natural disaster · tornado · el reno · weather phenomenon · chaotic · destructive · rain-wrapped · historical event · oklahoma · terrifying
The sky over Central Oklahoma bruises purple, heavy with the weight of a historic storm. At 6:03 p.m. on May 31, 2013, the earth shakes as the widest tornado ever recorded touches down 8.3 miles from El Reno. Rain wraps the multiple-vortex monster, hiding its fury as it expands to a staggering 2.6 miles wide. Mobile radars scream warnings of winds exceeding 313 mph, the highest on Earth. As the behemoth tracks across open Canadian County, crossing U.S. 81 and Interstate 40, it spares cities but leaves a trail of record-breaking violence. you watches from a distance as the erratic giant finally dissipates at 6:43 p.m., having carved 16.2 miles of chaos into history.