The map below shows ‘Tornado Tracks Streak Across Oklahoma’ as measured by doppler radar.
The rotation of tornadoes creates a distinctive signature in radar data, and can be used to estimate the track that the system takes over land. This image shows the rotational velocity of the systems that passed over Oklahoma on the afternoon of May 20, 2013. A single cohesive structure can be seen to cut across seven counties, with Moore directly in the middle.
The rotational velocity data, being run experimentally by the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, is helping to identify potential tornado structures and increase lead-time for severe weather warnings.
Here is an excerpt from the public information statement just released by NWS where they designate EF5 from damage surveys.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DISPATCHED FOUR DAMAGE SURVEY TEAMS TO THE PATH OF THE NEWCASTLE/MOORE OK TORNADO. NEW STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS THESE TEAMS REPORT FINDINGS. THIS INFORMATION REMAINS PRELIMINARY AND THE INFORMATION HERE COULD CHANGE. .NEWCASTLE/MOORE TORNADO RATING: EF5 ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 200-210 MPH PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 17 MILES PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 1.3 MILES FATALITIES: N/A INJURIES: N/A START DATE: MAY 20 2013 START TIME: 2:45 PM CDT START LOCATION: 4.4 W NEWCASTLE /GRADY COUNTY /OK START LAT/LON: 35.2580 / -97.6775 END DATE: MAY 20 2013 END TIME: 3:35 PM CDT END LOCATION: 4.8 E OF MOORE OK /CLEVELAND COUNTY /OK END LAT/LON: 35.3409 / -97.4007 SURVEY SUMMARY: EXPERTS SURVEYING IN MOORE HAVE DETERMINED DAMAGE IS EF5 WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OVER 200 MPH. FOUR SURVEY TEAMS CONTINUE TO INSPECT DAMAGE FROM THIS LONG TRACK TORNADO. INITIAL DAMAGE WAS FOUND AROUND 4.4 MILES WEST OF NEWCASTLE...SOUTH OF TECUMSEH ROAD ALSO KNOWN AS NW 16TH STREET AND EAST LAKE ROAD. THE TORNADO TRACKED NE TO THE INTERSTATE 44 BRIDGE OVER THE CANADIAN RIVER AND THEN TOOK A MORE EASTWARD TRACK THROUGH MOORE. TORNADO DAMAGE ABRUPTLY ENDS 0.3 MILES EAST OF AIR DEPOT ROAD AND N OF SE 134TH ST.INITIALLY PRODUCING EF0 AND EF1 DAMAGE THE STORM INTENSIFIED VERY RAPIDLY IN 4 MILES OR AROUND 10 MINUTES PRODUCING EF4 DAMAGE BEFORE REACHING INTERSTATE 44. NUMEROUS INDICATIONS OF EF4 DAMAGE WITH SOME AREAS NOW DETERMINED AT EF5 DAMAGE...THE HIGHEST CATEGORY ON THE EF SCALE...WITH OVER 200 MPH WINDS.
That 200-210 mph wind speed estimate is still far lower than the 1999 Oklahoma Bridge Creek-Moore tornado which had winds measured at 301mph:
…a Doppler On Wheels (DOW: Wurman et al. 1997, Wurman 2001) mobile Doppler weather radar detected winds of 301 mph (484 km/h), ±20 mph inside the tornado at a height of 32 m AGL (Wurman et al. 2007)
Here is what the storms looked like from satellite:
Note the collision of a strong cold and dry air mass with a warm moist air mass was the trigger for this event, “global warming” had nothing to do with it.
All imagery from NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab.
![1352v1_20130521-Moore_Tornado-Rotation[1]](https://i0.wp.com/wattsupwiththat.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/1352v1_20130521-moore_tornado-rotation1.png?resize=640%2C360)
![1350v1_20130521-Moore-GOES[1]](https://i0.wp.com/wattsupwiththat.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/1350v1_20130521-moore-goes1.png?resize=640%2C360)
![1349v1_20130520-AirTemp[1]](https://i0.wp.com/wattsupwiththat.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/1349v1_20130520-airtemp1.png?resize=640%2C360)

