Tornado outbreak of June 8, 1995

The tornado outbreak of June 8, 1995 was a severe and localized outbreak that struck the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma, on June 8, 1995. It is most well known for the tornado that hit Pampa, along with the Allison F4, the Kellerville F4, and the Hoover F2. Each of these tornadoes has sparked controversy over their rating, with many claiming that they had reached F5 intensity. In total, 29 tornadoes were recorded during that day, with 23 being in Western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. One cyclic supercell in the Texas Panhandle produced at least 5 of those 23 tornadoes, while another spawned at least 8. There were 3 F4s, and the tornadoes caused 11 injuries.

Meteorological synopsis

An unusually high dewpoint of 22-23C caused extremely high CAPE values of over 5000 J/kg. The environment supported supercells, and with a large amount of shear and curvature in the hodograph, supercell development was supported. These conditions lead to several tornadic supercells, which were studied by the VORTEX project.

Confirmed tornadoes

All data are from NWS monthly storm data publication and NWS storm reports archive.

F#	Location	County and State	Start Time	Path length	Max Width	Progression/Non-injury Effects	Injuries
F0	NE of Idaho Falls	Bonneville County, Idaho	2215	0.1 miles	10 yd	No damage was reported.	0
F1	Seligman to Eagle Rock	Barry County, Missouri	2104	12 miles	250 yd	This tornado went through Roaring River State Park, uprooted trees, and caused $100,000 in damages by damaging nearly 100 camper-trailers.	3
F0	SE of Poplar Bluff	Butler County, Missouri	2252	0.25 miles	50 yd	Some trees were downed.	0
F0	Forsyth	Taney County, Missouri	0028	0.1 miles	100 yd		0
F1	Selman	Harper County, Oklahoma	2215	0.2 miles	30 yd	Caused $4000 in damage.	1
F0	NNE of Shattuck	Ellis County, Oklahoma	0117	0.1 miles	30 yd		0
F2	NNE of Reydon	Roger Mills County, Oklahoma	0218	5 miles	300 yd	Caused $5000 in damage.	0
F0	NE of Roxboro	Person County, North Carolina	2352	1.0 miles	35 yd	Some trees were downed.	0
F0	SSE of West Fork	Washington County, Arkansas	0020	0.1 miles	30 yd		0
F0	SSW of Pampa	Gray County, Texas	2127	0.1 miles	50 yd	First tornado produced by the Pampa supercell.	0
F4	Pampa	Gray County, Texas	2131	3 miles	200 yd	Second, and most destructive, tornado produced by the Pampa supercell	7
F0	E of Pampa	Gray County, Texas	2150	0.3 miles	100 yd	Third tornado produced by the Pampa supercell.	0
F2	Hoover	Gray County, Texas	2150	6 miles	400 yd	Fourth tornado produced by the Pampa supercell. Caused $100,000 in damage. This tornado passed close to the Rufe Jordan Unit. and stripped asphalt from roads.	0
F1	NW of Miami	Roberts County, Texas	2155	3 miles	200 yd		0
F1	NNE of Pampa	Gray County, Texas	2200	2 miles	250 yd		0
F0	S of Perryton	Ochiltree County, Texas	2215	1 mile	73 yd		0
F0	SW of Clarendon	Donley County, Texas	2219	2 miles	100 yd		0
F1	W of Miami	Roberts County, Texas	2235	10 miles	250 yd	Caused $300,000 in damage.	0
F2	SW of McLean	Donley County, Texas	2255	10 miles	500 yd	First tornado produced by the McLean supercell.	0
F2	SW of McLean	Gray County, Texas	2259	4 miles	300 yd	Caused $100,000 in damage.	0
F0	McLean	Gray County, Texas	2310	2 miles	100 yd		0
F2	SW of McLean	Gray County, Texas	2310	4 miles	400 yd	Second tornado produced by the McLean supercell.	0
F0	SW of McLean	Gray County, Texas	2321	1 miles	50 yd	Third tornado produced by the McLean supercell.	0
F4	N of McLean - NE of Mobeetie	Gray County, Texas, Wheeler County, Texas	2335	29 miles	600 yd	This is most well known as the Kellerville tornado. Some researchers claim that it was F5 strength. Winds exceeding 110 m/s were recorded by Doppler radar. This was the fourth tornado produced by the McLean supercell. Caused over $10 million in damage to crops and other property. Several structures were damaged. Severe ground scouring occurred in rural areas	0
F0	NW of Canadian	Hemphill County, Texas	2343	4 miles	150 yd		0
F0	WNW of Canadian	Roberts County, Texas	2353	0.5 miles	50yd		0
F0	N of McLean	Gray County, Texas	2355	0.1 miles	10 yd		0
F0	N of McLean	Gray County, Texas	2355	0.1 miles	30 yd		0
F4	SW of Allison - N of Allison	Wheeler County, Texas, Hemphill County, Texas	0045	15 miles	2200 yd	This tornado was a large tornado, with some spotters reporting it as "one of the biggest and meanest tornadoes they had ever seen". It caused at least $2 million in damage. It killed at least 800 heads of livestock in Wheeler County. Despite every spotter report putting it as an F5, the NWS rated it an F4 due to lack of structural interactions.	0

Pampa, Texas

This extremely powerful but short lived F4 tornado formed near Pampa, Texas, just after the parent storm produced an F0 tornado to the southwest. Despite only having a path 3 miles long, it caused 7 injuries, comprising a majority of the injuries caused by the outbreak. It also caused $30 million in damage as it travelled through Pampa before it lifted in the middle of the city. Per Thomas P. Grazulis, the F4 rating is based on movement of industrial equipment, as only F2-F3 damage occurred in Pampa because the tornado had weakened by then. In total, it destroyed 75 structures and damaged 175. Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis stated in F5–F6 Tornadoes; "In my opinion, if there ever was an F6 tornado caught on video, it was the Pampa, Texas tornado of 1995". After the tornado dissipated, the storm produced a short-lived F0 and the Hoover, TX tornado, which was officially rated an F2 but some storm chasers argue it was stronger.

Non-tornadic effects

Several reports of large hail were made in Texas and Oklahoma, with the largest being 4.5 inches. The hail caused considerable damage, including denting some cars. Severe thunderstorms also moved through northern Oklahoma, causing straight-line wind damage, lightning, and flash flooding. In the Texas Panhandle, wind damaged occurred to buildings and fences, and minor roof damage was reported from hail.