2012 Woodward tornado

During the overnight hours of April 14–15, 2012, a destructive and deadly EF3 tornado would strike the Oklahoma towns of Arnett and Woodward, destroying numerous homes, killing six people and injuring 29 others. The tornado was the second strongest and only fatal tornado during a major three-day tornado outbreak that lasted from April 13th to April 16th and was the strongest to hit Woodward in over 65 years.

The tornado touched three miles to the northeast of Arnett, intensifying to EF2 to EF3 strength as it destroyed several wood-framed homes in the sparsely populated regions nearby. The tornado continued to cause intense damage as it crossed into Woodward County, destroying two mobile homes and inflicting its first two fatalities before entering southwestern Woodward, where the tornado destroyed numerous homes and businesses, including a movie theater, a large Carpet Direct store and a Mutual Of Omaha Customer Support Center. The tornado then struck the Hideaway Mobile Home Park where another four fatalities occurred as numerous mobile homes were shredded. The tornado then rapidly began to weaken as it left town before dissipating four miles to the northeast.

Meteorological Synopsis

In the days before April 14th, a strong dryline and a large low-pressure area had developed across western Kansas and Oklahoma. A strong upper-level low had also developed that further increased the potential for severe weather in the region. Cape values of up to 3000 J/KG began to develop across the front, while simultaneously wind shear drastically increased as relative helicities of 400 M2/S2 prompted the Storm Prediction Center, at 0600 UTC to issue a day-two high risk for central Kansas and Oklahoma (which is the most recent time a day two high risk has been issued at 0600 UTC and was the first time a day-two high risk had happened in over 6 years), with a 45% chance of tornadoes and potential for an outbreak of multiple long-tracked, strong-to-violent tornadoes being noted. Strong heating occurred throughout much of the day contributing to the instability in the region.

At around 2:30 p.m. the first supercells of the day would begin to fire, with the first report of a tornado occurring at 4:00 p.m. A thunderstorm that had formed ahead of a nearby squall line began to rapidly intensify at around 11:30 p.m., dropping the Woodward tornado 12 minutes later.

Tornado Summary The tornado touched down three miles to the northeast of Arnett, Oklahoma, traveling through sparsely populated rural regions as it continued on it's northeastern track before rapidly intensifying to EF3 strength as several homes suffered severe damage to their exterior walls and roofs, including two that were completely destroyed. The tornado would then slightly weaken as it crossed northwestward into Woodward County, snapping power lines and destroying two mobile homes at EF2 intensity to the southeast of Fargo, resulting in two fatalities.The tornado then entered southwestern Woodward at high-end EF3 intensity, destroying numerous homes on Meadowlake Drive with only small interior rooms and walls remaining and snapping nearby trees. The tornado weakened slightly to low-end EF3 intensity on Quail Drive as a poorly built home was completely destroyed with nearby homes suffering roof and exterior wall damage before reaching peak intensity on Willowwest Drive as a well-built home was completely destroyed at high-end EF3 intensity, though surrounding contextual damage was not supportive of a rating higher than EF3. The tornado then weakened back to EF2 intensity on Robin Drive as three homes suffered severe damage to their roof structures and nearby homes suffered moderate damage to their roofs and exterior walls as well. The tornado then re-intensified to low-end EF3 intensity on Lakeside Lane as a home had its exterior walls completely collapsed inwards and multiple condominiums around it suffered similar EF3 intensity damage to their roof structures and exterior walls, including a poorly anchored one-story condominium that completely collapsed and was partially swept from its foundation. A nearby 10,000-foot Carpet Direct store on 34th street was completely destroyed with its exterior walls collapsed and its metal support beams bent and nearby cars were flipped and thrown, including a large truck that was thrown into the ruins of the Carpet Direct, while the nearby Lakeside Theatre suffered severe damage as nearly half of the building was completely destroyed and its entire roof structure was ripped off. The tornado continued to the northeast at EF3 intensity as trees were snapped, metal signs were bent to the ground and the Mutual of Omaha Customer Service Center was struck at low-end EF3 intensity, with exterior walls collapsing, the roof structure failing, and nearby decorative trees being debarked and defoliated. Crossing U.S. Route 183 to the northeast, the tornado would maintain EF2 to EF3 intensity as it continued to rip off roofs and collapse or completely destroy the exterior walls of multiple wood-framed homes throughout western Woodward. The tornado then struck the Hideaway Mobile Home Park, resulting in four fatalities as dozens of mobile homes were completely destroyed, including several that were thrown with their metal frames completely mangled. Ground scouring and debarking and uprooting of trees also occurred in the area, with mud coating the scattered debris. The tornado then began to rapidly weaken with no further damage noted as it exited Woodward, dissipating 4 miles to the northeast.Woodward Death Toll Rises To 6, KOCO-TV, April 16, 2012.

