Tornado Data, Information and Links

Local and State Tornado Information

• Tornado Data for the state of Oklahoma including monthly/annual statistics, annual lists, and other Oklahoma tornado data.
• Tornado Data for the western north Texas including monthly/annual statistics, decadal lists, and other north Texas tornado data.


• County-by-county listing of tornadoes since 1950 are available for the state of Oklahoma and 8 counties in western north Texas.
• Tornado Data are available for Selected Cities in Oklahoma and western north Texas.


• Comprehensive list of tornadoes in Oklahoma City since 1890.
• 0 for May For the first time since official records began in 1950, no tornadoes were reported in the state of Oklahoma in the month of May for 2005.

Significant Tornadoes and Tornado Outbreaks in the NWS Norman County Warning Area

• The May 10, 1905 Snyder, Oklahoma F5 Tornado - The violent tornado that killed at least 97 people and ravaged the town of Snyder is still ranked as the second deadliest Oklahoma tornado of all time.
• The May 25, 1955 Blackwell, Oklahoma F5 Tornado - This F5 tornado killed 20 people in and near Blackwell during the late evening of May 25, 1955. Another tornado that formed in northern Kay County later that evening would produce F5 damage in Kansas and kill 80 people at Udall, Kansas, making it the deadliest Kansas tornado.
• The April 9, 1947 Woodward, Oklahoma F5 Tornado - This wide, violent tornado literally wiped towns off the map in the eastern Texas panhandle and obliterated parts of Woodward, OK. It killed 116 persons in the state and is ranked as the deadliest Oklahoma tornado.
• The April 10, 1979 Red River Tornado Outbreak . This outbreak included a tornado which devastated parts of Wichita Falls, Texas, and was the most costly tornado until the May 3, 1999 Bridge Creek/Moore/OKC Area tornado.
• Oklahoma City Area Tornadoes of June 13, 1998 The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had not seen any tornadoes since October 1992 when a supercell thunderstorm dropped three tornadoes in Canadian County and four more tornadoes over the northern Oklahoma City metro area.
• The October 4, 1998 Tornado Outbreak Twenty-eight tornadoes occurred in central and eastern Oklahoma, including an F2 tornado which damaged parts of Moore. It was the largest autumnal outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded in Oklahoma.
• The May 3, 1999 Tornado Outbreak This outbreak included nearly 60 tornadoes in central Oklahoma. It was the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded in Oklahoma. The first F5 tornado to ever hit the Oklahoma City metro area killed 36 people and the damage total was estimated at $1 billion, making the it the most costly tornado in the state until the May 20, 2013 EF5 tornado in central Oklahoma. Two F4 tornadoes also ravaged parts of Kingfisher and Logan counties.
• The October 9, 2001 Tornado Outbreak Nineteen tornadoes hit parts of western Oklahoma. Three F3 tornadoes occurred, including a tornado that damaged the southern and eastern sections of Cordell, Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma City Area Tornadoes of May 8, 2003 The central United States experienced a record-breaking week of tornadoes from May 4 through May 10, 2003, when nearly 400 tornadoes occurred in 19 states and caused 42 deaths during the seven days. Included in this total were the tornadoes which hit the southern Oklahoma City metropolitan area on May 8, 2003 including an F4 tornado which tore through parts of Moore, Oklahoma City and Choctaw.
• Oklahoma City Area Tornadoes of May 9, 2003 One day after an F4 tornado struck the southern Oklahoma City metropolitan area, a single supercell thunderstorm produced ten tornadoes in central Oklahoma, including one F3 and two F1 tornadoes in the northern Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
• The May 10, 2010 Tornado Outbreak This outbreak produced 35 tornadoes in the NWS Norman forecast area alone, and a total of 55 tornadoes in Oklahoma. Two EF4 tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, killing 3 people and injuring over 80 others.
• The May 24, 2011 Tornado Outbreak While this outbreak included only 12  tornadoes in the NWS Norman forecast area, 3 of these were violent (1 EF5 and 2 EF4s). The killer tornado that went through Canadian, Kingfisher and Logan Counties was the first F5/EF5 tornado in Oklahoma since the May 3, 1999 outbreak.
• The May 19, 2013 Tornado Outbreak Two supercells in central Oklahoma also produced a total of 8 tornadoes, including one violent tornado that hit parts of Cleveland and Pottawatomie Counties.
• The May 20, 2013 Tornado Outbreak An outbreak of 15 tornadoes occurred in parts of central and eastern Oklahoma. A violent, EF5 tornado struck parts of McClain and Cleveland Counties, including the cities of Newcastle, south Oklahoma City and Moore and killed a total of 24 people. Damage estimates were $2 billion, making this the most costly tornado to ever occur in Oklahoma.
• The May 31-June 1, 2013 Tornado and Flash Flood Event in Central Oklahoma This was the final event in a two-week period of devastating tornadoes and severe weather in late May 2013 that plagued the region. A cluster of supercell thunderstorms impacted central Oklahoma, including the OKC metro area. A total of 19 tornadoes occurred, including the El Reno tornado, which killed 8 people. In addition to the tornado, heavy rains led to flash flooding in the metro area, and claimed another 13 lives, making it one of the most deadly flash flood events to ever occur in Oklahoma City.

Links to Tornado Information Resources

Listed below are web links to information about tornadoes. These links are through the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), National Weather Service (NWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and American Red Cross web sites.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tornadoes

• NWS Norman Tornado FAQ page
• NWS Norman FAQ page about the May 3, 1999 Bridge Creek/OKC Area tornado (See the FAQ section via the "Fast Facts" tab.)
• SPC Tornado FAQ page
• NSSL Tornado FAQ page

Tornado Preparedness Resources

• Tornadoes Safety - NWS
• Severe Thunderstorms Safety - NWS
• Tornado Preparedness - Red Cross
• Tornado Preparedness - FEMA
• Tornado Saferoom Information from FEMA

Tornado Educational Resources

• Owlie Skywarn's Tornado Safety Tips
• FEMA for Kids - Tornadoes

Tornado Research and Information

• NWS Norman Enhanced Fujita Scale web page
• SPC Enhanced Fujita Scale web page
• SPC list of tornado information by web page
• NSSL Tornado Research - VORTEX2
• Mobile Home Tornado Fatalities: Some Observations

Severe Weather and Tornado Climatology

• NCEI Tornado Climatology
• NSSL Strong and Violent Tornado Climatology
• SPC Severe Weather Climatology page

Historical Tornado Events

• Significant Weather Events in the NWS Norman area
• SPC list of web sites dedicated to specific tornado events

Tornado Photos

• NSSL public domain tornado images via the SPC
• Tornado images through the NOAA Photo Library web site