EF2 tornado in Adair County, Oklahoma

This is the fifth segment of a six segment tornado. This long-track tornado moved back into Adair County south-southwest of Proctor and moved north-northeast snapping and uprooting trees on the 754 Road. The tornado crossed Highway 62 near Proctor where homes were severely damaged, large outbuildings were destroyed, farm equipment was thrown large distances, and many trees were snapped and uprooted. It snapped and uprooted numerous trees and destroyed barns between Highway 62 and Chewey Road. Some of the tree damage in this heavily-wooded, rural area was extensive. The tornado continued to move north-northeast across heavily wooded terrain and then crossed River Road where numerous trees were uprooted, and finally into Delaware County near Dripping Springs. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 110 to 120 mph.

A strong low pressure trough translated from the southwestern United States into the Southern Plains on November 30th and December 1st. Warm and moist air had spread northward into eastern Oklahoma ahead of this system. Atmospheric instability became moderately strong during the afternoon and evening hours to the east of a cold front that was over western Oklahoma and south of a stationary front that was located across northern Oklahoma into southern Missouri. As the strong storm system moved into the Southern Plains on the 30th, wind fields throughout the atmosphere increased substantially, which resulted in very strong deep-layer and low-level wind shear across eastern Oklahoma during the evening and overnight hours.

Thunderstorms developed during the evening hours of the 30th across central and eastern Oklahoma. Moderately strong atmospheric instability across the area combined with very strong wind shear to produce organized severe thunderstorms, including supercells. Supercell thunderstorms produced several tornadoes and damaging thunderstorm wind gusts across eastern Oklahoma. One of the tornadoes was strong and exceptionally long-tracked, affecting Sequoyah, Cherokee, Adair, and Delaware Counties. A squall line moved rapidly across the area ahead of the surging cold front and produced additional tornadoes and damaging wind gusts.