List of tornadoes in the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak

An enlarged map of the main event of the tornado outbreak across central and northeast Oklahoma and extreme southeastern Kansas. The map denotes city locations, shading more densely populated areas in yellow, and major roads are shown. Sixty-six tornado tracks are plotted as colored lines on the map, with their colors corresponding to one of the eleven parent storm cells the tornadoes were produced by. The majority of tracks are concentrated around the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area which is seen as a large yellow-shaded area slightly offset from the center of the map.
Map of confirmed tornadoes across Oklahoma and southern Kansas on May 3

From May 2 to 8, 1999, a large tornado outbreak took place across much of the Central and parts of the Eastern United States, as well as southern Canada. During this week-long event, 152 tornadoes touched down in these areas. The most dramatic events unfolded during the afternoon of May 3 through the early morning hours of May 4 when more than half of these storms occurred. Oklahoma experienced its largest tornado outbreak on record, with 70 confirmed. The most notable of these was the F5 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado which devastated Oklahoma City and suburban communities. The tornado killed 36 people and injured 583 others; losses amounted to $1 billion, making it the first billion-dollar tornado in history.[nb 1][1] Overall, 50 people lost their lives during the outbreak and damage amounted to $1.4 billion.[2]

On May 2, a strong area of low pressure moved out of the Rocky Mountains and into the High Plains, producing scattered severe weather and ten tornadoes in Nebraska.[3] The following day, atmospheric conditions across Oklahoma became significantly more favorable for an outbreak of severe weather. Wind profiles across the region strongly favored tornadic activity, with the Storm Prediction Center stating, "it became more obvious something major was looming" by the afternoon hours.[4] Numerous supercell thunderstorms developed across the state as well as bordering areas in Kansas and Texas. Over the following 48 hours, May 3–4, 116 tornadoes touched down across the Central United States. Following the extensive outbreak, activity became increasingly scattered from May 5 to 8, with 26 tornadoes touching down across the Eastern United States and Quebec.[4][5]


Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "The Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of May 3–4, 1999". National Weather Service Office in Norman, Oklahoma. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. June 22, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  2. ^ "Storm Events Database: May 2–7, 1999 Tornadoes". National Climatic Data Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NCDCNebraskaSC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "Meteorological Summary of the Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of May 3–4, 1999". National Weather Service Office in Norman, Oklahoma. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 3, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference OntarioDB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).