[6] The deadliest and most powerful devastated Bridge Creek, Moore and surrounding suburbs of Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999, where 41 people were killed.

The first violent tornado to be rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale in Oklahoma hit the town of Picher on May 10, 2008, killing 21 people and inflicting an estimated $15,000,000 (2008 USD)[11] in damages to structures and farms along a 75.5 mi (121.5 km) spanning from Craig County in Oklahoma to Barry County in Missouri.

Two storage tanks estimated to weigh approximately 10 tons were lifted from Orr Family Farm and landed about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) mile east.

Moving east, the tornado destroyed much of Briarwood Elementary School, where the National Weather Service storm survey team rated damage as EF5.

After crossing Santa Fe Avenue, the tornado moved through more suburban neighborhoods and toward Plaza Towers Elementary School.

[30] This deadly F5 tornado was caused by a strong low pressure system that developed across the Rocky Mountains, near Denver, Colorado.

[35] Moving at an average forward speed of 42 to 50 mph (68 to 80 km/h), this large and violent tornado was first confirmed near Canadian, Texas.

Press reports told of two people who were known to be together in Glazier before the tornado struck were found three miles (4.8 km) apart afterward.

Many homes and businesses were leveled or swept away, and as the tornado struck the town's power plant, a 20-tonne (20,000 kg) steel boiler tank was lofted and thrown a block and a half.

The tornado finally dissipated in Woods County, west of Alva, where it wrecked 36 homes and injured 30 people.

Four-year-old Joan Gay Croft and her sister Jerri were among refugees taking shelter in a basement hallway of the Woodward hospital.

The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornado was the sixth deadliest in U.S. history, killing 184 and injuring 980; of these figures, 116 deaths and 782 injuries occurred in Oklahoma.

Illuminated by nearly constant lightning, the tornado was highly visible as it bisected the base, tossing around planes which were parked in the open.

The control tower reported a 78-mile-per-hour (126 km/h) wind gust before the windows shattered, injuring several personnel with flying glass.

Along with destroying nearly 200 homes,[40] the tornado also demolished the town's main employers including the Acme Foundry and the Hazel Atlas Glass plant.

Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed, many of which were swept away, including a 30-by-40 foot concrete block building that was obliterated, with the foundation left mostly bare of any debris.

Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled beyond recognition, including a pickup truck that was wrapped around a tree and stripped of everything but its frame and tires.

The deadliest in Oklahoma moved through Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore and Del City on May 3, 1999; the tornado, which received an F5 rating, had the highest measured windspeeds ever recorded on Earth, at 321 miles per hour (517 km/h).

[9] Another F4 tornado that had killed 42 people in Wichita Falls, Texas moved into Jefferson County, but caused no deaths along the Oklahoma portion of its path.

Through the afternoon to evening hours of May 3, 1999, the largest tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history would take place across the central portions of the state.

The tornado covered 38 miles (61 km) during its 85-minute existence, destroying thousands of homes, killing 36 people (plus an additional five indirectly), and leaving US$1 billion (1999 USD) in damage,[50] ranking it as the fifth-costliest on record not accounting for inflation.

The tornado first touched down at 6:23 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) in Grady County, roughly two miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of the town of Amber.

It quickly intensified into a violent F4, and gradually reached F5 status after traveling 6.5 miles (10.5 km), at which time it struck the town of Bridge Creek.

It fluctuated in strength, ranging from F2 to F5 status before it crossed into Cleveland County where it reached F5 intensity for a third time shortly before entering the city of Moore.

[54] As of February 2025, a total of 1,220 tornadoes, 41 being intense, have killed over 99 people in Oklahoma since the implementation of the Enhanced Fujita Scale in 2007.

[56][57] The widest tornado ever recorded, which reached a peak width of 4576 yd (4184 m) (2.6 miles), moved through rural farmland south of El Reno on May 31, 2013, killing eight people.

Remaining over mostly open terrain, the tornado did not impact many structures; however, measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme winds in excess of 313 mph (504 km/h) within the vortex.

[65] Although the tornado remained over mostly open terrain, dozens of storm chasers unaware of its immense size and erratic movement were caught off-guard.

Near U.S. 81, TWISTEX scientist and engineer Tim Samaras, along with his son Paul and research partner Carl Young, died in the tornado.

Paul Samaras and Young were ejected from their Chevrolet Cobalt by the storm's sub-vortex, while Tim was still buckled in the passenger's seat.