Destructive tornadoes ripped through southern Oklahoma City on May 6, leaving behind a large path of damage.
Storm chasers tracking the storm live in Oklahoma described one of the tornadoes as a "wedge tornado".
A wedge tornado is an informal term but it just one of many ways to describe the different shapes and sizes of tornadoes.
Instead of funnel shaped a "wedge" tornado is wider than it is tall and straight on all sides. It's width creates a wide and large path of damage. Wedge tornadoes are not particularly stronger because of their width, they just cover more ground because of their width.
A tornado that hit south of Oklahoma City on May 6 was described by storm chasers as being a mile wide. In some cases, a tornado this wide will be unrecognizable at a close distance. This type of tornado is particularly dangerous since it seems to strike out of nowhere by onlookers who think they are observing a low hanging wall of clouds.
