May 8, 2007 El Reno, Oklahoma Tornado Rated As EF1

The following is from a public information statement issued by the Norman Forecast Office at 1220 pm CDT on Friday, May 11, 2007.

The National Weather Service oversaw a damage survey in the El Reno area to investigate a tornado that occurred on Tuesday, May 8th. Here are the preliminary results of that survey.

Tornado

Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale rating - EF1

Began approx. 1143 pm

Ended approx. 1150 pm

Path length approx. 1.75 miles

The tornado began just south of U.S. Interstate Highway I-40 and just west of U.S. Highway 81, and ended just south of the intersection of Choctaw Road and Elm Street.

A grouping of industrial and commercial buildings located on the southwest corner of I-40 and U.S. Highway 81 incurred damage by the tornado. One building suffered minor roof damage as the roofing was peeled away by tornadic winds. Another metal building had partial peeling of the side paneling, a large garage door blown in and a dumpster was rolled 100 feet to the west. An outbuilding supply business had several garage doors blown in and a display outbuilding collapsed and was moved. Some trees in the area were damaged and the damage varied over a wide range. Trees located closer to I-40 had large branches and trunks snapped. Trees closer to U.S. Highway 81 were either tipped or had limbs up to six inches in diameter snapped. Farther to the west, a building under construction had some building material blown to the north-northeast towards the area of apparent tornado touchdown. Two businesses just south-southwest of the touchdown point also had damage to garage doors.

Directly across I-40 the tornado hit a car dealership. The main building had minimal damage and most vehicles on the lot had no damage. One light pole was knocked over and a large sign was damaged. A building similar to a double wide mobile home, used as an office at the dealership, was blown over on its side. Several cars on the extreme northwest corner of the lot were damaged. Billboards in the area were either destroyed or folded over. A farmhouse to the northwest sustained damage. The tornado then entered an industrial area, with the most substantial damage at the OG&E building. Most of the roof was removed, and several trees and power poles were damaged. Other buildings nearby had damage to siding and roofs.

Along U.S. Highway 81 north of OG&E, several buildings in the industrial area sustained damage. A convenience store had its windows blown in, a garage door blown out and a portion of the roof removed. There was substantial damage to buildings in this area, including the VFW building.

The final tornado damage points were along Choctaw Road.

Damage to the neighborhood west of Choctaw Road and in the neighborhood northeast of the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and Elm Street was likely caused by straight line winds.

The tornado likely had winds at the very top of the EF1 category on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

Special thanks to Kiel Ortega, Patrick Marsh and Corey Potvin with NSSL/CIMMS for their work and expertise in gathering the data for this survey report.

Rick Smith, WCM