2024 Sulphur tornado

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Sulphur, Oklahoma
EF3 tornado
NEXRAD scan of the tornado as it hit Sulphur
TypeTornado
FormedApril 27, 2024, 10:25 p.m.
Duration12 minutes
DissipatedApril 27, 2024, 10:37 p.m.
Highest winds
  • 165 mph
Max. rating1EF3 tornado
Largest hail2-inch+
Fatalities1 killed, 30 injured
Damage$5,500,000
Power outagesUnknown, affected Sulphur, Oklahoma and Hickory, Oklahoma
Areas affectedSulphur, Oklahoma

1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale
[1]

On the night of April 27, 2024, a large tornado moved through the town of Sulphur, Oklahoma, United States,[2] causing extensive damage. The National Weather Service rated the tornado EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with peak winds estimated at 165 miles per hour (266 km/h).[3]

The tornado prompted the issuance of five tornado warnings and three Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) warnings, the most active in that area. The tornado was one of the most devastating storms of the outbreak sequence of April 25-28.[4]

One person was killed, 30 were injured,[5] and US$7,500,000+ in damages were recorded.[6] Many businesses and homes were completely destroyed.[7] The Oklahoma government declared a state of emergency for Sulphur after the immense damage caused by the tornado.

Meteorological synopsis[edit]

Main articles: Tornado outbreak sequence of April 25–28, 2024 and List of tornadoes in the tornado outbreak sequence of April 25–28, 2024

Multiple tornadic supercells developed ahead of the main line of storms on April 28, and multiple large, intense tornadoes were confirmed in south and eastern Oklahoma, causing significant damage and prompting new PDS warnings for the towns of Ardmore, Holdenville, Marietta, Okemah and Sulphur.[8]

A total of 23 PDS tornado warnings were issued as the intense storms caused damage.[9] The areas around Sulphur were heavily monitored, and a hook was visible on radar at approximately midnight. Shortly before this storm became a tornado, the SPC issued mesoscale discussion 0555, highlighting the potential for strong tornadoes due to SRH values near 600 m2/s2.[10]

The 00:00 UTC upper-air sounding from Norman, Oklahoma, depicted very strong shear, with storm-relative helicity in the 0–3 kilometer layer of 400 m2/s2 and mixed-layer CAPE of around 2300 J/kg. As the lower-level jet further increased 0–1 km SRH was observed at 600 m2/s2, which is unusually intense.

Over the course of the successive hours, new tornadic supercells developed ahead of the main squall line and produced multiple large and intense tornadoes in southern and eastern Oklahoma. These tornadoes caused significant damage and prompted PDS tornado warnings for the towns of Ardmore, Holdenville, Marietta and Okemah.

Tornado summary[edit]

The tornado began to form over Cats Eye Road before touching down and crossing Veteran's Lake Drive. It picked up water as it went, and then hit Southwest Perimeter Road, causing an unknown amount of damage. It began tracking toward Rock Creek, narrowly missing a large residential area. It then crossed Northwest Perimeter Road and hit houses in West Tishomingo Avenue. The tornado crossed Rock Creek again and began to track slightly more upward, directly hitting West Broadway Avenue..[11]

It immediately began to move northeastward in the direction of downtown Sulphur. The tornado directly impacted West 1st Street, collapsing an interior wall and damaging the roof of the Artesian Hotel.[12] Nobody was injured.[12] The Chickasaw Visitor Center and the Mary Parker Memorial Library were both heavily damaged as the tornado began to track into the downtown area.[13][14]

The tornado hit West Muskogee Avenue almost instantly after entering downtown Sulphur, destroying Raina's Sports Bar,[15] killing 1 person and multiple others were injured.[16] After, the tornado crossed the street and impacted the Rusty Nails restaurant, which was then also destroyed.

A brick USPS building was destroyed on West Venita Avenue, and an unknown number of people were injured.[17] It tracked through multiple other streets, destroying many brick-clad buildings and throwing cars.[18] The Rock Creek Apartments were heavily damaged,[19] and a 5 AM Donuts store was heavily damaged[20]

EF3 damage to brick buildings on Woodruff Boulevard (left), West Marietta and West 2nd Street

Even though the tornado never directly hit West Wynnewood Avenue, moderate damage was documented and observed there. The Chickasaw Nation Senior Center and multiple other buildings were damaged, and a car was thrown onto a roof. The tornado then crossed East Tulsa Avenue, debarking trees and causing damage to small structures.[15] As it left downtown Sulphur, impacting East June Avenue and Hickory Street, destroying multiple houses.[21]

