- May 1981 Tornado Outbreak
The
May 1981 Tornado Outbreak was atornado outbreak that occurred on May 22 in western and CentralOklahoma and on May 23 from eastern and central Oklahoma to central Iowa. 43 tornadoes were reported during the two-day outbreak, of which 14 were recorded as strong or violent (F2 or greater on theFujita Scale ). The outbreak claimed no fatalies and there were only 12 injuries from a tornado that tore throughBinger, Oklahoma causing significant damage. The tornado outbreak overall left $32.8 million dollars (1981USD ) in damage. cite web|author=Mike Branick|year=2006|title=A Look Back on the Tornado Outbreak in Oklahoma on22 May 1981 --The Binger Tornado|publisher=NOAA|accessdate=2006-10-27|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/newsletter/spring2006/spring2006.pdf] cite web|author=NCDC|year=1981|title=Oklahoma event details|publisher=NOAA|accessdate=2006-10-27|url=http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms]torm history
On the morning of
May 22 ,1981 , winds moving in from the south brought moist air acrossTexas and into westernOklahoma anddry line formed across the Texas panhandle. In addition, the interaction between a layer of warm air aloft and the return flow of moist air lead to widespread low clouds across the state ofOklahoma . Later that day, the low clouds broke as predicted by forecasters as the dry line moved east into westernOklahoma . However, the clearing was limited to a relatively narrow zone ahead of the dry line. Despite this, daytime heating allowedthunderstorm s to form by mid-afternoon.Cordell Oklahoma tornado
The first tornado formed northwest of
Cordell, Oklahoma at 4:17 pm (CDT). The tornado damaged a mobile home and several barns as it moved northeast over a six mile path. The tornado was photographed by astorm chaser team during a project conducted by theNational Severe Storms Laboratory andMississippi State University . Manystorm chaser s sometimes nicknamed the tornado the "Wizard of OZ" tornado because of its unusual shape.Binger tornado
A second thunderstorm formed south of the thunderstorm that produced the Cordell tornado. The second thunderstorm moved northeast, causing some concern among officials and forecasters as the storm was heading directly towards
Oklahoma City . The second thunderstorm produced 6-12 tornadoes across a wide area stretching fromFort Cobb Reservoir to Union City. The thunderstorm later encountered cooler, less unstable air and dissipated nearOklahoma City .One of the group of thetornado es, the Binger Tornado which touched down near Binger at 6:45 pm (CDT). At the time of formation, it was a weak F1 Tornado until it reached a point of 3.5 miles, west-southwest of the Scott Neighborhood community. At that point it strengthened and reach F4 status 1 mile east of the neighborhood. The tornado maintained that strength as it crossedHighway 37 until it dissipated near theCanadian River . Damage from the tornado was severe as it destroyed an old uninhabited house outside of Scott. Two other houses were also destroyed but their walls remained intact. A mile east, the tornado ripped the roof, walls and carport off another house while two more houses were completely destroyed. In addition the tornado uprooted or damaged several trees and flipped overautomobile s andfarm equipment during its 16 mile duration.cite web|author=Dr. James R. McDonald, Dr. H. Scott Norville, and Timothy P. Marshall|year=2006|title=DAMAGE SURVEY OF THE BINGER, OKLAHOMA TORNADO OF MAY 22, 1981|publisher=National Severe Storms Laboratory|accessdate=2006-10-27|url=http://www.stormtrack.org/library/damage/binger.htm]Near
Highway 37 , the tornado blew away several storage tanks at anAmoco oil storage facility. One of the tanks which was out of operation because of alightning strike was found 1500 ft south of its original location. The other two tanks blown away by the tornado were never found. A 1/2 mile away, the tornado destroyed afarmhouse and abarn and wrecked apickup truck . Because the path of the Binger Tornado was mostly over unpopulated areas and due to early warnings and observations, there were no fatalies or injuries.Other tornadoes
After the Binger tornado dissipated, a complex of severe thunderstorms regenerated further west across west-central
Oklahoma nearFoss Reservoir . The thunderstorms produced at least five tornadoes, one of which tore thoughClinton, Oklahoma causing 12 injuries but no fatalies. In Alfalfa, Oklahoma, two tornadoes were reported, one which did F2 Damage. [cite web|author=NSSL|year=2006|title=Public Domain Tornado Images|accessdate=2006-10-27|url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/torscans.htm] Thunderstorms along and east of a line fromOklahoma City , Kansas City andOmaha, Nebraska produced 29 tornadoes on May 23 across Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa.Tornado table
Confirmed tornadoes
May 22, 1981 event
May 23, 1981 event
ee also
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List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks References
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