Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 2, 1979

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 2, 1979
Start: 1979-05-02T04:00
End: 1979-05-02T23:00
Location: Oklahoma

May 2, 1979 · NWS T · 41 events in 17 counties and zones

22 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 25
Property damage: $3.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 41

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

22 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kiowa

When: May 2, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Kiowa County
Coordinates: 35.000, -99.050

Hail, Woodward

When: May 2, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Woodward County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.550, -99.400

Tornado, Woods

When: May 2, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Woods County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 13 yd
Coordinates: 36.430, -98.500

Hail, Alfalfa

When: May 2, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Alfalfa County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.550, -98.450

Hail, Woods

When: May 2, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Woods County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.580, -98.880

Tornado, Major

When: May 2, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Major County
Rating: F4
Path length: 13.7 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 15 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 36.450, -98.350

Tornado, Major

When: May 2, 4:17 PM CST
Where: Major County
Rating: F2
Path length: 20.3 mi
Path width: 1,760 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.350, -98.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Major

When: May 2, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Major County
Coordinates: 36.280, -98.480

Hail, Major

When: May 2, 4:35 PM CST
Where: Major County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.350, -98.480

Hail, Major

When: May 2, 4:35 PM CST
Where: Major County
Measured: 3.5 in hail
Coordinates: 36.420, -98.250

Tornado, Garfield

When: May 2, 4:50 PM CST
Where: Garfield County
Rating: F4
Path length: 6.9 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.380, -98.120

Hail, Major

When: May 2, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Major County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.250, -98.180

Hail, Garfield

When: May 2, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Garfield County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.380, -98.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When: May 2, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Garfield County
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates: 36.400, -97.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When: May 2, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Garfield County
Coordinates: 36.280, -97.900

Tornado, Garfield

When: May 2, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Garfield County
Rating: F3
Path length: 8.4 mi
Path width: 120 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.180, -97.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Logan

When: May 2, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Logan County
Coordinates: 36.100, -97.430

Hail, Logan

When: May 2, 6:48 PM CST
Where: Logan County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.070, -97.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Logan

When: May 2, 6:48 PM CST
Where: Logan County
Coordinates: 36.130, -97.380

Tornado, Logan

When: May 2, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Logan County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.080, -98.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Payne

When: May 2, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Coordinates: 36.030, -97.250

Hail, Payne

When: May 2, 7:11 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 36.120, -97.070

Tornado, Payne

When: May 2, 7:13 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 13 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 36.030, -97.050

Hail, Payne

When: May 2, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 35.970, -97.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Custer

When: May 2, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Custer County
Coordinates: 35.520, -98.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Payne

When: May 2, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Coordinates: 35.970, -97.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Payne

When: May 2, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Coordinates: 36.000, -97.100

Hail, Canadian

When: May 2, 7:55 PM CST
Where: Canadian County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 35.620, -98.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Osage

When: May 2, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Osage County
Coordinates: 36.520, -96.120

Hail, Payne

When: May 2, 8:02 PM CST
Where: Payne County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.980, -96.770

Hail, Creek

When: May 2, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Creek County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.920, -96.580

Hail, Creek

When: May 2, 8:33 PM CST
Where: Creek County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.920, -96.580

Hail, Creek

When: May 2, 8:35 PM CST
Where: Creek County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.950, -96.530

Hail, Creek

When: May 2, 8:44 PM CST
Where: Creek County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.830, -96.380

Hail, Okmulgee

When: May 2, 9:25 PM CST
Where: Okmulgee County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.730, -96.070

Thunderstorm Wind, McClain

When: May 2, 9:35 PM CST
Where: McClain County
Coordinates: 35.250, -97.600

Hail, Jackson

When: May 2, 10:02 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Coordinates: 34.630, -99.200

Hail, Comanche

When: May 2, 10:25 PM CST
Where: Comanche County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.650, -98.400

Hail, Cleveland

When: May 2, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Cleveland County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 35.330, -97.500

Hail, Kiowa

When: May 2, 10:45 PM CST
Where: Kiowa County
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Coordinates: 34.870, -98.700

Hail, Comanche

When: May 2, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Comanche County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 34.650, -98.400

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Major	1979-05-02				Direct

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1979 Every state in 1979 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Oklahoma, 1979

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: 10108838, 10108839, 10108840, 10108841, 10108842, 10108843, 10108844, 10108845, 10108846, 10108847, 10108848, 10108849, 10108850, 10108851, 10108852, 10108853, 10108854, 10108855, 10108856, 10108857, 10108858, 10108859, 10108860, 10108861, 10108862, 10108863, 10108864, 10108865, 10108866, 10108867, 10108868, 10108869, 10108870, 10108871, 10108872, 10108873, 10108874, 10108875, 10108876, 10108877, and more.