Tornado record · Enhanced Fujita scale

El Reno tornado, May 31, 2013 (EF3)

RatingEF3

Deaths8

Injuries26

Length16.2 mi

Width4,576 yd

See tornadoes near here

The event

What happened

The El Reno tornado of May 31, 2013 was one of the most powerful tornadoes ever sampled by mobile radar and the widest known tornado on record, reaching 2.6 miles across. It travelled east toward Union City and El Reno, spared El Reno and its airport from a direct hit by tracking just south of them, and dissipated near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Banner Road.

Surveyors could not find damage to support a rating higher than EF3, because the strongest winds missed the structures the scale relies on. Eight people were killed, all in vehicles, including three severe storm researchers.

Sources: NWS Norman: The May 31 to June 1, 2013 tornado and flash flooding event

Map

Path

The path

Drawn as a straight line from the recorded start point (35.48, -98.10) to the end point (35.50, -97.85), which is all NOAA's record holds. The real track may have curved.

The record

Date: May 31, 2013, 5:03 PM (as recorded, Central Standard Time)
Rating: EF3
States: Oklahoma
Counties: Canadian County
Towns struck: Union City, El Reno (as named by the National Weather Service)
Path: 16.2 miles long, up to 4,576 yards wide
Casualties: 8 deaths, 26 injuries

Same day

Other tornadoes on May 31, 2013

Tornadoes, newest first
Date	Rating	State	Path length	Width	Injuries
May 31, 2013	EF3	Missouri	31.71 mi	1,760 yd	8
May 31, 2013	EF3	Missouri, Illinois	10.64 mi	150 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF2	Oklahoma	5 mi	150 yd	1
May 31, 2013	EF2	Illinois	1.47 mi	150 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Tennessee	0.83 mi	250 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	2.5 mi	200 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	1.2 mi	200 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	5.71 mi	600 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Missouri	9.98 mi	550 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	1 mi	100 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	1.13 mi	300 yd	8
May 31, 2013	EF1	Missouri	12.41 mi	200 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	3.5 mi	320 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	4.8 mi	350 yd	2
May 31, 2013	EF1	Illinois	4.26 mi	50 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Illinois	1.99 mi	100 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Oklahoma	1.8 mi	500 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF1	Illinois	0.49 mi	70 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	North Dakota	0.1 mi	25 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	North Dakota	2.25 mi	25 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Kansas	0.42 mi	50 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	1 mi	50 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.35 mi	30 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Iowa	0.18 mi	10 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.5 mi	120 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.5 mi	350 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.1 mi	50 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Missouri	0.53 mi	30 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Missouri	0.21 mi	30 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Missouri	1.06 mi	40 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.47 mi	50 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	1.1 mi	310 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Indiana	0.5 mi	20 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.5 mi	200 yd	0
May 31, 2013	EF0	Oklahoma	0.2 mi	50 yd	0

Nearby

Tornado history nearby

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.