Destructive EF-3 tornado kills 2, injures 29 in El Reno, Oklahoma
Featured image: Damage after EF-3 tornado hits El Reno, Oklahoma City, OK May 25, 2019. Credit: NWS Norman, OK
A powerful EF-3 tornado ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of El Reno late Saturday, May 25, 2019, killing 2 people and injuring 29. The event took place almost 6 years after the world's widest tornado on record hit El Reno, killing 8 people and injuring 151 others.
The tornado touched down around 22:28 LT, May 25 near Highway 81 and Interstate 40 and lasted only 4 minutes. It was about 68 m (75 yards) wide at its widest point and was on the ground for 3.5 km (2.2 miles).
It destroyed multiple structures, including a hotel and mobile homes, killing 2 people and injuring 29 others.
Damage after EF-3 tornado hits El Reno, OK on May 25, 2019. Credit: NWS Norman, OK
"It's been a serious, serious event here," El Reno Mayor Matt White said. "We have all hands on deck."
El Reno Mayor Matt White said the situation is traumatic after American Budget Inn hit as well ask Sky View trailer park. pic.twitter.com/Ne5u5KXzcY
— Robert Medley (@mrokcmed) May 26, 2019
On May 31, 2013, El Reno was hit by the widest tornado on record. It killed 8 people and injured 151 others.
"It was the largest, one of the fastest, and – for storm chasers – the most lethal twister ever recorded on Earth. Among those it claimed was Tim Samaras, revered as one of the most experienced and cautious scientists studying tornadoes," National Geographic said in their special video documentary about the event. See it below:
A Slight to Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms is forecast this Memorial Day, May 27, from the central High Plains east into the Midwest states with threats for large hail, damaging winds, and possibly a few tornadoes. There is also a risk for heavy rain and flash flooding for these areas.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
If you look at the skies and how they have changed, the term “The sky is falling”, is not so farfetched anymore. With our geo-magnetosphere weakening, and the atmosphere condensing around the globe, clouds are collecting closer and closer to the ground. The 2 1/2 mile wide tornado could have actually been a major portion of the wall cloud touching the ground. Once that is done, the sidelong circulations have nowhere else to go but up and coalesce, and causing the cloud formation to collect at its anchoring point on the ground.