Weather On This Day
EF5Oklahoma

2013 Moore Tornado

May 20, 2013 · 2:56 p.m. CDT

Deaths
24
Injuries
212
Path length
14 mi
Peak wind
210 mph
Damage
$2.0B

Fast Facts

Date
May 20, 2013
Time (local)
2:56 p.m. CDT
EF Rating
EF5
Deaths
24 (incl. 7 children at Plaza Towers Elementary)
Injuries
212
Path length
14.0 miles
Maximum width
1.3 miles (2,100 yards)
Duration on ground
39 minutes
Peak estimated wind
210 mph
Damage
$2.0 billion (2013 USD)
Notable
Third major tornado to hit Moore since 1999

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center; NWS post-event damage survey.

Path Map

Hover or tap any marker for details
Touchdown
Significant damage point
Dissipation

The Event

The 2013 Moore tornado was the most lethal tornado in Oklahoma since 1999 and the third major strike on Moore in fourteen years. It formed during a multi-day severe weather outbreak driven by a slow-moving upper-level low, strong moisture return from the Gulf, and a sharpening dryline over central Oklahoma. On the afternoon of May 20, a supercell thunderstorm matured rapidly northeast of Chickasha and rotated tightly enough to produce a tornado at 2:56 p.m. CDT near Newcastle.

Path and Impact

The tornado tracked east-northeast at roughly 25 mph, gaining intensity as it crossed the Canadian River and entered the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City. Over the next 39 minutes it traveled 14 miles with a peak width of 1.3 miles. Damage classifications followed the path: - Touchdown through Newcastle: EF1-EF3 damage to rural properties - Across the Canadian River into Moore city limits: intensification to EF4 - Briarwood Elementary: direct EF5 hit, school destroyed, no fatalities at the school - Residential area south of SW 149th Street: widespread EF4-EF5 damage - Plaza Towers Elementary: direct EF5 hit, seven children killed when a hallway collapsed - Moore Medical Center: severely damaged, evacuated during the event - East Moore into southeast Oklahoma City: rapid weakening, dissipation at 3:35 p.m. A 2013 NWS damage survey confirmed peak winds above 200 mph based on complete scouring of concrete foundations, ground scarring, and complete loss of anchored residential structures. The $2 billion damage estimate covered more than 1,150 destroyed homes and dozens of businesses.

Schools and Shelter

The deaths at Plaza Towers Elementary dominated the national response to the 2013 Moore tornado. The school had no designated tornado safe room, and students and staff sheltered in interior hallways following standard drill protocols. The hallway ceiling collapsed when a support beam failed under the tornado's direct hit. Seven children, ages 8 and 9, died. Two adults saved several students by shielding them with their own bodies. Briarwood Elementary, struck with equal intensity minutes earlier, also had no safe room but experienced different structural failure modes that allowed for full evacuation without fatalities. The discrepancy drove a statewide conversation about mandatory safe rooms in Oklahoma schools. Plaza Towers was rebuilt by 2014 with a FEMA P-361 compliant safe room funded partly through private donations. A 2014 statewide bond issue for school storm shelters was defeated at the ballot, but many individual districts funded their own construction over the following decade.

Warning and Lead Time

The NWS Norman office issued a tornado warning at 2:40 p.m., sixteen minutes before touchdown, and upgraded to a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" tornado emergency at 2:50 p.m. — six minutes before touchdown. Local television coverage in Oklahoma City tracked the storm live using tower-mounted cameras and provided real-time path projections. By the standards of EF5 tornadoes, the Moore 2013 event had exceptional warning lead time and public information, which contributed to a relatively low death toll of 24 despite the tornado's strength and population exposure.

Moore, Oklahoma in Context

Moore's population at the time of the 2013 tornado was approximately 57,000, and the May 20 event was its fifth tornado of F3+ intensity in 14 years: May 3, 1999 (F5), October 9, 2001 (F3), May 8, 2003 (F4), May 10, 2010 (EF4), and May 20, 2013 (EF5). Researchers have studied the cluster extensively; the consensus remains that there is no physical reason for the frequency of strikes beyond the general tornado climatology of central Oklahoma. Moore has since become one of the most studied communities in US severe-weather research.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the Moore tornado happen?

The Moore tornado touched down at 2:56 p.m. CDT on Monday, May 20, 2013, near Newcastle, Oklahoma. It remained on the ground for 39 minutes, tracking east-northeast through Moore and into southeast Oklahoma City before dissipating at 3:35 p.m.

How many died in the Moore tornado?

Twenty-four people died in the 2013 Moore tornado, including seven children at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit. Another 212 people were injured. Seven other deaths were recorded in the broader outbreak that day.

What EF rating was the 2013 Moore tornado?

The 2013 Moore tornado was rated EF5, with peak winds estimated at 210 mph. It is one of only four EF5 tornadoes confirmed in the United States during the 2010s. Survey teams documented concrete foundations swept clean and complete destruction of anchored residential structures.

How is the 2013 Moore tornado different from the 1999 Moore tornado?

Both tornadoes hit essentially the same area, but the 1999 Moore tornado (also F5, on May 3, 1999) had higher peak winds — the strongest ever measured by mobile Doppler radar at 301 mph — and a longer 38-mile path, killing 36. The 2013 event had a wider destruction footprint at maximum intensity and struck a more densely developed area.

Why does Moore, Oklahoma get hit by so many tornadoes?

Moore lies in the heart of "Tornado Alley" in central Oklahoma, an area with frequent supercell development driven by Gulf moisture, dryline convergence, and strong upper-level jet dynamics in spring. Between 1998 and 2015, Moore or its immediate surroundings were struck by five significant tornadoes (F3 or stronger). Meteorologists regard it as a statistical fluke rather than a geographic anomaly.

Which schools were hit by the Moore tornado?

Two Moore elementary schools took direct EF5 hits: Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers Elementary. Briarwood was evacuated with only minor injuries, but seven children died at Plaza Towers when an interior hallway collapsed. The school was rebuilt with a FEMA-compliant safe room and reopened in 2014.

Sources

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