) south of State Highway 152 when his vehicle was impacted by the tornado. According to law enforcement, the victim had been in a mobile home, then left in his vehicle to try and find more substantial shelter. He had returned to his mobile home and it's believed he was still in the vehicle when the tornado hit.

Moving northeast, permanent homes and mobile homes were damaged, and damage continued to power poles and trees. About two miles southwest of Elk City Reservoir, damage intensity with persistent EF-2 damage into Elk City as the tornado continued northeast over Elk City Reservoir and through a neighborhood on south side of Elk City just west of State Highway 6. Numerous homes were damaged and mobile homes damaged or destroyed from southwest of Elk City Reservoir through the south side of Elk City. The tornado continued moving east-northeast out of Elk City and moved into Washita County.

Damage assessments found 66 homes destroyed (62 in Elk City) and 140 homes damaged (126 in Elk City). In addition, 3 businesses were destroyed and 5 businesses were damaged by the tornado. Damage costs are a rough estimate.

Wider weather episode

Storms formed along the dryline in the Texas panhandle on the afternoon of the 16th before moving eastward. As a cold front caught up to the storms, convection increased and storms began to form into a line. This line continued eastward across the state overnight into the 17th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.2402, -99.5550)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 702632. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.