Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma

1968 tornadoes in Oklahoma

55 tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma in 1968, about the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

1967 1969 The whole country in 1968

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    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.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    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.

  7. 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.

Every tornado in Oklahoma in 1968

April 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 29:00 PM GMT-6F2Beckham1.410$5,000 to $50,000

April 3 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 312:10 AM GMT-6F2Noble15.9100$5,000 to $50,000
April 312:15 AM GMT-6F2Noble4.71001$5,000 to $50,000

April 16 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 167:45 PM GMT-6F0Kingfisher0.110
April 1610:15 PM GMT-6F2Logan0.3503$50,000 to $500,000

April 19 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 1912:15 PM GMT-6F1Atoka5.41503$5,000 to $50,000
April 192:30 PM GMT-6F2LeFlore1.01001$5,000 to $50,000
April 193:45 PM GMT-6F1Grady0.110$500 to $5,000
April 193:45 PM GMT-6F3Seminole6.6150$5,000 to $50,000
April 194:00 PM GMT-6F1Kay0.550$500 to $5,000
April 194:58 PM GMT-6F2Pontotoc3.3272$5,000 to $50,000

April 21 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 214:00 AM GMT-6F1Logan0.2100$5,000 to $50,000
April 215:20 PM GMT-6F1Kingfisher0.110$50 to $500

April 22 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 222:00 PM GMT-6F0Kiowa0.110
April 223:50 PM GMT-6F2Oklahoma0.1171$50,000 to $500,000
April 225:40 PM GMT-6F1Latimer3.3671$5,000 to $50,000

May 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 28:30 PM GMT-5F1Comanche0.117$50 to $500

May 3 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 34:10 AM GMT-5F0Beaver0.110

May 6 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 66:15 PM GMT-5F2Harmon4.710$50,000 to $500,000
May 68:30 PM GMT-5F1Harmon0.110
May 68:44 PM GMT-5F1Greer0.110

May 7 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 72:15 PM GMT-5F0Jefferson2.050$500 to $5,000
May 79:35 PM GMT-5F0LeFlore0.110

May 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 86:45 PM GMT-5F0Kay0.110$500 to $5,000

May 13 9 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 131:15 PM GMT-5F1Garvin1.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 131:45 PM GMT-5F1Garvin2.5150$5,000 to $50,000
May 132:45 PM GMT-5F3Pottawatomie11.6100$50,000 to $500,000
May 133:30 PM GMT-5F1Pushmataha0.110$500 to $5,000
May 134:00 PM GMT-5F0Pontotoc0.350
May 135:05 PM GMT-5F1Pittsburg0.3200$500 to $5,000
May 135:35 PM GMT-5F1Latimer0.110
May 137:20 PM GMT-5F1Marshall0.110$5,000 to $50,000
May 138:15 PM GMT-5F0Marshall3.810$5,000 to $50,000

May 16 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 163:15 PM GMT-5F0Carter0.110
May 164:15 PM GMT-5F0Love0.110
May 165:43 PM GMT-5F0Cotton0.110
May 166:45 PM GMT-5F1Love0.110
May 167:00 PM GMT-5F0Jefferson0.110

May 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 229:30 PM GMT-5F2Kay11.1100$5,000 to $50,000

May 23 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 231:30 AM GMT-5F1Ottawa0.110$500 to $5,000

May 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 259:30 AM GMT-5F2Sequoyah2.0331$5,000 to $50,000

May 29 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 2910:25 PM GMT-5F0Comanche0.110

June 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 13:15 PM GMT-5F2Adair to AR10.1500$5,000 to $50,000

June 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 57:18 PM GMT-5F0Grady0.110

June 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 86:30 PM GMT-5F2Beaver0.810$500 to $5,000

June 9 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 94:30 PM GMT-5F0Ellis0.110
June 95:20 PM GMT-5F1Harper0.110
June 97:15 PM GMT-5F0Texas0.110
June 99:00 PM GMT-5F2Roger Mills0.1102$5,000 to $50,000

June 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 156:20 PM GMT-5F0Comanche0.110under $50

June 30 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 3010:25 PM GMT-5F2Logan2.050$50 to $500

August 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 105:27 PM GMT-5F2Oklahoma0.150$5,000 to $50,000

December 18 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 188:30 AM GMT-6F2Caddo1.8300$5,000 to $50,000
December 181:00 PM GMT-6F2Tulsa3.8100$5,000 to $50,000
December 181:05 PM GMT-6F1Pittsburg0.550$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in OklahomaThe 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.