Damage Information for the
"Sweetwater Tornado" on May 5, 2007

Fast Facts

• Rated an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
• This rating corresponds with 136 to 165 mph maximum wind speeds
• The tornado was on the ground for approximately 22 minutes as it tracked over portions of Beckham and Roger Mills Counties.
• This tornado was the strongest one that occurred over the WFO Norman County Warning Area during the May 5th outbreak.

Damage Summary and Photos

Note: The summary provided is taken from the Storm Data publication, with some minor additions.

This is the first tornado that occurred in Oklahoma with the southern tornadic supercell. This tornado appears to have developed (picture of the developing tornado) 0.5 miles north of E1130 Road and along Highway 30 in northern Beckham County, or about 2.5 miles south of Sweetwater. The first evidence of a tornado was damage to an outbuilding at a gas facility on the west side of the highway, along with some tree damage. The tornado moved north along and parallel to Highway 30, damaging trees, homes and some outbuildings. Damage in this area was mainly in the EF0 range.

Picture of the Sweetwater tornado more developed as it crosses a field.

The most significant damage occurred when the tornado struck the Sweetwater school. At this location, the tornado is estimated to have been 100 to 150 yards wide. The most significant damage was to a metal building that was the school's multi-purpose building. This structure was completely destroyed. The anchoring that connected the building to the foundation appeared to have failed, allowing all but the most northern section of the building to collapse. A small building that connected this multi-purpose building with the school's gymnasium suffered only slight damage. The gymnasium, at the northwest corner of the school, suffered substantial roof damage, which appeared to have caused the west masonry wall of the school to collapse outward.

Damage to the Sweetwater School gymnasium

Left: A vehicle badly damaged sitting in front of the gymnasium. Right: The multi-purpose building, destroyed.

More views of the multi-purpose building.

Other damage on the school property consisted of a small storage building of similar construction to the multi-purpose building being completely destroyed, a bus garage structure suffering damage when the large garage doors blew inward, and damage to trees, power lines and fences. A pick up truck, which had been parked in the school's parking lot, was rolled or tossed approximately 100 yards to the north. A horse trailer that had been near the storage building at the southwest edge of the school property was found more than one quarter mile away in a field. A man suffered minor injuries near this location.

Left: The bus garage that was damaged. Right: Pick up truck that was tossed.

Just north of the school, a home was damaged and an oil storage facility was also hit. An oil tank from this location was found approximately 500 yards away.

A damaged home in the Sweetwater vicinity. Car tossed away from the home visible in the right hand picture.

Several animals were killed when a garage was destroyed. Numerous cars and school buses were damaged or destroyed. The damage to the multi-purpose building at the Sweetwater school is consistent with damage at the low end of the EF-3 scale. The remainder of the damage was primarily in the EF0-EF1 category.

The tornado then moved north along Highway 30 through parts of Sweetwater. The church and post office were damaged, as were several outbuildings and businesses. Damage continued for approximately 5 miles to the north of Sweetwater, with some substantial tree damage noted along the west side of Highway 30, and numerous power lines downed. The tornado appeared to have dissipated just south of E1040 road in southern Roger Mills County. Total damage was estimated at about $5,150,000.