Sulphur tornado rated EF-3

SULPHUR, Okla. (KTEN) – Saturday night’s tornado has been preliminarily rated an EF-3 tornado by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman, Oklahoma.

Upon investigating the data through Saturday’s event, it is believed that the tornado which struck Sulphur was possibly part of the same storm moved through Ardmore several minutes prior.

At 9:52 PM Saturday night, power flashes were reported in Ardmore. This was the first sign that a tornado was potentially on the ground. At 9:55 PM, the Carter County Emergency Manager Paul Tucker received reports from spotters of a tornado on the ground on Richland Road, which is north of Ardmore and west of I-35.

At 9:58 PM, tornado sirens were sounded in the cities of Davis and Sulphur in Murray County as a potential tornado was tracking north.

At 10:09 PM, meteorologists at the NWS were monitoring an area of strong rotation near Dougherty. The NWS warned of a tornado which could be imminent.

At 10:16 PM, the tight circulation was near Dougherty, heading north to Sulphur. The NWS warned of a particularly dangerous situation with a possible tornado on the ground.

At 10:20 PM, the National Weather Service issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Tornado Warning for Murray County, which included the town of Sulphur.

At 10:27 PM, a Tornado Debris Signature (TDS) was observed directly over the town of Sulphur, making it clear that the tornado was on the ground and causing significant damage to the small tourist town.

Damage was extensive in Sulphur with the entire downtown taking a direct hit.

Debris from the Sulphur tornado was lofted several thousand feet in the air and swept northward. Christine Brown found insulation on her property in Fittstown, roughly 23 miles northeast of Sulphur.

Unfortunately, one person was killed in the storm.

Damage surveys are ongoing and finalized details with the tornado’s track will be released in the near future.