The Moore, Oklahoma F5 Tornado

The 2013 Moore, Oklahoma F5 Tornado

On Monday, May 20th, 2013, just as children were getting ready to leave school, a powerful EF5 Tornado touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, with winds peaking at 210 MPH. According to the National Weather Service, the mile-wide twister was one of 15 storms that touched down that day but the only one to toy with F5 intensity.

It dipped between F3 and F5 as it roamed 17 miles through the heavily populated areas of Moore, Oklahoma. Schools, hospitals, homes, cars, businesses—nothing remained standing that stood in the twister's path. The storm ripped the bark from trees and scoured miles of ground for 39 terrifying minutes before dispersing into the sky. It left almost $2 billion worth of damage in its wake and claimed over 20 lives.

This is the story of the 2013 Moore, Oklahoma tornado, the last confirmed EF5 tornado to occur on our planet.

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[optimusjd]

It was a very scary day. My wife was in the crosshairs of it. Took me hours after a friend of mine that was in a police car dropped me off as close as possible. I walked miles to get to my wife. The landscape was hellish. I'll never forget it. Thankfully she was lucky and her classroom spared.

[Albert]

My sister died that day... she was trying to get home to her family... her family survived

[Catglittercrafts]

During the Moore High School graduation this year they honored the seven 3rd grade children lost during this tornado when the elementary school roof collapsed. So heartbreaking

[duhdims]

Actually, and ironically, Moore had the last officially rated F5 tornado (1999) before the EF scale was implemented in 2007 and, as of 10-5-22, the last officially rated EF5 tornado (2013)

[princessamber]

I live in Moore, Oklahoma and I can assure you it’s just as scary as it looks! Freaking terrifying! My children go to briarwood but luckily didn’t at that time!

[GaryR]

I'm originally from Northwest Oklahoma City and well remember the F5 in Moore during the 90s. I missed the 2013 event, as I moved to Seattle in 2009.

[storytimewithunclebill]

Incredible. That thing was a monster. Was interesting to watch. Great video

[THEdjpluto]

Vilonia Arkansas - April 27th, 2014
Rochelle Illinois - April 9th, 2015
Bremen Kentucky - December 10th, 2021.

Three high-end EF4 tornadoes since the Moore 2013 event that need a reassessment.

#FixTheEFScale

[thechocolatelabs]

I want to point out something as they stated about the "underwhelming tornado watch" it was actually very extreme (considering that most are pretty low) but a 20% percent chance is really high especially for a significant tornado.

[rhondakennedy]

So scary & can not be predicted! Be kind to one another. Stay safe. Love to all

[paradoxstudios]

Well then what about the El Reno tornado ?, wasn't it larger and didn't it come after ?

[braineeaj]

I’ve heard and seen the aftermath of tornados in those states. Where I live is a lot less destructive. We did have a storm yesterday but in my area it wasn’t bad.

[simkani]

Can you do the Joplin tornado next? Joplin was one of the most tragic tornadoes on record.

[TornadoChickWeatherNetwork]

Title should be fixed to reflect the EF5 rating. the original F scale (Fujita Scale) hasnt been in use since 2006 :)

[dustinosborn]

Good video. I remember that whole month way too vividly.

[therealanus]

This was a crazy day for us okies. There were tornadoes everywhere. Of course we were mostly just sitting on our porch watching them

[the-angel-of-light-gardevoir]

I remember that day we were supposed to see my baby sister in Norman for the first time, and had actually left school early that day, needless to say the school year ended prematurely After that even though I was in the mid-del district to the east of Moore

[yuumijungle]

how is it even possible that a tree gets debarked but is still standing xD

[GevoGenesis]

I watched this storm live on CNN as it happened.

[DrCrabfingers]

I'm trying to imagine the velocity of the up-draught above that tornado to create a funnel of 200mph....the forces at work above a tornado are just mind blowing.