Oklahoma tornado officially an EF5 – wind speeds still less than 1999 Moore tornado

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.

1352v1_20130521-Moore_Tornado-Rotation[1]

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:

1350v1_20130521-Moore-GOES[1]

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.

1349v1_20130520-AirTemp[1]

All imagery from NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab.