It is difficult to directly measure ground speeds of tornadoes.
But scientists managed to determine that a tornado that passed near Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, on May 3, 1999, was traveling at 318 miles (512 km) per hour, the highest winds ever recorded on the Earth’s surface.
Bridge Creek was one of several communities hardest hit by a tornado in the deadly tornado outbreak on May 3, 1999.
There were at least 12 fatalities in the Bridge Creek area.
