Oklahoma, 1998

Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, April 6, 1998

April 6, 1998 · NWS OUN · 21 events in 16 counties and zones

Summary of events of April 6, 1998:Severe thunderstorms moved across much of Oklahoma during the late afternoon and evening of the 6th. Hail as large as quarters, severe straight-line winds, and one tornado were reported.

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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
21

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 April 6, 1998:Severe thunderstorms moved across much of Oklahoma during the late afternoon and evening of the 6th. Hail as large as quarters, severe straight-line winds, and one tornado were reported. The tornado, an F0, touched down in a field in Stephens County. Severe thunderstorm wind gusts were measured at speeds up to 67 mph by the Oklahoma Mesonet site north of Mooreland in Woodward County. Reports of hail as large as quarters were received from near Grandfield in Tillman County, east of Laverne in Harper County, and south of Stratford in Garvin County. See preceding individual Storm Data entries for further details and additional reports.

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Harper

When
April 6, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Harper County, 6 mi E of Laverne
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
36.720, -99.780

Hail, Comanche

When
April 6, 5:16 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 5 mi S of Cache
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.570, -98.620

Thunderstorm Wind, Woodward

When
April 6, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Woodward County, 21 mi NNE of Mooreland
Measured
53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates
36.720, -99.050

measured at the Oklahoma Mesonet site

Hail, Tillman

When
April 6, 5:37 PM CST
Where
Tillman County, 4 mi W of Grandfield
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
34.230, -98.750

Hail, Tillman

When
April 6, 5:41 PM CST
Where
Tillman County, 5 mi SW of Grandfield
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
34.180, -98.750

Hail, Tillman

When
April 6, 5:43 PM CST
Where
Tillman County, Grandfield
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.230, -98.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Woods

When
April 6, 5:55 PM CST
Where
Woods County, 16 mi NNE of Freedom
Measured
53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates
36.980, -99.000

measured at the Oklahoma Mesonet site

Hail, Tillman

When
April 6, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Tillman County, Grandfield
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
34.230, -98.680

Hail, Comanche

When
April 6, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 6 mi S of Lawton
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.530, -98.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Custer

When
April 6, 6:05 PM CST
Where
Custer County, 5 mi SW of Butler
Measured
58 kt (67 mph)
Coordinates
35.580, -99.250

measured at the Oklahoma Mesonet site

Hail, Cotton

When
April 6, 6:10 PM CST
Where
Cotton County, 4 mi N of Devol
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
34.230, -98.580

Hail, Alfalfa

When
April 6, 6:48 PM CST
Where
Alfalfa County, Cherokee
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
36.750, -98.350

Hail, McClain

When
April 6, 6:49 PM CST
Where
McClain County, Payne
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.900, -97.530

Hail, Grant

When
April 6, 7:05 PM CST
Where
Grant County, 6 mi NNE of Nash
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
36.750, -98.020

Hail, Stephens

When
April 6, 7:07 PM CST
Where
Stephens County, Comanche
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
34.370, -97.970

Hail, Garfield

When
April 6, 7:39 PM CST
Where
Garfield County, Drummond
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
36.300, -98.030

Tornado, Stephens

When
April 6, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Stephens County, 2 mi SE of Velma
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
34.430, -97.650

Tornado touched down briefly in an open field and lasted less than one minute.

Hail, Garvin

When
April 6, 8:38 PM CST
Where
Garvin County, 8 mi S of Stratford
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
34.680, -96.950

Hail, Murray

When
April 6, 8:40 PM CST
Where
Murray County, 3 mi N of Sulphur
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.570, -96.970

Hail, Logan

When
April 6, 8:45 PM CST
Where
Logan County, Crescent
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
35.950, -97.600

Hail, Pontotoc

When
April 6, 9:15 PM CST
Where
Pontotoc County, 2 mi SE of Fittstown
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
34.600, -96.620

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Oklahoma, 1998Warnings in Oklahoma, April 1998

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: 5660066, 5660065, 5660146, 5660147, 5660148, 5660149, 5660073, 5660068, 5660150, 5660072, 5660069, 5660151, 5660070, 5660152, 5660156, 5660153, 5660067, 5660071, 5660154, 5660157, 5660155.