2020 Oklahoma City tornado (Blackford)

the 2020 Oklahoma City tornado was a long-lived, intense and violent EF4 tornado which impacted the northern suburbs of Oklahoma City on May 7, 2020. The tornado, rated a high-end EF4 with winds of up to 185 mph, caused significant damage to Bethany.

The tornado was notorious for it's uncertainty in intensity, being changed in intensity a record 17 times, changing repeatedly from EF3 to EF4, or in some cases EF5 to EF4. The tornado finally received a final rating in Spring of 2021 of 185 mph, making it a high-end EF4.

Meteorological history
On May 6, the SPC had taken note of extremely strong wind shear, high moisture in the atmosphere and a dry front stationed in the panhandle of Texas. This extremely unstable atmosphere warranted a day 2 moderate risk of mainly tornadoes for much of Oklahoma and some of Texas.

As the morning of May 7 rolled around, a even less stable atmosphere than originally thought existed across the region, and in anticipation of a major tornado outbreak being underway, the SPC issued a high risk of severe thunderstorms. Due to the high tornado threat, a 45% + significant tornado potential was highlighted in the 1300Z outlook, focusing mainly around the OKC area.

Many NWS offices issued special weather statements or public information statements regarding severe weather safety that morning around the region. The one issued by Norman, Oklahoma is shown below.

Norman, OK Public Information Statement (9:21 AM CDT May 7, 2020)
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Norman OK 921 AM CDT Thu May 7 2020 ...DANGEROUS OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND VIOLENT TORNADOES ANTICIPATED ACROSS OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... Severe thunderstorms are anticipated to develop late this morning in northeastern New Mexico and track northeast into Oklahoma by the mid afternoon hours. These storms may produce very strong winds of up to 100 mph, destructive hail of up to 3 inches in diameter and numerous tornadoes, many of which will be over EF-2 in strength. Due to the possibility of severe weather today, the SPC has issued a high risk of severe thunderstorms. Today is a extremely dangerous weather situation with widespread dangerous tornadoes expected. Preparedness actions... Review your severe weather safety procedures for the possibility of dangerous weather today. Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, weather.gov, or other media for watches and warnings. A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form during the next several hours. If a tornado warning is issued for your area, move to a place of safety, ideally in a basement or interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. && $$ ALEX THIS IS A WORK-IN PROGRESS