Aftermath

Damage and Fatalities Over $26 million in damages was inflicted along the tornados 34-mile-long path, including 73 homes that suffered significant damage and another 19 that were completely destroyed. An additional 9 businesses suffered severe damage with 2 others suffering minor damage as well. Additionally, over 8,507 Oklahoma Gas & Electric customers in Woodward were reported to have lost power as a result of the tornado and preceding storms. Six fatalities occurred, all of which were outside or in mobile homes, including 3 children. One, Steve Peil, was mortally wounded and later died in an Amarillo, Texas hospital. Some survivors of the previous 1947 Woodward Tornado were also impacted by this tornado as well, including Wilma Nelson, a 65-year-old woman who was struck in the head by a large piece of drywall after her home suffered significant damage to its roof and some exterior walls. She was later interviewed by local news stations.

Below is a list of the six fatalities caused by the tornado. NameAgeLocation of deathRefs.Faith Dean Hobbie7Hideaway Mobile Home ParkMarie Hobbie4Hideaway Mobile Home ParkFrank Hobbie24Hideaway Mobile Home ParkSteve Peil63Hideaway Mobile Home ParkRose Marie Juul10Rural Ellis CountyDerrin Juul41Rural Ellis County

Recovery Process and Legacy

Following the tornado, Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency for the 12 most impacted counties, including Ellis and Woodward County. After touring the damage and delivering a speech in which she offered her prayers to those affected, she requested federal disaster aid, which was denied. Following a statement in which Governor Fallin said that she was "Extremely disappointed" by the decision, she requested disaster aid from the U.S Small Business Administration, which was accepted, with interest on disaster loans being significantly lowered on large disaster loans to businesses, renters and homeowners who had been impacted by the tornado, with long-term aid for businesses that suffered from sustained economic damage. First responders helped clean up debris and rescued people that were trapped by debris. Many volunteers from across the state arrived to aid in the cleanup and recovery process while the American Red Cross, which had received over 50,000 dollars in aid from the Woodward Regional Hospital, and the Salvation Army provided food, shelter and other supplies to those impacted. The Oklahoma Southern Baptist Men helped remove trees and debris as well as provided clothing, while the Living Word Fellowship Church provided food. The Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps was deployed to provide free tetanus vaccines to these volunteers. Around 800 five-gallon buckets containing resources for volunteer work, including trash bags, flashlights, shovels and rakes, as well as a miniature American flag, were handed out to volunteers and to homes near heavily damaged areas by city officials, along with over 1.500 meals for first responders and those affected. The Lakeside Theatre was later purchased by Mitchell Theatres, a regional chain, being refurbished with six new digital screens. Country singer Larry Gatlin wrote the song "I Can Build Another House", which was inspired by the community's recovery from the tornado, and performed for free in the city of Woodward at the Crystal Beach Stadium. Near the trailer park, where the majority of fatalities occurred, a new storm shelter was installed, while many other citizens of Woodward installed new tornado shelters, especially those whose homes had been damaged or destroyed by the tornado. In 2013, citizens from across town met to commemorate the tornado's first anniversary, which was visited by Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb. Later that year in May, the Woodward School Board voted to construct FEMA standard safe rooms in all schools under their jurisdiction.

In 2022, a new monument to the victims of the tornado was set up in the Crystal Beach Park, using an old siren that had been damaged by the tornado.

Prior Warning and Coverage A storm prior to the tornado caused damage to the town's warning systems, resulting in the failure of 20 tornado sirens, forcing many citizens to rely on NOAA Weather Radios. Additionally, many of the local stations had stopped reporting on the weather, with many storm spotters and reporters going home. A storm tracker for News 9, Marty Logan, was the only news chaser that was still reporting in the town of Woodward. During the tornado, he provided "life-saving" coverage, including the tornado's location and where it was tracking towards, and as a result was honored by members of the Oklahoma House and Senate, including Bryce Marlatt and Jeff Hickman, as well as the chief meteorologist for News 9, Gary England for his "heroic" coverage during the tornado, with other members of the House and Senate pausing to honor him as well. During the recovery process following the tornado, a fundraiser by local citizens and the Apache Oil Field Company donated over $350,000 to install 27 replacement sirens capable of operating during a similar outage.

Insurance Lawsuit Woodward residents Jeff and Mary Sharpe, Linda and Kim Louthan, and Sterling Parks sued Farmers Insurance for violating Oklahoma's good faith insurance laws by not paying the amount needed to repair their homes and making false claims such as stating that Sterling Parks' home was structurally stable, despite the fact that an independent contractor found that it was structurally unstable and needed to be torn down. Following a six-day court case, District Judge Ray Dean Linder ruled in favor of the three Woodward families, suing Farmers for over $15 million dollars in damages, including $2 million for violating Oklahoma's good faith insurance laws, $3 million in punitive damages, as well as $49,278 to Sterling Parks, $224,202 to the Louthan family and $245,967 to the Sharpe Family.

2012 Woodward tornado

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