Damage Survey of the 2013 Moore EF5 Tornado

The Moore tornado left extreme damage indicators throughout its path consistent with EF5 intensity.

□ On May 20, 2013, a large funnel touched down in Grady County, Oklahoma. Similar in many ways to the devastating Bridge Creek tornado of 1999, the storm travelled at a fairly slow pace and was tracked by weather helicopters as it roared towards the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City. The tornado rapidly strengthened as it crossed Drexel Avenue and likely reached EF5 intensity three miles west of Moore. A pronounced streak of ground scouring marked the tornado’s inner core as it travelled almost due east through a low density residential area with dozens of large, well-constructed homes. A three-story mansion on South Mays Avenue was nearly leveled by the tornado despite being spared the storm’s most intense winds. Residences impacted directly by the tornado were swept completely away and adjacent trees were stripped of all bark and branches. Vehicles from destroyed homes were thrown over a quarter mile and mangled beyond recognition. After crossing Western Avenue, the core of the storm travelled parallel to a residential subdivision before slamming into Briarwood Elementary School at EF5 intensity. After destroying the school, the tornado entered a densely populated section of Moore at high-end EF4 intensity. Every home within a 150 yard wide swath was completely leveled as the storm made a turn to the northeast. Damage patterns indicate that the tornado briefly reached EF5 strength a second time as it crossed over Plaza Towers Elementary and adjacent homes. More than half of the fatalities occurred in this area.

The tornado continued curving to the northeast before reaching Telephone Road, at which point the storm made a turn to the east-southeast. The northernmost building affected by EF4 winds was a 7-Eleven convenient store where four people sheltering in a walk-in freezer were killed. After crossing the I-35, the tornado abruptly narrowed but continued leaving a streak of EF4 damage. The tornado’s final fatality occurred just west of Highland East Junior High School. In total, the tornado destroyed more than 1,500 homes and caused nearly 2 billion dollars in damage. I surveyed the damage in Moore in the last week of May. My final analysis can be found at bottom.

A tree line just west of Pennsylvania Avenue was stripped bare. The tornado likely reached EF5 intensity less than a minute before striking this area. Five of the storm’s fatalities occurred in large homes swept completely away between Drexel Avenue and SW 155th Street.

A brick home on Pennsylvania Avenue was swept completely away. The home’s residents, like most people in the area, survived the storm in an underground storm shelter.

A once heavily forested area just east of SW 155th Street was obliterated by winds of EF5 intensity.

Even small shrubs were stripped completely of bark and leaves. Heavy debris was thrown several miles and found wrapped around the few remaining trees.

Pieces of destroyed vehicles, including a car seat and a steering wheel, where left strewn amidst destroyed trees.

The narrow core of peak winds spared a large, well-built brick home on SW 149th Street but passed directly over a forested area to the south. The few standing trees were stripped of all bark and branches. Vegetation in the immediate foreground and on the other side of the pond were outside the EF5 damage zone.

Grass scouring on an uphill slope near a cul-de-sac under construction. While heavy rainfall affected Oklahoma City in the weeks following the storm, all of the vegetation in this area was bent in the direction of the storm’s movement.

Homes on Nightshade Drive lay just outside the worst devastation. Some buildings were impaled by high velocity debris thrown from the funnel.

Extreme vegetation damage and ground scouring occurred at the southwest corner of 149th and Western Avenue.

A black truck was thrown from one of the residential neighborhoods far to the west and ripped into several pieces. Part of the frame along with the two rear tires is visible at center.

The EF5 damage streak was less than 40 yards in width. Powerlines visible in the background were installed after the storm.

A tree line was obliterated just west of Briarwood Elementary.

Debris from obliterated homes was ground into small pieces, a sign of extreme intensity.

The damage contour was sharp, particularly on the southern edge of the tornado’s path. The homes visible in this picture were immediately adjacent to the EF5 damage streak.

A neighborhood near Santa Fe Avenue was flattened and partially swept away. Two fatalities occurred in this area.

A huge, crumpled metal object was left in a backyard on Santa Fe Avenue. Surveyors later determined that it was a water tank that had been hurled 1.3 miles from Western Avenue (Ortega, Burgess et al., 2014).

