….was recorded on this date – Feb. 12 – in 1899, according to National Weather Service records.
The temperature fell to -22 on this date 110 years ago.
What will likely become known as the Lone Grove tornado had a 48-mile track through parts of four Oklahoma counties.
Farther north on Tuesday, three tornadoes touched down in or near Oklahoma City, the National Weather Service in Norman confirmed.
The first tornado touched down near Rockwell and Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City, was on the ground for 3/4 of a mile, and was an estimated 30 yards wide. It was rated at EF1.
The second tornado touched down in northern Oklahoma City, moved north-northeast through Edmond and lifted north of the town. It was on the ground for 6.5 miles, was about 75 yards wide and had a maximum rating of EF2.
The third tornado in the Oklahoma City area touched down west of Meridian, was on the ground for 3/4 of a mile, was 20 yards wide and had an EF0 rating. The track was distinctive, in that it included a sharp left turn. That’s not unusual for tornadoes as they weaken, meteorologists have told me in the past…though the hard left turn caught my eye. If the tornado’s track was placed on a clock face, it would give the time as 8:05.
The number of people killed by the tornado that hit Lone Grove Tuesday night has climbed to 9, authorities said. A man critically injured by debris has died at a Dallas hospital.
Preliminary damage surveys by the National Weather Service estimate the tornado was EF-4 in strength and about a half-mile wide as it struck Lone Grove. The tornado touched down next to the Red River, southeast of Petersburg, moved northeast through Lone Grove, crossed I-35 north of Ardmore and lifted southeast of Doherty.
I’ll have more on this tornado and on the three tornadoes that touched down in or near Oklahoma City later today.