Power of deadly Oklahoma tornado upgraded

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The deadly tornado that struck near Oklahoma City last Friday had a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles and was the second EF5 twister to hit the area in less than two weeks, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service initially rated the tornado that hit El Reno as an EF3. But the agency Tuesday upgraded it to EF5 -- the most powerful ranking -- after surveying damage, and determined the storm packed winds reaching 295 mph. Eighteen people died in the storm, including three storm chasers, and its subsequent flooding.

Deep in the heart of Tornado Alley, the Oklahoma City area also saw an EF5 tornado on May 20. That one raked Moore, a suburb that's 25 miles away from El Reno, and killed 24 people. In 1999, Moore was hit by another EF5 with the strongest winds ever measured on earth: 302 mph.

The storm's 2.6-mile-wide path -- besting a record set in 2004 in Hallam, Neb. -- would have made the storm hard to recognize up close, said Rick Smith, chief warning coordination meteorologist for the weather service's office in Norman.

"A two-and-a-half mile wide tornado would not look like a tornado to a lot of people," Smith said.

Friday's massive tornado avoided highly populated metro areas, a fact forecasters said likely saved lives. Winds were at their most powerful in areas devoid of structures, Smith said.