and then less than two weeks later, that storm in moore was dwarfed by an even bigger tornado, which hit el reno, oklahoma. el reno wasn t 1.3 miles across, like moore was. el reno was double that. 2.6 miles across, on the ground! the el reno storm is less remembered now, because it struck a less populated area and therefore did less damage than moore, but that el reno tornado was the largest storm of that kind ever recorded on earth. before el reno, there had never before been a tornado that was more than 2.5 miles wide on the ground. and its wind speed was almost the fastest ever recorded on earth as well. the el reno tornado had wind speeds of up to 296 miles per hour. the fastest wind speeds ever recorded on earth are only 5 miles an hour faster than that, and they did not come in a storm that gigantic. these storms this year would have been terrifying and incredibly destructive, even at a fraction of their size. but it seems important to know
as narrow columns of swirling wind that, sure, pack a punch, but that pack a very, very, very narrowly targeted punch. we think of tornadoes as the pinpoint strike of the storm world. but that tornado in moore, oklahoma, was huge. it was 1.3 miles wide on the ground. it was not a pinpoint strike. it was as wide as 23 football fields laid end to end, while it was on the ground. tornado-force winds more than a mile across. that was moore, oklahoma, may 20th. and then less than two weeks later, that storm in moore was dwarfed by an even bigger tornado, which hit el reno, oklahoma. el reno wasn t 1.3 miles across, like moore was. el reno was double that. 2.6 miles across, on the ground! the el reno storm is less remembered now, because it struck a less populated area and therefore did less damage than moore, but that el reno tornado was the largest storm of that kind ever recorded on earth.
wind that, sure, pack a punch, but that pack a very, very, very narrowly targeted punch. we think of tornadoes as the pinpoint strike of the storm world. but that tornado in moore, oklahoma, was huge. it was 1.3 miles wide on the ground. it was not a pinpoint strike. it was as wide as 23 football fields laid end to end, while it was on the ground. tornado-force winds more than a mile across. that was moore, oklahoma, may 20th. and then less than two weeks later, that storm in moore was dwarfed by an even bigger tornado, which hit el reno, oklahoma. el reno wasn t 1.3 miles across, like moore was. el reno was double that. 2.6 miles across, on the ground! the el reno storm is less remembered now, because it struck a less populated area and therefore did less damage than moore, but that el reno tornado was the largest storm of that kind ever recorded on earth. before el reno, there had never before been a tornado that was more than 2.5 miles wide on the
miles wide, twice as far as here. that s wider than the island of manhattan and the widest tornado ever recorded in the u.s. the el reno storm surprised chasers by shifting directions suddenly. they were lucky. three other professional chasers lost their lives including tim samaras. he was an experienced chaser caught in this manning willed car. on the west coast wildfires are raging. firefighters have battled more than 2,000 wildfires this year, nearly twice the five-year average. the power house fire burning near los angeles has charred more than 32,000 acres and destroyed six homes so far. the flames were 200 feet high. it was horrible. we couldn t breathe. there was nothing but smoke. reporter: hundreds of homes are threatened in new mexico and colorado fires. and now dangerous flooding along the missouri and mississippi rivers. several levees have been
from a leveled elementary school. raising questions about why more storm shelters weren t available. there should be a place that if this ever happened again turg schoo school kids can get to a safe place. an ef-5 touched down in el reno, oklahoma, less than 30 miles from moore. when the unthinkable happened in moore it was a mile wide. ef-4, ef-5 damage as far as you can see. the storm in el reno was 2.6 miles wide. twice as far as here. that s wider than the island of manhattan. and the widest tornado ever recorded in the u.s. the el reno storm surprised chasers by shifting directions suddenly. no! turn now! we re going to die! reporter: they were lucky. three other professional chasers lost their lives including tim samaras. amazing sight! reporter: he was an experienced chaser caught in this mangled car. on the west coast wildfires are raging.