High velocity debris was left imbedded in the ground in a drainage basin adjacent to Santa Fe Avenue. Upon closer inspection, most of the boards had penetrated between 6″ and 18″ into the ground. A damage survey concluded that several homes on SW 147th Street (two blocks beyond the grass field) were obliterated in EF5 fashion (Ortega, Burgess et al., 2014).

Metal fence posts anchored 18″ deep in concrete were a common site throughout the damage zones. Fence posts adjacent to homes with EF3 damage were bent nearly to the ground, whereas others were removed entirely in the worst affected areas.

A cargo container was thrown more than a quarter of a mile (according to a local resident) and left in the debris of a leveled home.

In the foreground, the remains of a brick home located a block southwest of Plaza Towers Elementary.

The remains of large, two-story homes of solid construction near Plaza Towers Elementary. I was unable to access the most intense damage on SW 14th Street due to numerous police checks and road blocks.

More than half of the tornado’s 24 fatalities occurred at Plaza Towers Elementary and adjacent homes. Seven children were killed in the collapse of the school and another six died in four homes swept completely away, primarily on SW 14th Street (the road with the empty foundations at left center). The school’s large field likely provided the tornado’s winds a brief respite from ground friction. Damage patterns indicated the most intense winds occurred during the backside of the storm. (Image by Geoff Legler)

Heavy damage at Moore Medical Center. Small trees in the parking lot were stripped completely of bark and branches. A damage survey concluded that a row of homes just west of the complex experienced EF5 damage (Ortega, Burgess et al., 2014).

Due to extensive warning, no fatalities occurred in the medical center.

Extreme damage in the vicinity of the medical center.

Hundreds of vehicles were mangled beyond recognition in the tornado’s path.

A large theater complex experienced minor damage as the tornado made a brief jog to the north. Buildings on three sides of the theater complex experienced EF3+ damage yet none of the small trees in the theater’s parking lot were uprooted.

Just west of the freeway, a large bowling alley was leveled to the ground. The steel cross-beams overlying the structure were broken and denuded. In the building’s parking lot, signs were bent to the ground in a southerly direction. Some of the signs were twisted due to the opposing forces in the front and backside of the storm. Large pieces of concrete were chipped from curbsides due to impacts from heavy debris.

The tornado abruptly narrowed after crossing the I-35 and turned to the east-southeast. The metal stand of a billboard was bent and broken just above ground level.

A trail of partial grass scouring and wind rowing only 15 yards wide was left in a field by Tower Drive. A powerline from Broadway Street (marked by an identification code) was lofted a quarter mile and wrapped in sheet metal.

An office trailer was thrown from an unknown location and completely destroyed.

Frail sheds only a few yards away from the damage core were left standing.

The tornado’s damage contour became extremely sharp in eastern Moore. Homes on the south side of Madison Place Drive suffered superficial damage whereas homes on the other side of the street were leveled. A light pole was nearly pulled from its anchorage and thick brick pillars were ripped from the ground.

Personal Damage Survey Conclusions: Due to my belief that the Enhanced Fujita Scale grossly underestimates winds in violent tornadoes, the wind ranges I utilize are based on my research, discussions with wind engineers and comparisons between known surface readings and adjacent damage indicators in past tornadoes. My wind estimates are significantly higher than those employed by the National Weather Service. 

Peak Intensity: EF5 (260mph+)

□ The Moore tornado likely reached EF5 intensity just east of Drexel Avenue and largely maintained this intensity up until it impacted Briarwood Elementary. The worst damage was confined within a 30-yard wide streak that was made visible by ground scouring and extreme vegetation damage. The largest trees impacted by the storm were stripped completely of bark and branches in a manner congruent with the most intense documented tornadoes. Vehicles were pulverized and large cargo containers and other objects weighing well over 10,000lbs were hurled more than a mile. Well-constructed two-story homes were swept completely away in areas just west of Moore. A secondary intensity maxima may have occurred from Plaza Towers Elementary to just west of the Moore Medical Center, where several entire streets of homes was reduced to concrete slabs. Pronounced wind rowing was visible in aerial photographs and grass was ripped from the ground. Metal fence posts with light concrete anchorage were bent to the ground or completely uprooted by a mixture of debris impacts and extreme winds.

