Binger - El Reno, Oklahoma EF-5 tornado, May 24, 2011

The massive deadly EF-5 tornado that formed near Lookeba and Hinton, Oklahoma and tracked east-northeast to El Reno and Piedmont causing injuries and fatalities. Video was taken from Exit 108 on I-40 and points east. Some of the audio is a TV simulcast on FM radio by KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City. Other radio traffic is the local Skywarn ham radio net.

In the later part of the video David Payne of KFOR-TV can be heard saying he was 3 miles west of the Highway 270 exit. The picnic area we had been stopped at for a while prior to that is located 4.5 miles west of the Highway 270 exit. We were extremely close to the back of the tornado and speed of the inflow winds made it hard to determine if we were also experiencing some of the outer bands of the tornado which at times had multiple vorticies.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• tornado
• may
• 24
• 2011
• Canadian
• Caddo
• Blaine
• County
• El
• Reno
• Hinton
• Binger
• Oklahoma
• Lookeba
• Piedmont
• severe
• thunderstorm
• wedge
• twister
• violent
• wind
• hail
• lightning
• tormenta
• eléctrica
• violenta
• EF-5

[Jamesmark72]

Ok. I just assumed you knew since it said El Reno and it crossed 81 just N of El Reno.

[randy946]

@Jamesmark72 Okay, now I understand. Yes, we were north of El Reno after the tornado passed through and a driver of a semi was being treated by paramedics as we went by. There was a house on the west side of 81 that was heavily damaged too.

[KSWXChaser]

I assume the driver of the semi was ok?

[randy946]

@KSWXChaser Yes, he survived with relatively minor injuries. We later learned there were some cars that we didn't see that were tossed some distance to the north of the interstate with bodies found further away. The thrill of the chase was nullified by the deaths, injuries and damage.

[Jamesmark72]

@randy946 cars thrown near where the house and semi was?

[randy946]

@Jamesmark72 Not sure where you are talking about. I read in the paper later that cars were swept from the Interstate in front of us but we never saw them.

[randy946]

@magarm79 Some people skydive, some race cars, some swim with sharks, some bungee jump. I chase tornadoes. We are all crazy I think, and it's better than being boring. I would rather die in a tornado than in a hospital bed with cancer.

[yamahonkawazuki]

@randy946 i hear you. tornados are a hobby of mine as well. interesting to watch them form, sad when they take lives, destroy ones posessions but, still interesting to witness

[Torn80cj]

It had hail, but surprisingly the hail wasn't huge. This storm came up on me while I was headed back to El Reno. Traffic on the interstate slowed me down, that was when I thought my life was gone to end. Tornado was coming from the west, and people going east were slowing down thinking they were headed at the tornado when the tornado was sneaking up from behind them because they never saw it. I escaped at exit 115 south of Calumet, that was too close for me. I thought my town was gone for sure.

[tstormmoulton1]

Awesome in-depth tornado video, you got here, my good reminiscing-friend...simply enough to take one's own breath away...yikes....the lightning, the very dark skies..the actual tornado..and then the heavy blinding rain-wrappings on the back side of the tornadic mesocyclone..plus the strewn-objects everywhere...you got it all!!!

[richter6969]

This is video my dad shot, I was doing the driving . I have a mid 8 second dragcar............and yes this is right up there with it thrill wise lol.