The tornado then curved upward, narrowly missing Tull Crest Lake, before impacting Ball Park Road, tossing cars and causing more damage. One or more people were injured here. It tracked through uninhabited hills [15] before impacting the Platte Valley Trolley Railway, destroying the rails. It narrowly missed Petty Road, and curved upward, hitting Koller Road and East 1700 Road. It again began to track through open hills, damaging trees and adopting a rain-wrapped shape, making it virtually invisible.[22] It almost directly hit Cochran Creek, but moved slightly upward, instead hitting East Palmer Road at an unknown intensity.[23]

The tornado's path through Sulphur. High-end EF3 damage can be seen.

As the tornado tracked through hills, it again came within a close proximity of Cochran Creek, but this time directly hit it at an unknown intensity. It crossed the creek 3 more times as it tracked close to Hickory. It then directly impacted the Chickasaw Turnpike. It also hit County Road 1670 at unknown intensities and narrowly missed Boss Road.[24]

As it tracked toward Hickory, it started to rapidly lose speed and velocity, and eventually began to rope out while still moving in a straight line northeastward, and eventually completely dissipated, at around 10:37 P.M.[25]

In all, the tornado tracked an estimated 6.65 miles, destroying multiple homes and other structures, while retaining its strength for most of the path length.[15] If the tornado had not lifted when it did, it would have been directly on track for Hickory, and would have crossed paths with the route of another tornado that had touched down earlier.[25]

Damage[edit]

Much of downtown Sulphur sustained significant damage, including Sulphur High School, which sustained minor structural damage,[26] and Sulphur Public School's bus fleet,[27] which was destroyed. Roads were damaged or destroyed, and multiple brick buildings collapsed at EF3 intensity.[28] The town's newspaper, the Sulphur Times-Democrat, delayed the release of its paper a day due to damage to its newsroom.[29]

EF3 damage in Sulphur. The Artesian Hotel is on the far right, while the Sulphur Schools Bus Fleet and Sulphur High School are on the far left.

Many residences suffered major damage, and the Rock Creek Apartments located at 1021 West 2nd Street sustained severe structural damage. In total, damage costs have been estimated to be in the range of US$5,000,000-US$10,000,000.[30]

Aftermath[edit]

A few hours after the tornado, on April 28, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt issued a state of emergency in 12 Oklahoma counties due to the large amount of damage and ongoing search and rescue. These include Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Hughes, Kay, Lincoln, Love, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Payne and Pontotoc counties. Aid and disaster response was also sent to Sulphur, and rescue/search and rescue operations are still ongoing. Many business owners were left with their buildings destroyed, which has affected Sulphur's economy to an extremely negative extent.

Sulphur Public Schools have also been closed as a result of the damage sustained to the high school during the tornado,[31] and many school buses were put out of service.[32]

Tornado warnings in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
5 tornado warnings overlapping above Sulphur

Warnings[edit]

The tornado touched down[33] as 5 different tornado warnings were active over Sulphur, Gene Autry, Mill Creek (which would get hit by a tornado early the following morning), Roff, Springer and Hickory. 3 of these warnings were upgraded to Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) warnings, 2 of which included Sulphur.

Many residents of these towns were unaware of these warnings due to a large power outage that directly affected the area, caused by a mixture of flooding and a confirmed tornado that touched down near Hickory that may have damaged power lines and transformers.[33]

Many of these warnings stayed in place for up to an hour, as more tornadoes and supercells developed in the general area of Sulphur and Mill Creek. Many tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued the following morning, although none produced anything significant or severe. In total, 11 PDS warnings were issued for areas in Oklahoma, many of which were issued before violent tornadoes hit the region.

Casualties[edit]

This tornado killed one person and injured 30 others.[34][35] Damage caused by this tornado is so extreme that rescue efforts have been delayed.[12] Sheila Goodman,[36] a woman who was visiting Raina's Sports Lounge, was killed when the building took a direct hit and collapsed.[37]

