Early morning thunderstorms developed over northeast Oklahoma in advance of a slow moving cold front. Damaging winds, large hail, and two tornadoes were produced by the strongest storms.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS TSA wrote it up.
Early morning thunderstorms developed over northeast Oklahoma in advance of a slow moving cold front. Damaging winds, large hail, and two tornadoes were produced by the strongest storms.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 15, 2:39 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
339 AM CDT SUN APR 15 2012
.DISCUSSION...
LARGE H5 TROUGH IS STARTING TO PIVOT EAST. MAJOR PORTION OF THE
TROUGH EJECTS TODAY...WITH REMAINDER OF TROUGH SWEEPING EAST
MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. SQUALL LINE AND PSEUDO FRONT WILL PUSH
THROUGH EASTERN OK AND NORTHWEST AR TODAY. MAIN COLD FRONT/SURFACE
TROUGH WILL BE NEAR OMA-CDS LINE BY 7 PM TONIGHT...THEN SWING QUICKLY
EAST TONIGHT. NORTHWEST WINDS AND HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER
THE AREA ON MONDAY.
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING A SHORT WAVE TROUGH THROUGH ON
WEDNESDAY...WITH SOME CLOUDINESS...BUT EXPECT NO PRECIPITATION.
TROUGH APPEARS TO MINOR OUT AS IT MOVES SOUTHEAST...AND FLOW
BECOMES NEARLY ZONAL. BETTER CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPS ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT...AS H5 TROUGH DEVELOPS IN
THE FLOW AND MOVES OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE GFS AND ECMWF
TIMING ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT...BUT BOTH SEE THIS DEVELOPMENT.
KEPT CHANCE POPS FOR THIS EVENT. MAJOR TROUGH EVENTUALLY DEVELOPS
BY NEXT WEEKEND OVER THE SOUTHEAST STATES...PUTTING OK IN NORTHWEST
FLOW.
TIMING OF PRECIPITATION THIS MORNING AND LATER TODAY IS THE
PRIMARY ISSUE. ANTICIPATE THE LINE OF STORMS TO BE FROM ABOUT
NOWATA TO TULSA TO OKEMAH AROUND 6-7 AM. THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD
REACH NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BY MID TO LATE MORNING. EXPECT THE
EXISTING LINE TO CARRY ALL THE PRECIPITATION...AND SIGNIFICANTLY
LOWERED OR DROPPED POPS BEHIND THE LINE.
GENERALLY STAYED CLOSE TO MAV/MEX MOS GUIDANCE FOR TEMPS...WITH
MINOR ADJUSTMENT TO ECMWF IN A COUPLE OF PERIODS.
WIND GUSTS ARE BECOMING MORE ISOLATED AND LATEST RUC RELAXES
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT...SO WILL DROP THE WIND ADVISORY.
STILL...THERE WILL BE FREQUENT GUSTS OVER 30 MPH UNTIL THE LINE OF
STORMS MOVES THROUGH.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
TUL 77 47 72 49 / 50 10 0 10
FSM 79 50 72 48 / 80 10 10 10
MLC 78 47 74 47 / 70 10 0 10
BVO 72 46 72 43 / 30 20 0 10
FYV 71 45 69 42 / 80 20 0 10
BYV 73 46 68 46 / 80 20 10 10
MKO 75 47 74 47 / 70 10 10 10
MIO 76 46 70 46 / 70 20 0 10
F10 76 48 72 50 / 60 10 0 0
HHW 77 49 75 50 / 70 10 0 10
&&
.TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM SUNDAY FOR OKZ054-OKZ055-OKZ059-OKZ060-
OKZ064-OKZ065-OKZ066.
AR...NONE.
&&
SHORT TERM...22
LONG TERM....02HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 450 AM CDT SUN APR 15 2012 ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-161000- ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK- CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK- LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK- OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK- PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK- WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR- 450 AM CDT SUN APR 15 2012 ...SEVERE STORM THREAT CONTINUES FOR PARTS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS MORNING... THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. TORNADO. RISK...LIMITED. AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONSET...ONGOING. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. RISK...ELEVATED. AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONSET...ONGOING. SIGNIFICANT WINDS. RISK...LIMITED. AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONSET...ONGOING. DISCUSSION... A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY VERY NEAR THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS MORNING. INSTABILITY OVER FAR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS IS REDUCED...WHICH WILL DIMINISH THE OVERALL THREAT FOR SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER. HOWEVER...LARGE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF HALF DOLLARS AND WINDS TO 70 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. ISOLATED TORNADOES ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LINE OF STORMS MAY ALSO OCCUR. THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD EXIT THE AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON. SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT... LOCAL SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...NO HAZARDS. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL. SATURDAY...NO HAZARDS. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... QUIET WEATHER WILL PREVAIL FOR THE EARLY PART OF THE WORK WEEK. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS A FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA. WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
The Tulsa radar (KINX), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:54 UTC.
8 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The Oklahoma Mesonet station near Pawnee measured 58 mph thunderstorm wind gusts.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
A tornado damaged two airplanes and the roof of a hangar at the Skiatook Municipal Airport. It also snapped and uprooted large hardwood trees. Maximum wind in the tornado based on this damage was 90 to 100 mph.
The Oklahoma Mesonet station near Copan measured 65 mph thunderstorm wind gusts.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs and blew over an unanchored outbuilding.
A tornado damaged homes and destroyed several sheds and barns. It also snapped hardwood trees. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was 85 to 95 mph. The tornado continued into Adair County, Oklahoma.
This is the second segment of this tornado. The tornado moved across Highway 51 snapping large tree limbs and destroying an unoccupied mobile home that was not tied down. Maximum estimated wind during this segment of the tornado based on this damage was about 75 mph. The tornado continued into Cherokee County, Oklahoma.
This is the third segment of this tornado. The tornado moved back into Cherokee County after crossing Highway 51. During this segment, the tornado snapped large tree limbs. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 75 mph. The tornado continued into Adair County, Oklahoma.
This is the final segment of this tornado. The tornado moved back into Adair County just north of Highway 51 snapping large tree limbs and destroying a few sheds and outbuildings. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado during this segment based on this damage was about 70 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Oklahoma, 2012Warnings in Oklahoma, April 2012
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: 376223, 376224, 376225, 376226, 376227, 379940, 376228, 376229, 376230, 376231, 379974, 379975, 379977, 379978.