April 14, 2011 Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Event

Information on this webpage is considered preliminary and will continue to be updated as the event is analyzed.

Anyone with information that could enhance the record of these storms should contact the National Weather Service Office in Tulsa at 918-838-7838 during business hours, submit an online storm report, or send us an email at: sr-tsa.stormreport@noaa.gov

Event Summary - April 14, 2011 Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Event (updated 5/06/11 4:00 pm)

A strong low pressure system moved out of the Rockies and into the Southern Plains on April 14, 2011. A surface low deepened across central Kansas by early afternoon, with a sharp dryline extending from the surface low southward along the I-35 corridor. Moisture continued to increase from northeast Texas into eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas ahead of the dryline, with dewpoints rising into the low to mid 60s. Initial convection occurred along the dryline from near Ponca City to Ardmore at around 3 pm CDT. These storms quickly matured into supercells as they moved further east into eastern Oklahoma due to favorable wind profiles and instability. Storms continued to increase as the dryline slowly moved east during the evening. A 100+ knot westerly upper-level jet was also present across northern Texas, which helped to further enhance the severity of the storms. A trailing cold front overtook the dryline during the late evening hours, leading to additional development and a line of storms across western Arkansas.

Reports of tornadoes and hail to the size of golf balls and softballs were received by the NWS Office in Tulsa through the evening hours as the storms moved through eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. The storms moved further east into Arkansas and out of the NWS Tulsa area of responsibility by around 1:30 am.

The National Weather Service Office in Tulsa sent teams in the field to survey the damage from the April 14th severe thunderstorms. As more information becomes available about the tornados, including EF rating and estimated size, this website will be updated. See the map below for preliminary local storm reports.

Preliminary Confirmed Tornado Information Times are listed in CDT (last updated 4:00 PM CDT 5/6/11):

Dyer Tornado (Crawford County)

Began: 10:35 pm, 2.3 miles W Dyer

Ended: 10:44 pm, 1.6 miles N Dyer

Path Length: 3 miles Max Path Width: 250 yards

EF Rating: EF1 Max Wind Speed: 100 mph

Impact: 2 permanent homes damaged; trees snapped and uprooted

Branch Tornado (Franklin County)

Began: 11:08 pm, 1.6 miles SSE Charleston

Ended: 11:16 pm, 1 mile SE Branch

Path Length: 4.8 miles Max Path Width: 350 yards

EF Rating: EF1 Max Wind Speed: 105

Impact: Trailer rolled; permanent home roof damaged; trees snapped; 2 injured

Bache Tornado (Pittsburgh County)

Began: 7:14 pm, 5.9 S Bache

Ended: 7:25 pm, 2.2 SE Bache

Path Length: 5.5 miles Max Path Width: 300 yards

EF Rating: EF1 Max Wind Speed: 105

Impact: Trees snapped and uprooted

Stanley Tornado (Pushmataha County)

Began: 8:35 pm, 10.5 SW Clayton

Ended: 8:47 pm, 3.7 WSW Clayton

Path Length: 7 miles Max Path Width: 1000 yards

EF Rating: EF2, max wind speed 115 mph

Impact: numerous large trees snapped or uprooted

Jumbo Tornado (Pushmataha County)

Began: 8:12 pm, .5 WSW Jumbo

Ended: 8:15 pm, 2.6 ENE Jumbo

Path Length: 3 miles Max Path Width: 400 yards

EF Rating: EF1, max wind speed 100 mph

South of Daisy Tornado (Atoka/Pushmataha/Pittsburg Counties)

Began: 8:58 pm, 0.8 S Daisy in Atoka County

Ended: 9:16 pm, 4.5 SE Weathers in Pittsburg County

Path Length: 14.3 miles Max Path Width: 1100 yards

EF Rating: EF1, max wind speed 105 mph

Burbank Tornado (Osage County)

Began: 4:12 pm, 1.6 miles ENE Burbank

Ended: 4:13 pm, 1.9 miles NE Burbank

Path Length: 0.33 miles Max Path Width: 40 yards

EF Rating: EF0, max wind speed 75 mph

Damage: damage to a few trees

Hominy Tornado (Osage County)

Began: 5:00 pm, 2.6 miles N Hominy

Ended: 5:03 pm, 3.4 miles NE Hominy

Path Length: 1.03 miles Max Path Width: 275 yards

EF Rating: EF2, max wind speed 115 mph

Damage: damaged a home, a business, and snapped poles

Howe Anitcyclonic Tornado (Le Flore County)

Began: 9:35 pm, 2.1 miles WSW Howe

Ended: 9:37 pm, 1.7 miles NW Howe

Path Length: 1.5 miles Max Path Width: 300 yards

EF Rating: EF1 Max Wind Speed: 100 mph

Impact: Barn damaged; trees snapped and uprooted; anticyclonic

Poteau/Wister Tornado (Le Flore County)

