Tornado outbreak of May 22–23, 1981

An intense tornado outbreak occurred on May 22 in western and Central Oklahoma and on May 23 from eastern and central Oklahoma to central Iowa. A total of 43 tornadoes were reported during the two-day outbreak, of which 14 were recorded as strong or violent (F2 or greater on the Fujita Scale). The outbreak claimed no fatalities and there were only 12 injuries from a tornado that touched down near Clinton, Oklahoma causing significant damage. The tornado outbreak overall left $32.8 million (1981 USD) in damage.[1][2]

Tornado outbreak of May 22–23, 1981

Path of the Binger, Oklahoma Tornado on May 22, 1981
Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	May 22–23, 1981
Tornadoes confirmed	43 confirmed
Max. rating^1	F4 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak^2	~26 hours
Damage	$32.8 million (1981 USD)
Casualties	12 injuries
Areas affected	Central United States
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale ^2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Storm history

On the morning of May 22, 1981, winds moving in from the south brought moist air across Texas and into western Oklahoma and dry line formed across the Texas panhandle. In addition, the interaction between a layer of warm air aloft and the return flow of moist air led to widespread low clouds across the state of Oklahoma. Later that day, the low clouds broke as predicted by forecasters as the dry line moved east into western Oklahoma. However, the clearing was limited to a relatively narrow zone ahead of the dry line. Despite this, daytime heating allowed thunderstorms to form by mid-afternoon.[1]

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	15	14	11	2	1	0	43

May 22, 1981 event

F#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Oklahoma
F2	N of New Cordell	Washita	2217	6.9 miles (11 km)	See section about this tornado
F1	E of Lake Valley	Washita	2325	1 miles (1.6 km)
F2	E of Cowden	Washita, Caddo	0007	5 miles (8 km)	Tornado damaged a house, outbuildings, trees, power poles, and wheat crop.
F1	SW of Arapaho	Custer	0015	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	Tornado struck several farms, damaging houses, outbuildings, farm equipment, and crops.
F0	W of Albert	Caddo	0029	0.3 miles (0.5 km)
F2	N of Mountain View to W of Eakla	Kiowa, Washita, Caddo	0030	15.4 miles (24.6 km)	A dozen homes were torn apart. Outbuildings, farm equipment, and crops were damaged as well.
F2	N of Stafford	Washita, Custer	0030	10.4 miles (16.6 km)	Barns were destroyed and two homes were damaged in Arapaho. A gas station was completely destroyed.
F4	NE of Binger to Scott	Caddo, Canadian	0049	16.7 miles (26.7 km)	See section about this tornado
F1	NW of Clinton	Custer	0100	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	NW of Union City	Canadian	0132	2 miles (3.2 km)
F3	N of Clinton	Custer	0155	10.3 miles (16.5 km)	A few homes were badly damaged in Clinton. A convenience store was destroyed near Arapaho.
F2	E of Greenfield	Blaine	0340	unknown	Several farms were damaged. A barn on one farm was destroyed, with five-foot-deep concrete moorings ripped out.
F1	NE of Cleveland	Osage	0700	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
Kansas
F0	N of Beverly	Lincoln	2315	0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Minnesota
F0	Moorhead	Clay	2317	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
Source: Tornado History Project – May 22, 1981 Storm Data Grazulis (1981)

May 23, 1981 event

F#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Iowa
F0	S of Clarinda	Page	2032	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	SW of Grant	Montgomery	2032	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	W of Canby	Adair	2115	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	NE of Anita	Cass	2130	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	E of Canby	Adair	2202	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	N of Arbor Hill	Adair	2215	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	S of Dexter	Madison	2236	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	2 miles NE of Maloy or 1 mile west of Benton, to near Ellston.	Ringgold	2300	16 miles (25.4 km)	The tornado touched down around 1 mile west of Benton or 2 miles NE of Maloy just west of the Barker Family Farm. It destroyed several farm buildings there and through its 16-mile track. From the Barker Family Farm, it travelled east to Benton. Several homes near and around Benton were damaged. The tornado continued northeast to NW of Mount Ayr. Loch Ayr Lake was hit and several cabins were damaged. The tornado continued northeast to near Ellston. Near Ellston, at the end of its track, a combine was thrown across a road and wrapped around a tree. Rated an F2 by DSM NWS. No one was killed and no one was reported to be injured. It travelled about 16 miles and was 130 yards wide. It was strongest near Benton and near Ellston. Ringgold County would not be hit by another Tornado until June 1984 during the Upper Midwest Tornado Outbreak.
F1	SE of Earlham	Madison	2328	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	W of Osage	Mitchell	2355	3.8 miles (6.1 km)	Five farms sustained damage. Three barns, three machine sheds, a trailer, and a garage were destroyed.
Oklahoma
F1	E of Bristow	Creek	2100	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	NW of Hoover	Garvin	2200	2 miles (3.2 km)
F0	NW of Lenapah	Noata	2230	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	Sulphur area	Murray	2305	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	SW of McLoud	Pottawatomie	2325	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	SE of Aydelotte	Pottawatomie	2330	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	NE of Copan	Washington, Nowata, Montgomery (KS)	2330	15.2 miles (24.3 km)	Two frame homes and three trailers were destroyed along the track.
F2	NW of Elliot	Nowata	2335	4.5 miles (7.2 km)
F3	Durant area	Bryan	0058	9.7 miles (15.5 km)	Moved along the west edge of Durant. Significant damage to resort property at Lake Texoma. Caused $5,000,00 in damage.
F1	SW of Sasakwa	Bryan	0100	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	E of Colcord	Delaware	0118	unknown
Kansas
F0	NW of Wallula	Leavenworth	2115	2 miles (3.2 km)
F2	W of Scipio	Anderson	2115	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	A trailer was completely destroyed. A farm struck by the tornado sustained heavy damage to the house, outbuildings, and farm equipment.
F1	S of Centerville	Linn	2215	2 miles (3.2 km)
F0	E of Coffeyville	Montgomery	2325	0.5 miles (0.8 km)
F1	SW of Valeda	Montgomery	2340	0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Missouri
F0	W of Ferrelview	Platte	2153	3.8 miles (6.1 km)
F0	N of Nevada	Vernon	2355	0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Source: Tornado History Project – May 23, 1981 Storm Data Grazulis (1981)

