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EF1 tornado in Seminole County, Oklahoma

Tornado October 21, 2017 · Seminole County, Oklahoma

EF1
Rating
2.0 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
$50K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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

This tornado developed on the northwest side of Seminole near the U.S. Highway 270 and Reid Street, and move southeast through town dissipating near U.S. Highway 270 and 7th Street. Most of the damage was tree damage with many trees snapped or uprooted, especially in the Maple Grove Cemetery on the northwest side of town. However, a few homes and other buildings also received roof damage including one home where much of the roof was pulled off. One family was trapped in their storm cellar when a tree fell on the cellar door. Near downtown, a church received roof damage and portions of the roof were impaled in the siding of nearby businesses.

The wider storm

Storms formed along a cold front during the afternoon of the 21st, eventually forming a line. Through the evening storms swept eastward through Oklahoma and western north Texas. Significant hail, severe winds, and a few short-lived tornadoes as well as some minor flooding were reported with these storms.

Began near Seminole (35.2392, -96.6933).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 725386. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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