'It's all gone' | Downtown Sulphur leveled by deadly storms (2024)

FAQs

Did Sulphur OK get hit by tornado? ›

SULPHUR, Okla.

– Historic Sulphur, Oklahoma, was left in ruins after a deadly EF-3 tornado spun through the downtown area, destroying everything in its path.

First light tornado damage from Sulphur, Oklahoma was seen on April 28, 2024. Drone footage shows destroyed businesses and homes, as well as cars thrown and turned over from an intense tornado that passed through the town.

Sulphur, Oklahoma. This high-end EF3 tornado initially touched down in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area at 10:24 pm. CDT in Murray County and moved north-northeastward followed by northeastward.

SULPHUR, Okla. — Overnight on April 27, into the early morning hours of April 28, neighbors in Sulphur, Oklahoma, took cover from an apparent tornado. As of the morning of April 28, Governor Kevin Stitt confirmed one person died and more than 30 people are injured and one person is unaccounted for in Sulphur.

Most businesses in downtown Sulphur were completely destroyed by an EF-3 tornado on Saturday night during a severe weather outbreak. FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell said the situation is dangerous because buildings continue to collapse two days after the tornado.

The state with the most number of tornadoes classified as "violent", or F4 and F5, is Kentucky, and the state with the highest average intensity ranking for tornadoes is Alabama.

Tornado alley is typically identified as including parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio. These states, along with the state of Florida, are some of the parts of the US that are most prone to tornadoes, but tornadoes have been recorded in all 50 states.

Deadliest single tornado in US history

The Tri-State tornado of March 18, 1925, killed 695 people in Missouri (11), Illinois (613), and Indiana (71). The outbreak it occurred with was also the deadliest known tornado outbreak, with a combined death toll of 747 across the Mississippi River Valley.

The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense. F5 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between 261 mph (420 km/h) and 318 mph (512 km/h). F5 damage in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, from the May 3, 1999, tornado.

"The town of Sulphur, Oklahoma ... is almost unrecognizable." At least five people were killed as tornadoes swarmed the heartland over the weekend, leaving a path of devastation. ABC News' Mola Lenghi is in Sulphur, Oklahoma, where one person was killed from storm-related injuries and at least 30 others injured.

What is the top level tornado? ›

Out of all those tornadoes, only 60 (0.085 percent) have ever been rated an F5 or EF-5. 59 of those tornadoes touched down in the U.S., with Canada's sole F5 twister hitting Elie, Manitoba, on June 22, 2007. That's an exceptionally small number—and it's not just because violent tornadoes are particularly uncommon.

Sulphur Tornado Damage

Buildings are destroyed in downtown Sulphur, Oklahoma, after a tornado tore through the town on April 27, 2024.

A total of 148 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Sulphur, OK.

Tragedy strikes twice: Barnsdall, Oklahoma, hit by 2nd tornado in 5 weeks. A deadly EF4 twister tore directly through the center of Barnsdall, Oklahoma, on Monday night during the first of many episodes of severe weather across the United States this week.

The killer tornado, which tore through the Oklahoma City suburbs of Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore, Midwest City, and Del City, damaged some 8,000 buildings, killed 46 people, and injured 800. Winds were clocked in excess of 261 mph.

Oklahoma County — home to Oklahoma City and Edmond — see the most tornadoes each year, totaling 125 twisters from 1950 to 2021.

The 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado on May 27, incurred the most damages adjusted for inflation, with an estimated $5.36 billion (2022 USD).