1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado
Clockwise from top: View of the tornado near its peak intensity in Bridge Creek; track of the F5 tornado (center track) and other tornadoes near Oklahoma City during the outbreak; damage to an overpass from the tornado; foundation of a home that was swept clean at F5 intensity in Bridge Creek; radar image of the tornado with a debris ball evident, as it approached the city of Moore | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 3, 1999, 6:23 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | May 3, 1999, 7:48 pm. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Duration | 1 hour, 25 minutes |
| F5 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Path length | 38 miles (61 km) |
| Highest winds | 321 mph (517 km/h) (as measured by mobile Doppler radar) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 36 (+5 indirect) |
| Injuries | 583 |
| Damage | $1 billion (1999 USD) $1.9 billion (2025 USD) |
| Areas affected | Grady, McClain, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties in Oklahoma; with the worst impacts occurring in the towns/cities of Bridge Creek, Moore, Oklahoma City, Del City, and Midwest City |
Part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak and Tornadoes of 1999 | |
The 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado was a large, long-lived, and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado in which the highest tornado wind speed ever measured with a doppler radar was recorded at 321 miles per hour (517 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels. Considered the strongest tornado ever recorded to have affected the metropolitan area, the tornado devastated southern portions of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as well as surrounding municipalities to the south and southwest of the city during the early evening hours of Monday, May 3, 1999. The tornado covered 38 miles (61 km) during its 85-minute existence, destroying thousands of homes, killing 36 people (plus another five indirectly), and leaving US$1 billion (1999 USD) in damage, ranking it as the fifth-costliest on record not accounting for inflation. Its severity prompted the first-ever use of the tornado emergency statement by the National Weather Service.
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, where parts of the community were rendered unrecognizable. 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. By 7:30 p.m., the tornado crossed into Oklahoma County and battered southeastern Oklahoma City, Del City, and Midwest City before dissipating around 7:48 p.m. just outside Midwest City. The greatest impacts from this tornado occurred near peak intensity in the densely populated southern suburbs and exurbs of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. A total of 8,132 homes, 1,041 apartments, 260 businesses, eleven public buildings, and seven churches were damaged or destroyed.
Large-scale search and rescue operations immediately took place in the affected areas. A major disaster declaration was signed by President Bill Clinton the following day (May 4) allowing the state to receive federal aid. In the following months, disaster aid amounted to $67.8 million. Reconstruction projects in subsequent years led to a safer, tornado-ready community. On May 20, 2013, nearby areas adjacent to the 1999 storm's track were again devastated by another large and violent EF5 tornado, resulting in 24 fatalities and extreme damage in the South Oklahoma City/Moore area.