A highly destructive outbreak of 19 tornadoes struck areas from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The

Oklahoma City metropolitan area The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is an urban region in the Southern United States. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oklahoma and contains the state capital and principal city, Oklahoma City. It is often known as the Okla ...

took the brunt of the outbreak with 10 F2 or F3 tornadoes touching down in the area alone on April 28, including one F3 tornado that just missed

Downtown Oklahoma City Downtown Oklahoma City is located at the geographic center of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and contains the principal, central business district of the region. The CBD has over 51,000 workers and over of leasable office space to-date. Dow ...

, tearing through southeast of there. The outbreak killed three, injured 79, and caused $3.883 million (1960 USD) in damage.

Confirmed tornadoes

April 28 event

April 29 event

April 30 event

Oklahoma City–Forest Park, Oklahoma

This very destructive, rain-wrapped F3 tornado embedded within a swath of up to hail and straight-line winds of nearly first touched down in the Rancho Village community in Southern

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. It skipped northeastward, causing heavy damage to homes, businesses, trees, gardens, shrubs, and power lines in the Heronville,

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

, and Central Capitol Hill neighborhoods. It briefly paralleled the

North Canadian River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...

(now known as the

Oklahoma River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...

) before crossing it and moving through the present-day Boathouse District, just barely missing

, where oil derricks were blown over. The neighborhoods of Carverdale, Edwards Community, Dodson Heights, and Garden Neighborhood Council were then hit as well before the tornado struck

Forest Park, Oklahoma Forest Park is a town in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 998 at the 2010 census. Geography Forest Park is located at (35.507260, -97.451432). According to the Un ...

. The Rock Manor Estates was heavily damaged before the tornado began to move out of populated areas. It then destroyed some crops before dissipating. The tornado traveled , was wide and caused $2.5 million in damage. Two homes were destroyed, 40 others were heavily damaged, and 1,500 others had minor damage. There were 57 injuries, only seven of which were minor, with some people only narrowly escaping death. As a whole, the storm itself caused $4 million in damage to the city. This event may have consisted of several small tornadoes or sub-vortices that grazed rooftops.

Non-tornadic impacts

Numerous reports of large hail and destructive straight-line winds were recorded during the three-day outbreak. The strongest winds from the event were clocked at at

Will Rogers World Airport Will Rogers World Airport , Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is a passenger airport located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the city's downtown area. It is a civil-military airport ...

in Southwestern

. The largest hail was in diameter, which was recorded in both

Dill City, Oklahoma Dill City is a town in Washita County, Oklahoma, Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 562 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Geography Dill City is located at (35.279470, -99.130447). According to the United S ...

, and

Haysville, Kansas Haysville is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,262. Haysville is known as the "Peach Capital of Kansas". History W.W. Hays came to this area ...

. All three events occurred on April 28.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1960-04-28 Tornado Outbreak 04-28 F3 tornadoes Tornadoes in Oklahoma Tornadoes in Kansas Tornadoes in Louisiana Tornadoes in Illinois Tornadoes in Indiana