Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma

1977 tornadoes in Oklahoma

54 tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma in 1977, 8 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 18. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1976 1978 The whole country in 1977

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 1977

February 23 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 23	4:20 AM CST	F2	McCurtain	3.3	77		4	$50,000 to $500,000

March 2 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
March 2	1:24 PM CST	F1	Ellis	1.0	100		under $50
March 2	2:00 PM CST	F2	Custer	7.4	440		$50,000 to $500,000
March 2	2:45 PM CST	F1	Dewey	3.8	300		$500 to $5,000
March 2	4:30 PM CST	F2	Grady	4.9	100		$5,000 to $50,000
March 2	4:30 PM CST	F1	Grady	5.7	100		$5,000 to $50,000
March 2	5:05 PM CST	F3	Stephens	4.3	200	1	$50,000 to $500,000
March 2	6:30 PM CST	F2	Carter	8.8	100		$5,000 to $50,000
March 2	6:40 PM CST	F2	Carter	1.0	33	5	$5,000 to $50,000

March 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 10	8:50 PM CST	F1	Cleveland	4.7	77			$50,000 to $500,000

March 17 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 17	4:40 PM CST	F1	Payne	1.0	50			under $50
March 17	4:51 PM CST	F1	Pawnee	5.1	50

April 18 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
April 18	12:45 PM CST	F1	Stephens	0.5	33
April 18	1:35 PM CST	F1	Stephens	2.0	50
April 18	3:30 PM CST	F1	Custer	2.0	100

April 19 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 19	11:00 PM CST	F2	Tillman	0.8	200			$500 to $5,000

May 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 1	4:50 PM CDT	F2	Beaver	2.7	100

May 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 5	8:30 PM CDT	F1	Stephens	0.5	50			$5,000 to $50,000

May 15 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 15	7:38 PM CDT	F3	Stephens	0.8	180	1	2	$50,000 to $500,000
May 15	9:00 PM CDT	F0	Garvin	1.0	33			under $50
May 15	9:14 PM CDT	F0	Garvin	1.0	33

May 16 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 16	6:00 PM CDT	F3	Beckham	6.5	800	$5,000 to $50,000
May 16	6:24 PM CDT	F3	Beckham	18.2	1,320	$50,000 to $500,000
May 16	6:45 PM CDT	F0	Roger Mills	0.1	10

May 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 18	1:50 PM CDT	F4	Cimarron to CO	38.6	440			$500,000 to $5 million
May 18	2:30 PM CDT	F2	Cimarron	16.1	50			$50 to $500

May 19 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 19	5:30 PM CDT	F1	Garvin	0.1	10		$500 to $5,000
May 19	6:23 PM CDT	F2	Garvin	3.3	100	1	$5,000 to $50,000
May 19	6:36 PM CDT	F1	Garvin	1.0	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 19	10:30 PM CDT	F1	Muskogee	0.1	10	2	$5,000 to $50,000

May 20 14 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 20	3:20 PM CDT	F3	Jackson	10.4	880	3	$500,000 to $5 million
May 20	4:35 PM CDT	F1	Major	5.1	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 20	4:43 PM CDT	F1	Grady	2.5	90		$5,000 to $50,000
May 20	5:47 PM CDT	F2	Caddo	13.3	1,100		$50,000 to $500,000
May 20	6:10 PM CDT	F2	Caddo	7.8	1,760		$50,000 to $500,000
May 20	6:38 PM CDT	F3	Tillman	1.5	200		$50,000 to $500,000
May 20	7:00 PM CDT	F2	Kiowa	3.6	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 20	7:15 PM CDT	F1	Garfield	4.1	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 20	7:40 PM CDT	F2	Oklahoma	14.9	400		$500,000 to $5 million
May 20	8:11 PM CDT	F3	Oklahoma	9.9	400		$50,000 to $500,000
May 20	8:20 PM CDT	F2	Logan	1.9	100		$50,000 to $500,000
May 20	8:30 PM CDT	F1	Logan	1.9	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 20	8:45 PM CDT	F1	Grant	0.1	10		$50,000 to $500,000
May 20	12:30 AM CDT	F1	Garvin	2.7	50		$5,000 to $50,000

May 21 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 21	1:30 AM CDT	F2	Pottawatomie	9.2	100			$50,000 to $500,000
May 21	3:00 AM CDT	F0	Cleveland	0.1	50			$500 to $5,000

May 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 28	9:05 PM CDT	F1	Major	0.1	10

June 12 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 12	1:00 PM CDT	F1	Washita	2.0	50
June 12	1:25 PM CDT	F1	Washita	6.4	77	$500 to $5,000
June 12	1:25 PM CDT	F1	Washita	6.4	77

July 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 25	5:30 PM CDT	F2	Muskogee	4.5	100			$5,000 to $50,000

July 26 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 26	10:45 AM CDT	F1	Pontotoc	0.5	20			$50 to $500

August 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 2	6:30 PM CDT	F2	Dewey	8.0	10			$50 to $500

August 23 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 23	2:50 AM CDT	F1	Garfield	1.0	50			$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.