Multiple people were injured in residential areas of Sulphur, including 2 injuries near a laundromat which was destroyed. Flash flooding in Sulphur may have been a contributing factor to the death toll due to high water levels making it difficult to evacuate.[38]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "SPC Severe Weather Event Review for Saturday April 27, 2024".
  2. ^ "New: Deadly and damaging tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma". KFOR.com Oklahoma City. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  3. ^ akrherz@iastate.edu, daryl herzmann. "IEM :: PNS from NWS OUN". mesonet.agron.iastate.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  4. ^ Yablonski, Steven (2024-04-27). "At least 2 dead, catastrophic damage reported after tornadoes tear across Oklahoma". FOX Weather. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  5. ^ Greco, Jonathan (2024-04-28). "At least 2 dead in Holdenville; Search and rescue underway in Sulphur after tornadoes: What we know". KOCO. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  6. ^ "Injuries reported, widespread damage in Southern Oklahoma tornado outbreak". KXII. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  7. ^ Speck, Emilee (2024-04-29). "Sulphur, Oklahoma, business owners cope with catastrophic tornado damage". FOX Weather. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  8. ^ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "WWA Summary by Location for 34.51N 96.98W with OKZ041/OKC099/OKZ041 emphasis Hazardous Weather Outlook". forecast.weather.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  9. ^ "SPC Severe Weather Event Review for Saturday April 27, 2024". www.spc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  10. ^ "Storm Prediction Center Mesoscale Discussion 555". www.spc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  11. ^ "Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma as governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties | VIDEO". ABC13 Houston. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  12. ^ a b c Kliewer, Addison (2024-04-28). "Officials say search-and-rescue mission underway in Sulphur after tornado". KOCO. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  13. ^ "At least 4 killed in Oklahoma tornado outbreak, as threat of severe storms continues from Missouri to Texas". www.kake.com. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  14. ^ Reports, Staff (2024-04-28). "Chickasaw recreation area closed due to weather". The Ada News. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  15. ^ a b c d US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "The April 27-28, 2024 Tornado Outbreak and Flash Flooding Event". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  16. ^ "Woman killed when tornado tears through sports bar, burying patrons in rubble". WAFB. CNN. 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  17. ^ "'It's too good of a town not to rebuild': Sulphur family searches for hope". KFOR.com Oklahoma City. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  18. ^ "Daylight Reveals Devastation in Sulphur, Oklahoma - Videos from The Weather Channel". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  19. ^ "NEW: Weekend tornado outbreak impact report". KFOR.com Oklahoma City. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  20. ^ Oklahoma, Associated Press and CNHI News (2024-04-29). "UPDATED: 4 die as tornadoes leave destruction across Oklahoma". Enidnews.com. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  21. ^ PoncaCityNow.com. "HEAVY DAMAGE, AT LEAST 20 INJURED IN SULPHUR AFTER TORNADO". PoncaCityNow.com. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  22. ^ DaniDani (2024-04-28). "Tragedy Strikes in the Dead of Night in Sulphur, Oklahoma". 107.3 PopCrush. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  23. ^ "Deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma leave thousands without power, trail of damage". KOSU. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  24. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". apps.dat.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  25. ^ a b US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "The April 27-28, 2024 Tornado Outbreak and Flash Flooding Event". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  26. ^ Kliewer, Addison (2024-04-28). "Sulphur cancels class after tornado devastates town". KOCO. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  27. ^ "Sulphur Public Schools' bus fleet destroyed by tornado, district working to get students back to class". KGOU. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  28. ^ Speck, Emilee (2024-04-29). "EF-4, EF-3 tornadoes lay ruin to Oklahoma communities during deadly tornado outbreak". FOX Weather. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  29. ^ Brewer, Graham Lee (3 May 2024). "A tornado hit an Oklahoma newsroom built in the 1920s. The damage isn't stopping the presses". AP News. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  30. ^ May, Payton (2024-04-29). "Sulphur native's fortitude shines in the wake of devastating Oklahoma tornado". KOKH. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  31. ^ Sharfman, Alexandra (2024-04-30). "Sulphur and Marietta schools close after tornadoes; Oklahoma School for Deaf goes virtual". KOKH. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  32. ^ "Sulphur Public Schools' bus fleet destroyed by tornado, district working to get students back to class". KOSU. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  33. ^ a b US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "2024 Oklahoma Tornadoes". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  34. ^ Media, Griffin. "1 Dead, At Least 20 Injured In Sulphur After Tornado Damages Town". www.news9.com. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  35. ^ "SPC Severe Weather Event Review for Saturday April 27, 2024". www.spc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  36. ^ Media, Griffin. "Woman Killed In Sulphur Tornado Identified". www.news9.com. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  37. ^ Montgomery, Shelby (2024-04-29). "Crews continue to clean up after deadly tornado hits Sulphur". KOCO. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  38. ^ Greco, Jonathan (2024-04-30). "Map shows where tornadoes were reported during Saturday's outbreak in Oklahoma". KOCO. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
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