Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Tulsa on Wednesday said an EF-1 tornado caused damage on June 7 to parts of northwest McAlester while damaging winds up to 95 mph caused damage from McAlester into Krebs.
The NWS said the tornado formed at 5:52 a.m. June 7 just west of the intersection of Pyle Mountain Road and Pine Tree Road, northeast of Arpelar, and traveled east/south across the Indian Nations Turnpike and moved into the area of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in northwest McAlester.
“The strong push of wind, that initially contributed to the development of the tornado, strengthened further and became the dominant feature,” meteorologists said. “The tornado dissipated in north McAlester after crossing north Main Street.”
According to the coordinates provided by the NWS, the tornado ended near the intersection of East Short Avenue and North Sixth Street in McAlester.
The report says the tornado dissipated at 6:01 a.m. and was approximately 1.1 miles wide with an 8.83-mile-long damage path.
NWS Tulsa said a swath of winds up to 95 mph moved from southwest McAlester across the east part of downtown and continued into Krebs.
“Many trees were downed due to the combination of the tornado and winds,” NWS Tulsa said in their report. “Many homes and businesses were damaged from falling trees and the force of the wind.”
Meteorologists ended their report by saying they greatly appreciated the tour of the area provided by the McAlester/Pittsburg County Office of Emergency Management.