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EF1 tornado in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Tornado March 31, 2008 · Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

EF1
Rating
3.5 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
$450K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

From the official National Weather Service damage survey, the tornado appeared to have developed near the intersection of NW 178th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The tornado caused most of its damage in the Valencia neighborhood. It was here that many homes sustained roof, window, garage door, and fence damage. One home sustained especially heavy damage, with a large portion of the roof being lost and extensive damage to the inside of the home. The tornado continued northeast and appeared to have dissipated just northeast of the subdivision, where some tree damage was noted. After a gap, additional damage was observed near the intersection of NW 192nd Street and Western Avenue, where several large power transmission poles were blown down, and some fence damage was also observed. While there was not a continuous damage path between the two damage sites, they do appear to be in line with the storm's path. A storm chaser also observed this tornado as far northeast as at least Covell Road between Santa Fe Avenue and Kelley Avenue where it is believed to have dissipated. Monetary damages were estimated.

The wider storm

A powerful storm system moved toward the plains during the day on the 30th. A area of low pressure had developed over northwest Oklahoma. A dry line was located south of the low. Severe thunderstorms developed on the dry line in western Oklahoma by late afternoon. The supercell thunderstorms produced hail larger than baseballs in some areas, with thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 mph also reported. These thunderstorms bacame more intense as the moved northeast through the evening into central and northern Oklahoma. These thunderstorms produced very large hail, and eventually a few tornadoes. One brief tornado occurred near Albert, with other tornadoes affecting the northern parts of the Oklahoma metro area. One tornado in Oklahoma City produced fairly widespread damage, with several homes sustaining moderate damage. Wind damage to trees, power lines, and some structures was also reported in parts of Logan county. Monetary damages were estimated.

Began near Edmond (35.6500, -97.5512).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 90197. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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