Oklahoma, 1978

Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 17, 1978

April 17, 1978 · NWS T · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

4 tornado, 3 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$550,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

4 tornado, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Washington

When
April 17, 1:45 PM CST
Where
Washington County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
36.750, -96.000

Tornado, Kay

When
April 17, 1:54 PM CST
Where
Kay County
Rating
F2
Path length
9 mi
Path width
40 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
36.730, -97.130

Tornado, Kay

When
April 17, 1:57 PM CST
Where
Kay County
Rating
F2
Path length
7.8 mi
Path width
60 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
36.820, -97.120

Tornado, Kay

When
April 17, 1:58 PM CST
Where
Kay County
Rating
F2
Path length
10.7 mi
Path width
40 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
36.770, -97.200

Tornado, Kay

When
April 17, 1:58 PM CST
Where
Kay County
Rating
F2
Path length
12.2 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
36.870, -97.120

Hail, McIntosh

When
April 17, 2:00 PM CST
Where
McIntosh County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.430, -95.520

Hail, Osage

When
April 17, 3:10 PM CST
Where
Osage County
Measured
2.5 in hail
Coordinates
36.780, -96.650

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1978Every state in 1978This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Oklahoma, 1978

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10094842, 10094843, 10094844, 10094845, 10094846, 10094847, 10094848.