Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma · 1984

F1 tornado, Beckham County, Oklahoma, April 29, 1984

This F1 tornado ran 12.0 miles across Beckham County on April 29, 1984, touching down at 8:40 AM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 to $50,000 of property damage.

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 mphthis tornado

    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.

The record

Rating
F1
Date
April 29, 1984
Touchdown
8:40 AM CDT (13:40 UTC)
Path length
12.0 miles (19.3 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000 to $50,000
County
Beckham County
Touchdown point
35.330, -99.570
Lift-off point
35.370, -99.370
Record number
236

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1984 tornado in OklahomaEvery tornado in Oklahoma since 1950Warnings in force in Oklahoma nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 29, 1984

41 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 299:00 AM CDTF1Pittsburg, OK0.110$50,000 to $500,000
April 299:08 AM CDTF0Muskogee, OK0.110under $50
April 2910:20 AM CDTF4Creek, OK27.0200160$5 million to $50 million
April 2911:15 AM CDTF1Marshall, OK2.010$5,000 to $50,000
April 2911:38 AM CDTF0Sedgwick, KS0.110under $50
April 2911:40 AM CDTF0Sedgwick, KS0.110$50 to $500
April 2911:50 AM CDTF0Sedgwick, KS0.110$50 to $500
April 2911:58 AM CDTF0Sedgwick, KS0.110$500 to $5,000
April 2911:58 AM CDTF0Montgomery, KS0.110$50 to $500
April 2912:00 PM CDTF1Sedgwick, KS0.520$5,000 to $50,000
April 2912:05 PM CDTF1Sedgwick, KS0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 2912:05 PM CDTF0Sedgwick, KS0.110$50 to $500
April 2912:10 PM CDTF2Sedgwick, KS2.020$50,000 to $500,000
April 2912:50 PM CDTF0Chautauqua, KS0.110$500 to $5,000
April 2912:54 PM CDTF0Cowley, KS0.110under $50
April 292:38 PM CDTF1Cowley, KS0.3301$5,000 to $50,000
April 292:40 PM CDTF0Kay, OK0.110under $50
April 293:25 PM CDTF0Chase, KS0.5100$500 to $5,000
April 293:25 PM CDTF0Sedgwick, KS0.110under $50
April 293:40 PM CDTF1Sedgwick, KS10.010$5,000 to $50,000
April 295:40 PM CDTF0Cooper, MO1.050
April 295:45 PM CDTF1Boone, MO0.310$5,000 to $50,000
April 296:30 PM CDTF2Gasconade, MO14.01010$5 million to $50 million
April 296:30 PM CDTF0Panola, TX0.530under $50
April 296:35 PM CDTF1Macon, MO12.0300$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:10 PM CDTF1Carter, MO15.010$500,000 to $5 million
April 297:12 PM CDTF1Oregon, MO5.077$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:18 PM CDTF0Linn, IA0.530$500 to $5,000
April 297:20 PM CDTF3Lincoln, MO8.050$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:30 PM CDTF0Henderson, IL0.110$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:35 PM CDTF1Greene, AR1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
April 297:55 PM CDTF0Dunklin, MO0.510$500 to $5,000
April 297:59 PM CDTF0Henderson, IL0.110under $50
April 298:30 PM CDTF0Henderson, IL0.110under $50
April 299:10 PM CDTF0Henderson, IL0.110under $50
April 299:45 PM CDTF1Coahoma, MS2.01002$50,000 to $500,000
April 299:50 PM CDTF0Hancock, IL0.110under $50
April 2910:00 PM CDTF1Carroll, IL1.010$50,000 to $500,000
April 2910:30 PM CDTF1Tate, MS5.077$5,000 to $50,000
April 2911:45 PM CDTF1LaSalle, IL0.110$50,000 to $500,000
April 2912:25 AM CDTF0Will, IL0.110under $50

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.