National Weather Service survey teams from Norman, Oklahoma have found damage in Marietta consistent with a rare powerful EF-4 tornado, the first in the state since 2022. More than 20 tornadoes have been confirmed in Oklahoma since this weekend’s severe weather outbreak.
MARIETTA, Okla. – A deadly tornado that took a path of destruction across southern Oklahoma on Saturday night has been rated EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, marking the state’s first violent-rated tornado in nearly eight years.
According to the National Weather Service storm survey, the nighttime twister had winds between 165 and 170 mph along its 27-mile path.
The tornado started crossing Interstate 35 just after 11 pm CDT before moving into Marietta, where one person was killed. It was on the ground for about 25 minutes before lifting several miles north of Dickson.
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES TEAR ACROSS AMERICA’S HEARTLAND LEAVING 5 DEAD IN TWO STATES IN WORST OUTBREAK OF 2024
The path of an EF-4 tornado that happened in Oklahoma on April 27, 2024, is seen highlighted in dark red.
(NOAA/NWS)
According to a tweet by the NWS office in Norman, this marks Oklahoma’s first EF-4 tornado since a twister near Katie, Oklahoma, on May 9, 2016. That twister also killed one person before dissipating near Interstate 35.
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This is the first EF-4 tornado in the US since March 31, 2023. That was when a twister with winds of 170 mph struck Keota, Iowa, during a dayslong tornado outbreak that killed 31 people across six states.
At least 5 people have been killed across two states during the most recent outbreak that produced at least 50 tornadoes since April 25.
Video recorded in Marietta, Oklahoma, shows catastrophic damage left behind when a tornado ripped through the community on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
