All eight fatalities from the May 31, 2013 El Reno, OK tornado occurred in vehicles, including the fatalities of some well-known storm chasers.
Here are the tornadoes with at least 5 vehicle fatalities in the last 6 years:
| Fatalities in Vehicles | Date | City of Tornado (County as Noted) |
| 15 | 5/22/11 | Joplin, MO |
| 8 | 5/31/13 | El Reno, OK |
| 6 | 5/10/08 | Newton/Barry Counties, MO |
| 5 | 5/24/11 | Canadian/Logan Counties, OK |
Source: NWS Storm Prediction Center Fatality Summaries for 2008-2013 available here
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service; 2013 tally here); AnalysisWire Research
Note: Prior Years refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. 2013 totals were lowered by 1 because one fatality previously reported as tornado-related was due to drowning. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service; 2013 tally here); AnalysisWire Research
Note: Prior Years refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service; 2013 tally here); AnalysisWire Research
Note: Prior Years refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service; 2013 tally here); AnalysisWire Research
Note: Prior Years refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. May 31 tornado fatalities could be increased. The tally we use is currently 9, which may be too low. The tally is currently at 20, according to NewsOK.com, but some of these fatalities may be due to flooding rather than tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center is explicit about using deaths caused only by tornadoes in its data rather than deaths caused by flooding, so we are being cautious in keeping the May 31 death toll at 9 for the time being. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service; 2013 tally here); AnalysisWire Research
Note: Prior Years refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. May 31 tornado fatalities could be increased. The tally we use is currently 9, which may be too low. The tally is currently at 20, according to NewsOK.com, but some of these fatalities may be due to flooding rather than tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center is explicit about using deaths caused only by tornadoes in its data rather than deaths caused by flooding, so we are being cautious in keeping the May 31 death toll at 9 for the time being. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service; 2013 tally here); AnalysisWire Research
Note: Prior Years refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. May 31 tornado fatalities could be increased. The tally we use is currently 9, which may be too low. The tally is currently at 19, according to NBC News, but some of these fatalities may be due to flooding rather than tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center is explicit about using deaths caused only by tornadoes in its data rather than deaths caused by flooding, so we are being cautious in keeping the May 31 death toll at 9 for the time being. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
The May 31, 2013 El Reno tornado was the widest ever recorded at 2.6 miles wide. It’s worth showing how much wider the tornado was than any other EF5 tornado:
Note: “0.2” represents tornadoes that were 0.01 – 0.20 miles wide, “0.4” represents tornadoes that were 0.21 – 0.40 miles wide, and so forth. The Moore, OK 2013 tornado was 1.3 miles wide, so it goes in the bin labelled “1.4”.
Source: Storm Prediction Center (National Weather Service); AnalysisWire Research
Note: “Prior Years” refers to the years 1950 – 2012, the years of the most accurate tornado data. May 31 tornado fatalities are likely to be increased. The tally we use is currently at 9, which is likely too low. The tally from the tornadoes and flooding is currently at 18, according to media reports. However, the Storm Prediction Center is explicit about using deaths caused only by tornadoes in its data rather than deaths caused by flooding, and the exact breakdown isn’t clear yet. Tornado statistics are in beta and are subject to change.
We are excited to introduce a new set of analytics related to tornadoes. Going forward, we will post regular updates about the relative strength of the tornado season, initially focusing on fatalities. We will expand upon these metrics in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned.
AnalysisWire 