The sharp contour between EF5 damage and EF1 damage is visible in this image from SW 149th Street.

Analysis of the 2013 Moore Tornado

View of the Moore tornado moments before it impacted Briarwood Elementary School at EF5 intensity. (Video stills by David Demko and Heidi Farrar)

□ The most catastrophic tornado in recent Oklahoma history touched down in the midst of a large scale severe weather outbreak on May 20th, 2013. The tornado devastated southern sections of Moore, a large suburb to the southwest of Oklahoma City. Moore was the focus of international media following a similar F5 tornado that swept through neighborhoods only one mile to the north in May of 1999.

Aerial view of extreme tornado damage in Moore (Santa Fe Avenue is the large street at right). A damage survey later concluded that several homes on SW 147th Street (left center) were swept away in EF5 fashion (Ortega, Burgess et al., 2014). While initially reported as being in excess of two miles wide, the tornado’s primary damage path was approximately 100 to 300 yards in width. (Image by Steve Gooch)

At top left, view of the tornado as it rapidly intensified in Grady County. At bottom left, the tornado became partially rain wrapped as it crossed the Canadian River into Cleveland County. At bottom right, the tornado as it entered Moore. (Video by KWTV)

The tornado touched down at 2:55pm near the town of Bridge Creek, the same community that was nearly wiped off the map following the 1999 Moore tornado. Video of the tornado suggests it initially appeared as a large “stovepipe” before entering a period of rapid intensification, at which point it expanded and became partially shrouded in a column of rain. The swirling mass reached high-end EF4 intensity as it thundered through rural areas east of the Canadian River. Several large homes on SW 155th Street were swept completely away and grass was scoured from the ground as the tornado approached peak intensity just west of Moore. The Wallace Horse Park on Western Avenue was impacted directly by the tornado, killing all but one of the horses being held at the facility (“Oklahoma Officials…”, 2013). The bodies of several horses were recovered a quarter mile away near Sylena Way. Trees along Western Avenue were stripped of bark and branches and left pointing towards the east. The tornado reached the edge of Moore at approximately 3:15pm. Witnesses described the tornado as a “black wall” surrounded by a continuous rain of debris.

Ground scouring and empty foundations near SW 155th Street, a half mile west of Moore. The tornado was likely at EF5 intensity in this area, though building construction only permitted a high-end EF4 rating. The Wallace Horse Park was located at the intersection at top left. (Image by Steve Gooch)

Briarwood Elementary School (bottom) was impacted directly by the tornado as it entered a densely populated section of Moore. The damage to the school was deemed to be of EF5 intensity (NWS, 2013). One woman was killed just east of the school in a home on SW 147th Street. (Image by Steve Gooch)

Extreme home damage in western Moore. (Image by David McNeese)

The tornado entered Moore near the intersection of 149th and Western Avenue, where hundreds of large one and two-story brick homes were obliterated. Briarwood Elementary School was impacted directly by the tornado at EF5 intensity, resulting in the near complete destruction of the school’s classroom buildings and gym. The tornado roared eastward towards Santa Fe Avenue, where at least one fatality occurred in the destruction of a two-story home. After roaring over Penn Lane, the tornado passed directly over Plaza Towers Elementary School at probable EF5 intensity. The large, brick school was nearly leveled while more than 70 students and teachers huddled in the bathrooms. Seven students were crushed to death as the building collapsed – initial reports that the students “drowned” in a puddle or swimming pool were erroneous (Kelly, 2013). Homes just south of the school on SW 14th Street were swept completely away and grass in a nearby field was scoured from the ground. One survivor in the area said the tornado shook the ground like an earthquake and was “louder than anything he had ever heard before” (Lawrence, 2013). While the survey analysis is ongoing, aerial imagery suggests that some of the most intense damage in Moore likely occurred in the vicinity of Plaza Towers Elementary.

Satellite view of the tornado’s devastating path through Moore. The storm caused EF5 damage at Briarwood Elementary and areas to the west. Another patch of EF5 damage occurred at the northern crest of the damage path immediately west of the Moore Medical Center (Ortega, Burgess at al., 2013).

