Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma

1970 tornadoes in Oklahoma

50 tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma in 1970, 15 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 7 people and injured 162. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1969 1971 The whole country in 1970

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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 1970

April 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 18	4:10 PM CST	F2	Pontotoc	5.2	50			$5,000 to $50,000
April 18	6:15 PM CST	F0	McIntosh	0.5	100

April 26 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 26	7:30 PM CDT	F0	Major	0.1	10	under $50
April 26	9:30 PM CDT	F3	Major	1.0	10	under $50
April 26	9:30 PM CDT	F0	Garfield	3.6	50	$50,000 to $500,000

April 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 29	11:25 PM CDT	F2	Jackson	170.5	250		2	$500,000 to $5 million

April 30 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 30	2:00 AM CDT	F2	Grady	46.7	500		6	$5 million to $50 million
April 30	3:45 AM CDT	F1	Payne	0.2	50		2	$5,000 to $50,000

May 9 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 9	9:15 PM CDT	F1	Mayes	2.0	10			$500 to $5,000

May 28 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 28	6:45 PM CDT	F0	Jackson	0.1	10
May 28	7:05 PM CDT	F0	Jackson	0.1	10
May 28	7:30 PM CDT	F0	Jackson	0.1	10

May 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 29	6:50 PM CDT	F0	Okfuskee	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000

June 11 14 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 11	1:00 PM CDT	F1	Washita	0.1	10			$50 to $500
June 11	3:00 PM CDT	F2	Kingfisher	0.1	10		2
June 11	3:10 PM CDT	F3	Oklahoma	13.2	100		1	$50,000 to $500,000
June 11	3:45 PM CDT	F1	Stephens	10.1	167		2	$5,000 to $50,000
June 11	4:45 PM CDT	F1	Lincoln	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000
June 11	6:05 PM CDT	F2	Murray	2.0	100			$5,000 to $50,000
June 11	6:11 PM CDT	F0	Creek	2.0	50
June 11	6:30 PM CDT	F2	Okfuskee	0.1	100			$5,000 to $50,000
June 11	7:00 PM CDT	F1	Johnston	0.1	10		1
June 11	7:12 PM CDT	F2	Pontotoc	2.5	440			$5,000 to $50,000
June 11	8:00 PM CDT	F2	Craig	15.4	150	1	1	$50,000 to $500,000
June 11	9:00 PM CDT	F2	Pittsburg	5.2	440	1	14	$500,000 to $5 million
June 11	9:15 PM CDT	F3	Adair to AR	51.8	250	1	45	$500,000 to $5 million
June 11	12:00 AM CDT	F2	Pushmataha	0.1	10			$50,000 to $500,000

June 19 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 19	6:45 PM CDT	F0	Canadian	0.1	10

June 20 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 20	5:53 PM CDT	F0	Grady	0.1	10
June 20	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Kay	0.5	100

July 16 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 16	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Woodward	0.1	10

July 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 28	5:43 PM CDT	F0	Woods	0.8	440			$500 to $5,000

August 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 17	6:00 PM CDT	F1	Wagoner	0.1	10			$50,000 to $500,000

September 3 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 3	7:30 PM CDT	F1	Blaine	0.1	10	$500 to $5,000
September 3	9:30 PM CDT	F1	Craig	0.1	10	$500 to $5,000
September 3	11:15 PM CDT	F0	Rogers	0.1	10

September 6 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 6	8:25 PM CDT	F2	Beaver	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000
September 6	10:30 PM CDT	F2	Harper	8.8	10			$5,000 to $50,000

September 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 7	9:30 PM CDT	F2	Stephens	0.2	200			$5,000 to $50,000

September 22 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 22	12:00 PM CDT	F1	Okmulgee	0.5	100			$5,000 to $50,000

September 25 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 25	7:40 PM CDT	F0	McIntosh	0.3	10
September 25	7:51 PM CDT	F0	McIntosh	0.3	10

October 5 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 5	4:40 PM CDT	F2	Cleveland	24.4	200		1	$5,000 to $50,000
October 5	4:42 PM CDT	F4	Pottawatomie	25.0	150	4	84	$5 million to $50 million

October 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 6	5:30 PM CDT	F0	McCurtain	0.3	100			$500 to $5,000

October 7 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 7	12:30 AM CDT	F1	Pontotoc	2.0	200			$5,000 to $50,000
October 7	12:30 AM CDT	F1	Pontotoc	0.5	100			$5,000 to $50,000

October 8 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 8	9:30 AM CDT	F1	Bryan	1.0	100		1	$5,000 to $50,000
October 8	1:15 PM CDT	F1	LeFlore	0.5	33			$500 to $5,000

October 26 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 26	5:15 PM CST	F1	Pittsburg	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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