Began: 9:23 pm, 2.9 miles SSE Wister

Ended: 9:37 pm, 3.2 miles S Poteau

Path Length: 7 miles Max Path Width: 440 yards

EF Rating: EF1 Max Wind Speed: 105 mph

Impact: Mobile home rolled; permanent home roof damage; trees snapped and uprooted; 3 injured

Talihina Tornado (Latimer/Le Flore County)

Began: 8:28pm, 4.6 miles WSW Talihina

Ended: 8:37pm, 1/2 mile NNW Talihina

Path Length: 4.6 miles Max Path Width: 600 yards

EF Rating: EF1 Max Wind Speed: 110 mph

Impact: Trees snapped and uprooted; home damaged; barn damaged

Yanush Tornado (Latimer County)

Began: 9:08 pm, 4 WSW Yanush

Ended: 9:22 pm, 2.4 NNE Yanush

Path Length: 6 miles Max Path Width: 500 yards

EF Rating: EF0 Max Wind Speed: 85 mph

Impact: trees uprooted; large tree branches snapped

Dewey Tornado (Washington/Nowata Counties)

Began: 6:11 pm, 7.2 miles ESE Dewey

Ended: 6:14 pm, 7.9 miles E Dewey

Path Length: 1.6 miles Max Path Width: 200 yards

EF Rating: EF1, max wind speed 105 mph

Damage: Several homes damaged; 5th wheel trailer overturned; several trees damaged

Ochelata Tornado (Washington County)

Tornado #1 Began: 5:39 pm, 1 W Ochelata

Tornado #2 Began: 5:44 pm, 2 N Ochelata

Path Length/Max Path Width: both were brief touchdowns

EF Rating: EF0, no known damage from either tornado

Wagoner Tornado (Wagoner County)

Began: 8:18 pm, 2.8 NW Wagoner

Ended: 8:22 pm, 3.1 NNW Wagoner

Path Length: 1.8 miles Max Path Width: 290 yards

EF Rating: EF1, max wind speed 110 mph

Lake Eucha Tornado (Delaware County)

Began: 7:47 pm, 1.4 SSE Eucha

Ended: 7:48 pm, 1.3 SE Eucha

Path Length: 0.5 miles Max Path Width: 100 yards

EF Rating: EF2, max wind speed 125 mph

Information from this event is still considered preliminary and will be modified based on additional information that may become available to us. Anyone with information that could enhance the record of this event should contact the National Weather Service Office in Tulsa at 918-838-7838 during business hours, or send us an email at sr-tsa.stormreport@noaa.gov, or submit an online report.

Image captions below the image. Click on image to open a larger version in a new window. Additional images can be found in the Event Map below.


Visible Satellite Image of the storm system affecting eastern OK. Image valid 6:45 pm CDT 4/14/2011	Storm Spotter Brian Squitieri reported a brief tornado 1N Okfuskee Photo courtesy of Brian Squitieri	Supercell over Okfuskee County Photo courtesy of Brian Squitieri

Funnel/possible tornado near Burbank (Osage County) Photo courtesy of Dorian Burnette	Funnel/possible tornado near Burbank (Osage County) Photo courtesy of Dorian Burnette

Radar reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) of the supercell and strong rotation that affected the Hominy area. KINX radar is to the lower right of the image.	Radar reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) of the supercell and strong rotation that affected the Wagoner area. KINX radar is to the upper left of the image.	Radar reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) of the supercell and strong rotation that affected the Wister area. KSRX radar is to the upper right of the image.

Radar reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) of the supercell and strong rotation that affected the Yanush area. KSRX radar is to the upper right of the image.	Radar reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) of the supercell and strong rotation that affected the Bache area. KSRX radar is to the upper right of the image.	Radar reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) of the supercell and strong rotation that affected the Okfuskee area. KINX radar is to the upper right of the image.

Roof missing from a permanent home from Wagoner tornado.	Mobile home destroyed by Lake Eucha tornado.	Damage from Dewey tornado.

Damage to commercial building from Hominy tornado.	Tree damage (and fire burns) from Burbank tornado.

Preliminary Event Impact Map This map will be updated as additional information is received. Click on the icons within the map for additional details and/or images related to that impact. Tornado information can be found by clicking on the track.

Tornado Tracks: Due to mapping/GPS software differences and road accessibility along the track, use the plotted tracks for general reference only. Tornado tracks may be updated and/or changed due to storm damage surveys, data analysis, and eyewitness reports.

Storm Survey: Colored icons represent the Storm Survey rating assigned to surveyed damage. Click on the icon for additional information and available photos. You may need to zoom in tightly to see all the available data points when data points are logged close to one another. Links to photos are available in the upper portion of the text window that opens when you click on one of the colored data icons or points.

Hail, Wind, and Flood Reports: Click on the icon for the time, location, and description of the storm report. Click here to submit your storm report.

Other Data: Additional data or images from the event.

Maps

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office