By John Dobberstein, Editor
The National Weather Service in Tulsa confirmed that a very small tornado did touch down in Broken Arrow during Friday’s night’s deadly severe weather outbreak across the state.
NWS surveyors said the EF0 tornado developed shortly after 8 p.m. just south of the Muskogee Turnpike, eastof S. 225th East Avenue, and moved northeast across a neighborhood west of S. 241st East Avenue.
It then traveled into the southern portion of the The Club at Forest Ridge, uprooting a few trees, damage the roofs of several homes, snapping large tree limbs and blowing down large section of privacy fences.
The NWS estimated the tornado had peak winds of 80-85 mph and traveled 1.5 miles, with a maximum path width of 130 yards.
The NWS also confirmed a tornado struck north Tulsa around 6:24 p.m. and caused considerable damage. This twister developed near N. Gilcrease Museum Road, north of W. Newton Street and moved northeast, damaging a number of homes, the roof of an apartment complex, uprooting trees, and snapping numerous large tree limbs in neighborhoods west of N. Tisdale Parkway.
The tornado crossed into Tulsa County near W. Apache Street, where it damaged more homes and trees between the county line and Gilcrease Expressway. It continued to move northeast, damaging many homes north of the Gilcrease Expressway,and intensified as it approached E. 36th Street North.
An office building was severely damaged, and the Tulsa Technology Center was severely damaged as the tornado approached N. Peoria Avenue. The tornado moved north-northeast across E. 46th Street North and dissipated north of E. 61st Street North. Many homes and mobile homes were damaged in that portion of the path.
The EF1 tornado had winds of 105 to 110 mph and traveled 6 miles with a maximum path width of 600 yards.
The NWS also confirmed tornadoes in Bristow, Inola, Beggs, Owasso, Collinsville and Castle. The Beggs tornado, rated an EF3, damaged the Beggs Public Schools campus and resulted in two fatalities and two injuries.
The two people killed were in a manufactured home that was completely destroyed by the massive tornado, which was on the ground for nearly 7 miles packing winds of 135 to 140 mph. Officials confirmed that Todd and Becky McClellan of Beggs died in the storm.
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