Plaza Towers Elementary School before the tornado. (Image courtesy of Google Earth)

Extreme damage to Plaza Towers Elementary School and homes to the south, which were swept from their foundations. Wind rowing and ground scouring were evident throughout the damage path in Moore. A damage survey concluded that the construction standards in this area only permitted an EF4 rating, though EF5 damage likely would have occurred had a home of “superior construction” been struck.

As the tornado continued on, it curved to the north and momentarily paused just west of Telephone Road. Four people, including a mother and her infant son, were killed after taking shelter in a walk-in freezer at a 7-Eleven convenience store on the northern margin of the damage swath (a similar tragedy occurred at a Pizza Hut in Joplin, Missouri, following an EF5 tornado in 2011). On SW 6th Street, a row of well-built homes was obliterated in EF5 fashion. Across the street, the massive tornado engulfed the Moore Medical Center. The complex was severely damaged and vehicles in the parking lot were mangled beyond recognition and piled against the building’s remaining walls. Due to extensive warning and the strong construction of the building, no fatalities occurred at the medical center. A large movie theater that had been directly in the storm’s path suffered only modest damage as the tornado’s inner core made a brief curve to the north.

The Moore Medical Center was impacted directly by the massive tornado. Dozens of cars in the adjoining parking lot were hurled against the structure’s western wing. Some vehicles nearby were damaged but largely unmoved, an indication the tornado had a violent multiple vortex structure. (Image by Steve Gooch)

At left, a tree stripped completely of bark and branches. At right, extreme damage to the well-constructed Moore Medical Center. (Images by Brett Deering)

Just east of the Moore Medical Center, the tornado crossed the I-35. More than a dozen abandoned vehicles were swept off the freeway, some of which were left in a tangled mass atop the freeway divider. The tornado began to reorganize in this area and the damage path briefly widened and became more erratic in nature. Video footage and aerial imagery indicate that a narrow core of EF4 winds developed as the tornado’s path made a slight turn to the east. Homes within a streak less than 50 yards wide were obliterated as the tornado roared through subdivisions just south of 4th street.

The remains of vehicles on the I-35. (Video still by KWTV)

In eastern Moore, the tornado narrowed and left a streak of extreme damage less than one block wide. A damage survey later concluded that three homes were swept away in EF5 fashion east of the freeway (Ortega, Burgess et al., 2014). Pictured above is damage to homes on East Moore Court. A total of 23 people were killed directly by the tornado. (Image by Steve Gooch)

The 2013 Moore tornado caused more fatalities in Cleveland County than the 1999 Bridge Creek tornado, which killed 11 in Moore and adjacent areas. Due to the severity of the damage, the 2013 tornado was upgraded to an EF5 less than 30 hours after impacting Moore.

In terms of damage intensity, the 2013 Moore tornado was comparable to the 1999 Bridge Creek tornado. Both tornadoes left multiple instances EF5 damage in the city, but the 1999 tornado reached an even greater level of intensity in rural areas to the southwest. Mobile doppler radar was not present to analyze the 2013 tornado but it is undoubtable that velocities in excess of 250mph would have been recorded during the storm’s passage through Moore.

Graphic depicting the tracks of the 1999 and 2013 tornadoes with red denoting areas of surveyed or probable EF5 damage (intensity estimates for the 2013 storm are subjective and may differ slightly from the final NWS report). The Bridge Creek tornado was nearing the end of its intensity maxima when it reached the edge of Moore but continued causing high-end EF4 damage all the way to Midwest City (out of frame at top). The 2013 tornado, by contrast, fluctuated in strength but left an intermittent trail of EF5 damage all the way across the city of Moore. The storm changed direction and narrowed significantly after crossing the I-35 but continued leaving a thin streak of extreme damage until finally weakening outside Moore.

Extreme damage following the 2013 Moore tornado near Westmoor. Due to extensive warning, few of Moore’s residences were above ground in the destroyed homes. The death toll of 23 was remarkably low considering the scope of the devastation. (Image by 1984 Studios)