New Cordell, Oklahoma

New Cordell, Oklahoma

F2 tornado
Max. rating^1	F2 tornado
Casualties	None
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The first tornado formed northwest of New Cordell, Oklahoma at 4:17 pm (CDT). The tornado damaged a mobile home and several barns as it moved northeast over a six-mile path. The tornado was photographed 5 times by a storm chaser team during a project conducted by the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Mississippi State University. The tornado turned out to be a significant F2. Thankfully, no deaths or injuries were recorded. Storm chasers would go on to nickname the tornado the "Wizard of Oz" tornado because of its unusual ropey shape, which was very resemblant to the twister in the aforementioned movie. In fact, the tornado had no prominent curve at the top as its funnel – much like the Wizard of Oz tornado – as it neared its decaying stage.

Binger–Scott, Oklahoma

Binger–Scott, Oklahoma

F4 tornado
Photograph of the Binger Tornado
Max. rating^1	F4 tornado
Casualties	None
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

A second thunderstorm formed south of the thunderstorm that produced the Cordell tornado. The second thunderstorm moved northeast, causing some concern among officials and forecasters as the storm was heading directly towards Oklahoma City. The second thunderstorm produced 6–12 tornadoes across a wide area stretching from Fort Cobb Reservoir to Union City. The thunderstorm later encountered cooler, less unstable air and dissipated near Oklahoma City.[1]

One of the group of the tornadoes, this violent tornado touched down near Binger at 6:45 pm (CDT). At the time of formation, it was a weak; only causing F1 damage before rapidly intensifying as it approached Scott. It reached F4 status as it passed east of town, and maintained F4 strength as it crossed SH 37 until it dissipated near the Canadian River. Damage from the tornado was severe as it destroyed an old uninhabited house outside of Scott. Two other houses were also destroyed but their walls remained intact. A mile east, the tornado ripped the roof, walls and carport off another house while two more houses were completely destroyed. In addition, the tornado uprooted or damaged several trees and flipped over automobiles and farm equipment during its 16-mile duration.[3]

Near Highway 37, the tornado blew away several storage tanks at an Amoco oil storage facility. One of the tanks, which was out of operation because of a lightning strike, was found 1500 ft south of its original location. The other two tanks blown away by the tornado were never found. A 1/2 mile away, the tornado destroyed a farmhouse and a barn, and wrecked a pickup truck. Because the path of the Binger Tornado was mostly over unpopulated areas along with the early warnings and observations provided to people in the path, there were no fatalities or injuries.[3]

Other tornadoes

After the Binger tornado dissipated, a complex of severe thunderstorms regenerated further west across west-central Oklahoma near Foss Reservoir. The thunderstorms produced at least five tornadoes, one of which affected the area around Clinton, Oklahoma causing 12 injuries. In Alfalfa, Oklahoma, two tornadoes were reported, one which did F2 Damage.[1][4] Thunderstorms along and east of a line from Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Omaha, Nebraska produced 29 tornadoes on May 23 across Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. The same system travelled northwest and produced an F3 tornado that struck Bowl Bay, McCurdy Island on May 25.

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

References

1. Mike Branick (2006). "A Look Back on the Tornado Outbreak in Oklahoma on 22 May 1981—The Binger Tornado" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
2. NCDC (1981). "Oklahoma event details". NOAA. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
3. James R. McDonald; H. Scott Norville & Timothy P. Marshall (2006). "DAMAGE SURVEY OF THE BINGER, OKLAHOMA TORNADO OF MAY 22, 1981". National Severe Storms Laboratory. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
4. NSSL (2006). "Public Domain Tornado Images". Retrieved October 27, 2006.