Tornadoes · United States · Oklahoma

Tornadoes in Adair County, Oklahoma

42 tornadoes have crossed Adair County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 66th of the 77 counties in Oklahoma with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 5 people and injured 65. None was rated F4 or above.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  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.

Now

Tornadoes
42
Deaths
5
Injuries
65
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, December 31, 2010

The deadliest in Adair County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 25 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Adair County. Each year links to every tornado in Oklahoma that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20257EF1
20242EF2
202211EF1
20212EF1
20201EF1
20191EF1
201815EF2
20171EF1
201614EF2
20152EF1
20133EF1
20121EF1
20111EF2
20101410EF3
20083EF2
19993F3
19952F1
19931F0
19911F1
19731F1
19701145F3
19681F2
19661F1
19612F2

Every tornado that crossed Adair County

42 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Oklahoma. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 14, 202611:54 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR7.5700
June 18, 20251:14 AM CDTEF1Adair8.8750$100,000
June 18, 20251:04 AM CDTEF1Cherokee7.71,000$50,000
May 19, 20257:11 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR8.21,000
May 19, 20256:55 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR16.72,200$50,000
May 19, 20256:55 PM CDTEF1St. Clair to OK, AR4.650$150,000
May 19, 20256:47 PM CDTEF1Cherokee10.41,300
May 19, 20256:44 PM CDTEF1Cherokee12.31,100$50,000
November 4, 20243:21 PM CSTEF2Cherokee to AR32.91,200$280,000
May 7, 20242:23 AM CDTEF2Adair to AR11.7800$75,000
April 13, 20228:50 AM CDTEF1Adair6.57001$300,000
April 28, 20216:06 AM CDTEF1Adair7.1225$50,000
April 28, 20216:01 AM CDTUnratedAdair1.5100
May 25, 20207:11 PM CDTEF1Adair0.6120
October 20, 201912:00 AM CDTEF1Adair to AR9.1900$225,000
November 30, 20189:43 PM CSTEF2Sequoyah47.01,1005$2.0 million
March 6, 20179:44 PM CSTEF1Adair6.1650$100,000
March 23, 20169:51 PM CDTEF2Adair to AR11.18004$375,000
July 9, 20155:18 PM CDTEF1Adair3.7500
March 25, 20158:06 PM CDTEF0Adair0.150
May 20, 20136:40 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR8.0500$225,000
May 20, 20136:35 PM CDTEF1Adair2.5300$15,000
May 20, 20136:32 PM CDTEF1Adair to MO2.0150
April 15, 20129:22 AM CDTEF1Cherokee14.5500$75,000
May 22, 20118:14 PM CDTEF2Adair4.5200$250,000
December 31, 20106:05 AM CSTEF3Adair to AR21.1500410$1.9 million
April 10, 20085:26 AM CDTEF2Adair to AR9.0400$125,000
April 10, 20085:15 AM CDTEF2Adair2.8300$100,000
January 7, 20088:08 PM CSTEF0Adair0.150
May 10, 19993:11 AM CDTF0Adair0.550$1,000
May 4, 199912:54 PM CDTF3Sequoyah to AR38.20$100,000
May 4, 19993:11 AM CDTF1Adair0.550$1,000
October 26, 19957:46 PM CDTF0Adair3.073$5,000 to $50,000
April 17, 199512:02 AM CDTF1Adair1.073$50,000 to $500,000
April 24, 19939:15 PM CDTF0Adair0.110
October 28, 19914:15 AM CSTF1Adair10.3800$50,000 to $500,000
June 16, 19738:20 PM CDTF1Adair0.140$500 to $5,000
June 11, 19709:15 PM CDTF3Adair to AR51.8250145$500,000 to $5 million
June 1, 19683:15 PM GMT-5F2Adair to AR10.1500$5,000 to $50,000
June 30, 19665:15 PM GMT-5F1Adair0.233$500 to $5,000
May 8, 19614:40 AM GMT-5F2Adair0.1200$5,000 to $50,000
May 6, 19614:00 PM GMT-5F1Adair0.810$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Adair CountyThe forecast for Adair CountyThe live radar over Adair CountyEvery county in 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.