Tornadoes in Oklahoma
4,484 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 59.0 a year, 3rd of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 452 people and injured 6,159. 61 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 8 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Oklahoma
- F5 Udall tornado, KansasMay 25, 1955
- F5 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 3, 1999
- EF5 Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 20, 2013
- EF4 Picher–Neosho tornado, Oklahoma and MissouriMay 10, 2008
- F5 Blackwell tornado, Oklahoma and KansasMay 25, 1955
- F4, LeFlore County, OklahomaMay 5, 1961
- F4, Latimer, Haskell and Sequoyah counties, OklahomaMay 5, 1960
- F4, Creek, Tulsa and Osage counties, OklahomaJune 8, 1974
- F4, Sequoyah County, OklahomaJanuary 22, 1957
- EF5 El Reno–Piedmont tornado, OklahomaMay 24, 2011
- EF3 El Reno tornado, OklahomaMay 31, 2013
- F3, Okmulgee County, OklahomaApril 26, 1984
The strongest
- F5 Prague–Sapulpa tornado, OklahomaMay 5, 1960
- EF5 El Reno–Piedmont tornado, OklahomaMay 24, 2011
- F5 Udall tornado, KansasMay 25, 1955
- F5 Broken Bow tornado, OklahomaApril 2, 1982
- F5 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 3, 1999
- F5 Blackwell tornado, Oklahoma and KansasMay 25, 1955
- EF5 Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 20, 2013
- F5 Spiro tornado, OklahomaMarch 26, 1976
- F4, Kay, Cowley, Chautauqua, Elk and Greenwood counties, Oklahoma and KansasApril 2, 1956
- F4, Grant, Kay, Sumner and Cowley counties, Oklahoma and KansasMarch 16, 1965
- EF4 Picher–Neosho tornado, Oklahoma and MissouriMay 10, 2008
- F4, Cleveland, Pottawatomie, Seminole and Hughes counties, OklahomaSeptember 14, 1957
The longest paths
- F2, Jackson, Kiowa, Caddo and Grady counties, OklahomaApril 29, 1970
- F4, Kay, Cowley, Chautauqua, Elk and Greenwood counties, Oklahoma and KansasApril 2, 1956
- F3, Cleveland, Pottawatomie, Lincoln and Creek counties, OklahomaMay 5, 1960
- F4, Grant, Kay, Sumner and Cowley counties, Oklahoma and KansasMarch 16, 1965
- F0, Muskogee County, OklahomaApril 22, 2004
- F2, McCurtain, Bowie and Cass counties, Oklahoma and TexasMay 14, 2003
- EF4 Picher–Neosho tornado, Oklahoma and MissouriMay 10, 2008
- F3, Pontotoc, Garvin, Seminole and Hughes counties, OklahomaFebruary 17, 1961
- F5 Prague–Sapulpa tornado, OklahomaMay 5, 1960
- F4, Cleveland, Pottawatomie, Seminole and Hughes counties, OklahomaSeptember 14, 1957
- F3, Grant, Sumner, Kay and Cowley counties, Oklahoma and KansasMarch 26, 1991
- F4, Garfield, Noble and Osage counties, OklahomaApril 26, 1991
The costliest
- EF5 Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 20, 2013
- F5 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 3, 1999
- F4 Moore tornado, OklahomaMay 8, 2003
- EF4 Marietta–Dickson–Baum tornado, OklahomaApril 27, 2024
- F3, Sebastian, Crawford and Sequoyah counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasApril 21, 1996
- F3, Washita County, OklahomaOctober 9, 2001
- EF4 Picher–Neosho tornado, Oklahoma and MissouriMay 10, 2008
- F3, Lincoln and Creek counties, OklahomaMay 3, 1999
- EF2, McClain and Cleveland counties, OklahomaFebruary 26, 2023
- EF2, Tulsa County, OklahomaAugust 6, 2017
- EF2, Cleveland County, OklahomaMarch 25, 2015
- EF2, Caddo County, OklahomaMay 13, 2009
The biggest days in Oklahoma
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 55 tornado tracks surveyed in Oklahoma so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 55 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 105 | 1 | 7 | |
| 2024 | 151 | 8 | 137 | 2 |
| 2023 | 75 | 2 | 17 | |
| 2022 | 54 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 63 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 38 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 148 | 4 | 52 | |
| 2018 | 43 | 5 | ||
| 2017 | 85 | 1 | 40 | |
| 2016 | 57 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| 2015 | 109 | 2 | 55 | |
| 2014 | 16 | 1 | 37 | |
| 2013 | 82 | 34 | 270 | 2 |
| 2012 | 63 | 6 | 32 | |
| 2011 | 118 | 14 | 406 | 3 |
| 2010 | 103 | 7 | 136 | 2 |
| 2009 | 33 | 11 | ||
| 2008 | 78 | 21 | 359 | 1 |
| 2007 | 53 | 2 | 7 | |
| 2006 | 27 | 39 | ||
| 2005 | 27 | |||
| 2004 | 62 | |||
| 2003 | 76 | 151 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2001 | 60 | 1 | 16 | |
| 2000 | 43 | 7 | ||
| 1999 | 141 | 42 | 686 | 3 |
| 1998 | 84 | 35 | ||
| 1997 | 57 | 5 | ||
| 1996 | 49 | 2 | 99 | |
| 1995 | 77 | 2 | ||
| 1994 | 41 | 6 | ||
| 1993 | 64 | 7 | 133 | 1 |
| 1992 | 64 | 33 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 73 | 2 | 80 | 3 |
| 1990 | 30 | 1 | 32 | |
| 1989 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 1988 | 17 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 23 | 8 | ||
| 1986 | 47 | 18 | ||
| 1985 | 36 | 31 | ||
| 1984 | 50 | 13 | 214 | 2 |
| 1983 | 90 | 1 | 6 | |
| 1982 | 99 | 3 | 218 | 1 |
| 1981 | 76 | 6 | 100 | 2 |
| 1980 | 25 | 20 | ||
| 1979 | 48 | 7 | 149 | 1 |
| 1978 | 21 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 54 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| 1976 | 28 | 5 | 77 | 3 |
| 1975 | 34 | 3 | 90 | |
| 1974 | 45 | 16 | 301 | 1 |
| 1973 | 75 | 12 | 210 | 2 |
| 1972 | 30 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| 1971 | 39 | 13 | ||
| 1970 | 50 | 7 | 162 | 1 |
| 1969 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 1968 | 55 | 15 | ||
| 1967 | 49 | 4 | 14 | 2 |
| 1966 | 36 | 21 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 74 | 17 | 1 | |
| 1964 | 53 | 4 | ||
| 1963 | 30 | 1 | 11 | |
| 1962 | 67 | 16 | 2 | |
| 1961 | 81 | 17 | 109 | 1 |
| 1960 | 98 | 35 | 319 | 5 |
| 1959 | 70 | 8 | 43 | 2 |
| 1958 | 42 | 25 | ||
| 1957 | 107 | 22 | 53 | 5 |
| 1956 | 49 | 7 | 171 | 2 |
| 1955 | 76 | 101 | 564 | 2 |
| 1954 | 52 | 3 | 103 | 1 |
| 1953 | 53 | 5 | 45 | |
| 1952 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 1951 | 43 | 16 | ||
| 1950 | 23 | 6 | 45 | 1 |
Every county in Oklahoma
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 4,484. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in OklahomaForecast for your townThe live radar over Oklahoma
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.