| Duration: | August 6, 2017 |
| Tornadoes: | 4 |
| Fujita-Scale: | EF2 |
| Duration: | 54 minutes |
| Winds: | NaNmph (Estimated by damage survey) |
| Season: | Tornadoes of 2017 |
On August 6, 2017, a series of four damaging tornadoes occurred as a result of a bow echo that formed and moved through Tulsa, Oklahoma. Major damage was inflicted on a shopping and office area in midtown Tulsa due to an EF2 tornado. There were no fatalities, although 30 people were injured.
The day of severe weather was first mentioned by the Storm Prediction Center on July 30 for the Day 7 outlook. At the time, it was given a "PREDICTABILITY TOO LOW" designation. It was downgraded to "POTENTIAL TOO LOW" for Day 5 on August 1, but was reupgraded to "PREDICTABILITY TOO LOW."[2]
The storms that formed in Kansas on the afternoon of August 5 moved southeastward into northeastern Oklahoma and was expected to weaken during the overnight hours. However, the bow echo unexpectedly restrengthened as it entered the Tulsa metropolitan area and spawned four tornadoes with the first one being the EF2 tornado that struck the southeastern part of Tulsa.[2]
| Location | County / Parish | State | Start Coord. | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max width | Summary | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=# | EF2 | Southeastern Tulsa to N of Broken Arrow | Tulsa | OK | 06:19–06:25 | 6.9abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 550abbr=onNaNabbr=on | See section on this tornado – 30 people were injured and losses totaled $50 million.[3] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | N of Broken Arrow | Tulsa, Wagoner | OK | 06:27–06:31 | 2.9abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 400abbr=onNaNabbr=on | Numerous homes sustained roof damage, and numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted. The roof of an outbuilding was blown off.[4] [5] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | E of Oologah | Rogers | OK | 06:32–06:40 | 4.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 200abbr=onNaNabbr=on | Barns, trees, and a home were damaged. Power poles were snapped.[6] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | S of Chelsea | Rogers, Mayes | OK | 07:11–07:13 | 0.9abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 400abbr=onNaNabbr=on | An agricultural building sustained minor roof damage.[7] [8] | |
| Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
| Formed: | August 6, 2017, 1:19 a.m. CDT |
| Duration: | 6 minutes |
| Dissipated: | August 6, 2017, 1:25 a.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Basin: | atl |
| Fujita-Scale: | EF2 |
| Winds: | NaNmph (Estimated by damage survey) |
| Fatalities: | 0 |
| Injuries: | 30 |
| Damages: | $50 million (2017 USD) |
| Affected: | Tulsa County, Oklahoma |
The tornado formed at 1:19 A.M. CDT (Or Local Time) (06:19 UTC) south of East 36th Street South and east of South Harvard Avenue and eventually shifted west before heading to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma at around 1:25 A.M. The worst damage along its 6.9adj=midNaNadj=mid path was in midtown Tulsa (between South Sheridan Road and South Yale Avenue, near East 41st Street South), where several buildings had their roofs removed and outer walls collapsed. The 18-story Remington Tower office building (near Skelly Drive and 41st Street) underwent dramatic facade and window damage. Many offices in the building were further damaged by having equipment and furnishings inside sucked through the windows and falling to the ground below. The tornado also caused roof and structural damage to Promenade Mall and impacted infrastructure at the BOK Financial Corporation operations center (near 41st and Sheridan), rendering its online, mobile and automated telephone systems inoperable. More than 7 people were rescued from T.G.I. Friday's at 41st and Yale Avenue, after the roof collapsed into the building.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
This was the first tornado to hit the Tulsa area in the month of August since 1958 (and only the 3rd to strike the area since 1950), the tornado injured 26 people – with two seriously injured – in the east part of the city. Even with the tornado detectable on radar, the Tulsa County Emergency Management Agency did not begin civil defense sirens in the area because the National Weather Service did not issue a tornado warning until 1:25 a.m., after which time an EF1 tornado had entered Broken Arrow, damaging multiple home roofs and several large tree branches.[14] [15] A second EF1 tornado hit east of Oologah at 1:32 a.m. CDT (06:32 UTC), damaging several trees, barns and a home, downing multiple telephone poles.[10] [16]