2013 Moore tornado

This article is about the 2013 Moore tornado. For other uses, see Moore, Oklahoma tornado.
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2013 Moore tornado
Top: The tornado as it was approaching the city of Moore.
Bottom: Radar images of the Moore tornado with a debris ball and hook echo signature
Meteorological history
FormedMay 20, 2013, 2:56 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00)
DissipatedMay 20, 2013, 3:35 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00)
Duration39 minutes
EF5 tornado
on the Enhanced Fujita scale
Highest winds210 mph (340 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities24 (+2 indirect)
Injuries212
Damage$2 billion (estimate)[1]
Areas affectedMcClain and Cleveland counties in Oklahoma; particularly the city of Moore
Part of the Tornado outbreak of May 18–21, 2013 and Tornadoes of 2013

The 2013 Moore tornado was a large and extremely violent EF5 tornado that ravaged Moore, Oklahoma, and adjacent areas on the afternoon of May 20, 2013, with peak winds estimated at 210 miles per hour (340 km/h), killing 24 people (plus two indirect fatalities)[2] and injuring 212 others.[3] The tornado was part of a larger outbreak from a slow-moving weather system that had produced several other tornadoes across the Great Plains over the previous two days, including five that had struck portions of Central Oklahoma the day prior on May 19.

The tornado touched down just northwest of Newcastle at 2:56 p.m. CDT (19:56 UTC), and quickly became violent, persisting for 39 minutes on a 13.85-mile (22.3 km) path through a heavily populated section of Moore, causing catastrophic damage of EF4 to EF5 intensity, before dissipating at 3:35 p.m. CDT (20:35 UTC) outside of Moore. The tornado was over one mile (1.6 km) across at its peak width.[4]: 13  The 2013 Moore tornado followed a roughly similar track to the deadlier 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, which was rated F5; neither of the stricken schools in the area had acquired purpose-built storm shelters in the intervening years.[5]

The tornado caused catastrophic damage around the city of Moore, with 1,150 homes destroyed as a result. Damage estimates ranged up to $2 billion, making it the costliest tornado since the 2011 Joplin tornado. As of 2024, this tornado is the most recent tornado to be rated EF5.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference damages was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference may1018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Norman, Oklahoma (2013). Oklahoma Event Report: EF5 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference American Meteorological Society was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Obama offers solace in tornado-ravaged Oklahoma". AFP. May 27, 2013. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013 – via Yahoo! News.
  6. ^ Henson, Bob (May 25, 2021). "It's been a record-long time since the last EF5 tornado. What does that mean? » Yale Climate Connections". Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved March 25, 2023.