at 11:11 AM by Pierce Larkin

Today is the 3 Year Anniversary of the Moore Tornado

On this day 3 years ago, an infamous tornado touched down to the west of the central Oklahoma town of Moore. The Moore tornado was an EF-5 monster that traversed through the city, and did an incredible amount of damage as it passed through the town. I remember watching coverage on The Weather Channel of the storm, and after the tornado rolled through, pictures began coming in. That was when I began to realize how bad the tornado actually was.

h/t NWS Norman, OK
h/t NWS Norman, OK

Meteorologically, the day had fairly good features. Central OK was in the right entrance region of the mid and upper level jet streaks, and this was good for upward vertical motion. Additionally, there was a good wind shear present across the region, allowing for storms to develop strong rotation.

Wind Shear numbers from an observed sounding in Norman, OK that day. h/t SPC
Wind Shear numbers from an observed sounding in Norman, OK that day. h/t SPC
Instability numbers from an observed sounding in Norman, OK that day. h/t SPC
Instability numbers from an observed sounding in Norman, OK that day. h/t SPC

With ample and deep moisture present across the region during the day, cloud bases were low which is favorable for tornadogenesis. There was a strong dryline just to the west of Moore, OK, and this was one of the more significant forcing mechanisms that day. Additionally, ample moisture allowed for the atmosphere to have plenty of instability to work with. These, along with other factors, allowed for supercells to produce tornadoes on this day. And the Moore tornado wasn’t ordinary.

This shows the dryline across central OK on May 20, 2013. h/t UCAR Archive
This shows the dryline across central OK on May 20, 2013. h/t UCAR Archive
The radar imagery of the storm from the NWS in Norman, OK. One of the key portions of this storm was that it took a slightly right turn, and this increased the shear relative to the storm. h/t NWS Norman
The storm relative velocity from the NWS in Norman, OK. The Moore tornado signature on radar is easy to see track across Moore. h/t NWS Norman
The satellite imagery shows the explosive convective development that day. h/t NWS Norman

This was one of the more devastating tornadoes to hit in quite sometime, as two elementary schools took direct hits from it. Keep the folks effected by this in your thoughts and prayers today, as I am sure this is a somber day to remember for those folks. These are the days that meteorologists hate, and they force them to reevaluate their practices, forecasting techniques and communication skills. I’ll leave you with some photos and videos from the event.

h/t NWS Norman
h/t NWS Norman