What the record says
On 10 May 2008, a tornado touched down near Welch, Oklahoma. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 75.5 miles long and up to 1,760 yards wide, rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. It killed 21 people and injured 350.
- EF4Enhanced Fujita rating
- 21deaths
- 350injuries
- 75.5 mipath length
- 1,760 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Labette County, Kansas
- Barry County, Missouri
- Newton County, Missouri
- Craig County, Oklahoma
- Ottawa County, Oklahoma
The start point was at 37.00, -95.14 and the end point at 36.82, -93.78 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Oklahoma
- Newkirk, Oklahoma tornado25 May 1955, F5, 80 deaths, 273 injuries, 56.4 miles long
- Wichita Falls, Texas tornado10 April 1979, F4, 42 deaths, 1,740 injuries, 46.9 miles long
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma tornado3 May 1999, F5, 36 deaths, 583 injuries, 37 miles long
- Moore, Oklahoma tornado20 May 2013, EF5, 24 deaths, 212 injuries, 13.9 miles long
- Tonkawa, Oklahoma tornado25 May 1955, F5, 20 deaths, 280 injuries, 28.4 miles long
- Wilburton, Oklahoma tornado5 May 1960, F4, 16 deaths, 106 injuries, 62.4 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 2008
- Gallatin, Tennessee tornado5 February 2008, EF3, 22 deaths, 63 injuries, 50.3 miles long
- Casa, Arkansas tornado5 February 2008, EF4, 13 deaths, 139 injuries, 121.8 miles long
- Cedar Falls, Iowa tornado25 May 2008, EF5, 9 deaths, 70 injuries, 41 miles long
- Plumerville, Arkansas tornado2 May 2008, EF3, 5 deaths, 24 injuries, 45.3 miles long
- Decatur, Alabama tornado6 February 2008, EF4, 4 deaths, 23 injuries, 16.7 miles long
All tornadoes of 2008 · Oklahoma tornado history · All notable tornadoes