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EF3 tornado in Atoka County, Oklahoma

Tornado April 30, 2019 · Atoka County, Oklahoma

EF3

Rating

27.6 mi

Whole path

1,000 yd

Path width

Deaths

Injuries

$300K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Bryan County → Atoka County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,000 yards (0.57 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 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 initially developed in Bryan County near Blue, and entered Atoka County just west of Matoy Road. The tornado produced widespread tree damage as it moved northeast crossing Matoy Road on either side of Clear Boggy Creek. North of the creek, a cabin or small home was destroyed, and another home was damaged. As the tornado moved north-northeast, damage continued to trees, power poles, and sheds. One mobile home was blown off piers south-southwest of Lane. The tornado weakened as it approached State Highway 3 and the town of Lane. The tornado brushed the town of Lane with some tree and shingle damage before dissipating about 1.5 miles northeast of Lane.

The wider storm

A stationary front and and upper wave produced numerous thunderstorms with a variety of severe weather on the 30th.

Began near Bentley (34.1570, -96.0586).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Lincoln County EF1 Payne County EF1 Johnston County EF1 Coal County EFU Murray County EFU Tillman County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 822281. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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