Deadly Oklahoma tornado widest on record, rare EF5

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The deadly tornado that struck near Oklahoma City late last week had a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles and was the second top-of-the-scale EF5 twister to hit the area in less than two weeks, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday.

The weather service initially rated the tornado that hit El Reno on Friday as an EF3. But the agency upgraded the 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.

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