Violent EF4 tornado injures 10 in Enid, Oklahoma, emergency declared in Garfield and Kay counties
A preliminary EF4 tornado injured 10 people in Enid, Oklahoma, on April 23, 2026, according to NWS Norman. The tornado reached estimated peak winds of 274 km/h (170 mph), tracked 15.3 km (9.5 miles), and damaged parts of Vance Air Force Base and the Gray Ridge neighborhood. This was the first EF4 tornado to impact Garfield County since April 1991.
Tornado west of Braman, Oklahoma on April 23, 2026. Credit: Kay County Emergency Management
An EF4 tornado developed southwest of Vance Air Force Base at 20:11 CDT on April 23 and tracked northeast across the Enid area before dissipating at 20:48 CDT, according to a preliminary survey by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Norman. The tornado remained on the ground for 37 minutes, carving a 15.3 km (9.5 miles) path, injuring 10 people, and causing extensive structural damage with no fatalities reported.
The NWS Norman identified the tornado as the strongest of six confirmed during the April 23 severe weather event. Four additional tornadoes were classified EFU and one EF1 in the same survey.
Survey teams mapped multiple pockets of EF4 damage across Enid. The most severe impacts were concentrated in a residential neighborhood east of US-81 and in a second corridor near South 30th Street and East Rupe Road, where structures sustained high-end damage consistent with EF4 intensity. Roof systems were removed from homes, commercial buildings were heavily damaged or flattened, and utility infrastructure was disrupted along segments of the track.
The tornado also affected sections of Vance Air Force Base and adjacent residential areas, where debris fields extended across roads and properties.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) reported approximately 40 homes with some level of damage in Enid and Garfield County. Northbound and southbound US-81 remained closed between Fox Drive and Wheat Capital Road due to downed power lines, with approximately 2 600 power outages statewide, mostly in Garfield County.
Governor Kevin Stitt signed Executive Order 2026-17 on April 24, declaring a disaster emergency for Garfield and Kay counties after severe weather, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding caused major damage. The order remains in effect for 30 days.
“My prayers are with the families and communities who suffered during last night’s devastating tornados, and I praise God that there was no loss of life,” Stitt said.
“As we navigate the recovery ahead, I am declaring an emergency to ensure resources are available to fully support the response on the ground. I am working closely with our emergency management partners and first responders to ensure Oklahomans receive assistance as quickly and safely as possible.”
City officials described the April 23 tornado as the first of EF4 strength to strike Garfield County since April 26, 1991 — a gap of nearly 35 years. The 1991 event was part of the infamous Great Plains tornado outbreak, one of the most significant tornado events in the region’s recorded history, which produced 55 tornadoes from Texas to Iowa and killed 21 people across Kansas and Oklahoma.
The Garfield County tornado from that outbreak, an F4 on the original Fujita scale, touched down 4 km (2.5 miles) east of Garber and grew into a large, 1.2 km (0.7 miles) wide wedge as it tracked northeast through Garfield County, destroying farms near Billings and Ceres before continuing into Noble and Osage counties along a 106 km (66 miles) path.
During that 1991 storm, a University of Oklahoma chase team used portable Doppler radar to record wind speeds of up to 431 km/h (268 mph) within the funnel — at the time the fastest wind speed ever measured on Earth.
Oklahoma has seen 44 tornadoes so far in 2026, 17 of them in April. The Enid tornado is the only one the state has seen this year at EF4 strength.
References:
1 NWS Damage Survey for 04/23/2026 Tornado Event – NWS/Norman – April 24, 2026
2 Information and Resources Regarding the April 23 Tornado – City of Enid – April 24, 2026
3 Governor Stitt Declares Disaster Emergency in Garfield and Kay Counties – Oklahoma.gov – April 24, 2026
4 Garfield County, OK Tornadoes (1875-Present) – NWS/Norman – Accessed April 25, 2026
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.
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