Oklahoma, 1997

Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 26 to 27, 1997

May 26 to 27, 1997 · NWS OUN · 27 events in 8 counties and zones

Summary of events of May 26, 1997:Severe thunderstorms moved through parts of central and southeastern Oklahoma during the evening of Memorial Day, May 26th, and lasted into the early morning hours of the 27th. In all, eight tornadoes, hail as large as golf balls, and damaging severe thunderstorm winds were reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$40,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
27

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.

Summary of events of May 26, 1997:Severe thunderstorms moved through parts of central and southeastern Oklahoma during the evening of Memorial Day, May 26th, and lasted into the early morning hours of the 27th. In all, eight tornadoes, hail as large as golf balls, and damaging severe thunderstorm winds were reported. No injuries or fatalities occurred as a result of the storms.The only damage reported with any of the tornadoes occurred with the first tornado 1 mile north of Cromwell in Seminole County. At this location, damage was mainly limited to outbuildings and trees and the tornado was rated F0. Since the remaining seven tornadoes resulted in no known damage, they were also rated F0. These tornadoes occurred in Seminole County southwest of Cromwell (17:47 CST), in Hughes County southeast of Dustin (19:00 CST), on the Johnston/Marshall County line between Russett and Madill (20:05 CST), and in Marshall County southwest of Madill (20:19 CST), south of Russett (20:20 CST), west of Little City (20:41 CST), and south of Madill (21:24 CST).In addition to the tornadoes, hail up to 1.75 inches in diameter fell in Pontotoc County northeast of Allen and in Marshall County in and north of Madill. Severe thunderstorm winds damaged trees east of Cloudy and in Cloudy in Pushmataha County. Significant structural damage was also attributed to thunderstorm winds south of Dustin in Hughes County. See preceding individual Storm Data entries for further details and additional reports.

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:24 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 hail, 9 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Seminole

When
May 26, 5:25 PM CST
Where
Seminole County, Cromwell
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.330, -96.470

Tornado, Seminole

When
May 26, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Seminole County, 1 mi N of Cromwell
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$15,000
Coordinates
35.350, -96.470

A tornado was seen 1 mile north of Highway 99A on Highway 56. The tornado blew the roof off of a detached garage, destroyed a storage shed and its contents, pulled sections of chain-link fence from the ground, and caused minor tree damage at a residence. A new pickup truck at the site also sustained major damage. On the house itself (a stone structure), only the screen door was damaged. Total damage was estimated at $15,000.

Tornado, Seminole

When
May 26, 5:47 PM CST to 5:48 PM CST
Where
Seminole County, Cromwell to 1 mi E of Cromwell
Rating
F0
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
35.320, -96.480

Emergency managment officials reported a tornado moving from southwest of Cromwell to about 1 mile east of Cromwell. No damage was reported along this path.

Tornado, Hughes

When
May 26, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Hughes County, 2 mi SE of Dustin
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
35.250, -96.000

Tornado touched down briefly. No damage was reported.

Hail, Hughes

When
May 26, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Hughes County, 3 mi E of Citra
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.800, -96.320

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When
May 26, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Hughes County, 4 mi S of Dustin
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
35.220, -96.030

Severe thunderstorm winds destroyed a barn and feed silo and lifted a mobile home from its foundation, causing extensive damage. A dog pen was also lifted and blown onto a dog, killing the animal. A large tree was uprooted at this same location.

Hail, Pontotoc

When
May 26, 7:11 PM CST
Where
Pontotoc County, 4 mi E of Ada
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
34.770, -96.600

Hail, Pontotoc

When
May 26, 7:11 PM CST
Where
Pontotoc County, Stonewall
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.650, -96.520

Hail, Pontotoc

When
May 26, 7:29 PM CST
Where
Pontotoc County, 1 mi NE of Allen
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.900, -96.380

Hail, Johnston

When
May 26, 7:40 PM CST
Where
Johnston County, Mannsville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.180, -96.880

Hail, Marshall

When
May 26, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 4 mi N of Madill
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.130, -96.770

Hail, Marshall

When
May 26, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 6 mi W of Madill
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.080, -96.870

Tornado, Marshall

When
May 26, 8:05 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 6 mi NW of Madill
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.150, -96.830

Tornado reported on the Johnston/Marshall County line at the intersection of Highways 1 and 199 by local emergency management officials. (Same tornado as 1.5 SW Russett in Johnston County). No reported damage.

Tornado, Johnston

When
May 26, 8:05 PM CST
Where
Johnston County, 2 mi SW of Russett
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.170, -96.820

Tornado reported on the Johnston/Marshall County line at the intersection of highways 1 and 199 by local emergency management officials. (same as 6 NW Madill in Marshall County). No reported damage.

Tornado, Marshall

When
May 26, 8:19 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 2 mi SW of Madill
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.070, -96.780

Tornado with no reported damage.

Tornado, Johnston

When
May 26, 8:20 PM CST
Where
Johnston County, 1 mi S of Russett
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.170, -96.800

Tornado with no reported damage.

Tornado, Marshall

When
May 26, 8:41 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 2 mi W of Little City
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.080, -96.650

Tornado reported by Oklahoma Highway Patrol. No reported damage.

Tornado, Marshall

When
May 26, 9:24 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 1 mi S of Madill
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.070, -96.770

Tornado reported by Oklahoma Highway Patrol. No reported damage.

Hail, Marshall

When
May 26, 9:39 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, Madill
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.080, -96.770

Hail, Marshall

When
May 26, 9:42 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, 1 mi E of Kingston
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
34.000, -96.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Bryan

When
May 26, 9:45 PM CST
Where
Bryan County, 3 mi SW of Silo
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
34.000, -96.500

Hail, Pushmataha

When
May 26, 9:45 PM CST
Where
Pushmataha County, 4 mi S of Clayton
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
34.530, -95.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Pushmataha

When
May 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Pushmataha County, Cloudy
Property damage
$100
Coordinates
34.300, -95.280

Severe thunderstorm winds downed trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pushmataha

When
May 26, 11:05 PM CST
Where
Pushmataha County, 3 mi E of Cloudy
Property damage
$10
Coordinates
34.300, -95.230

Five-inch limbs were blown off trees by severe thunderstorm winds.

Hail, Pushmataha

When
May 26, 11:05 PM CST
Where
Pushmataha County, 3 mi E of Cloudy
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.300, -95.230

Funnel Cloud, Pushmataha

When
May 26, 11:30 PM CST
Where
Pushmataha County, 3 mi NE of Rattan
Coordinates
34.416, -95.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Choctaw

When
May 27, 12:30 AM CST
Where
Choctaw County, 1 mi E of Ord
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
33.900, -95.480

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.
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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Oklahoma, 1997Warnings in Oklahoma, May 1997

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: 5613427, 5613426, 5613680, 5613411, 5613429, 5613430, 5613424, 5613425, 5613423, 5613416, 5613412, 5613417, 5613418, 5613805, 5613419, 5613420, 5613421, 5613422, 5613684, 5613413, 5613415, 5613428, 5613685, 5613682, 5613683, 5613681, 5613414.