National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Thunderstorms in the East Sunday; Excessive Heat Lingers in the Southern U.S. and Returning to California

Scattered damaging winds from severe thunderstorms will be possible across parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Sunday. Excessive heat will continue over the southern U.S. Sunday before another round of heat arrives Monday through the central and southern U.S. spreading into the East by Independence Day. California will see excessive heat starting Tuesday. Read More >

  Select a county from Oklahoma from the menus below.
 
Tornado Track Map for Roger Mills County, OK
 
Roger Mills County, OK Tornadoes Prior to 1950
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
  06/16/1935 2000   n   0 0 Roger Mills Just N of Cheyenne
  05/31/1947 1930 18 660   6 15 Roger Mills/ Dewey Western Roger Mills county - near Leedey
Roger Mills County, OK Tornadoes (1950-Present*)
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
1 04/08/1952 1645 46 100 F0 0 0 Beckham/ Roger Mills/ Dewey 3 SW Sayre - near Leedey [not continuous]
2 04/20/1952 1530 0.1 20 F1 0 0 Harmon/ Beckham/ Roger Mills/ Dewey 2 S Vinson; 4 E Erick; near Sayre; 10 NWW Leedey - near Vici [not continuous]
3 06/01/1952 0049 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Roger Mills SW corner (NW of Meridian community)
4 06/15/1952 0050 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Roger Mills near Cheyenne
5 06/06/1953 2200 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills NE of Cheyenne
6 04/29/1954 1500 33 10 F2 0 0 Roger Mills/ Ellis/ Dewey northern Roger Mills county - southern Ellis county - near Vici
7 05/25/1955 1517 46 1100 F4 2 18 Collingsworth TX/ Wheeler TX/ Roger Mills OK 10 N Wellington TX - 12 SW Cheyenne OK [Two killed and 8 injured in Oklahoma]
8 04/08/1956 1945 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Roger Mills 1 W Reydon
9 05/25/1959 2030 4 440 F2 0 0 Roger Mills 1 NW- 3 NNE Berlin
10 05/04/1961 1500 24 200 F2 0 0 Roger Mills SW of Cheyenne - NE of Strong City
11 05/05/1964 2100 4 440 F2 0 0 Roger Mills Near Dempsey and Grimes
12 05/05/1964 2220 12 440 F2 0 0 Roger Mills 12 NW Hammon
13 05/24/1965 1550 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills N of Reydon
14 09/20/1965 1700 5 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills Near Strong City
15 06/09/1968 2000 0.1 10 F2 0 2 Roger Mills Crawford
16 10/10/1973 0730 36 10 F1 0 0 Beckham/ Roger Mills 5 W Sayre - near Angora
17 05/16/1977 1724 18 1320 F3 0 0 Beckham/ Roger Mills Near Mayfield - Cheyenne Airport [not continuous]
18 05/16/1977 1745 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills SE of Grimes
19 05/28/1980 2045 13 200 F2 0 1 Roger Mills 4 W Reydon - 4 W Cheyenne
20 05/28/1980 2115 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Roger Mills 4 S Cheyenne
21 05/11/1982 1710 11 150 F1 0 0 Roger Mills 5 W Cheyenne - 1.5 W Roll
22 05/27/1982 1645 0.5 50 F2 0 0 Roger Mills 2 S Durham
23 06/13/1983 1519 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills 5 SW Hammon
24 04/20/1984 1355 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills 3/4 E Cheyenne
25 03/22/1987 2110 0.2 10 F0 0 0 Roger Mills 5 W Cheyenne
26 06/06/1989 1959 15 20 F0 0 0 Roger Mills 2 E Durham- 6 NW Cheyenne
27 06/08/1995 2018 5 300 F2 0 0 Roger Mills 8 NNW- 11 NNE Reydon
28 10/09/2001 1412-1418 3 50 F1 0 0 Roger Mills/ Beckham 2 SE - 3 ENE Berlin (8 WNW Elk City)
29 04/15/2003 1700-1712 10 440 F1 0 0 Roger Mills 7 S Reydon - 5 W Cheyenne
30 04/15/2003 1741-1743 0.5 50 F0 0 0 Roger Mills 8.5 NE - 9 NE Strong City
31 04/15/2003 1748 0.1 50 F1 0 0 Roger Mills 5 W Angora
32 05/15/2003 2153-2217 16 1760 F2 0 0 Wheeler TX/ Roger Mills OK near Kelton TX - 3 N Sweetwater OK [F1 in Oklahoma]
33 05/05/2007 1840-1842 0.8 100 EF0 0 0 Roger Mills 7 ENE Reydon
34 05/05/2007 1903 0.3 40 EF0 0 0 Roger Mills 1 NE Crawford
35 05/05/2007 1904-1926 8 150 EF3 0 1 Beckham/ Roger Mills 2.5 S Sweetwater - Sweetwater - 5 N Sweetwater
36 05/05/2007 1916-1933 5 200 EF0 0 0 Roger Mills/ Ellis 4 N Crawford - 13 S Arnett
37 05/05/2007 1932-1951 9 300 EF1 0 0 Roger Mills 1.5 SW Dempsey - 8.5 W Cheyenne
38 05/05/2007 2005-2028 8 500 EF1 0 0 Roger Mills 6 SW - 2.5 NW Roll
39 05/05/2007 2034-2058 8 300 EF2 0 1 Roger Mills/ Ellis 4.5 NNE Roll - 17 SSW Harmon
40 04/26/2009 1525-1531 4 100 EF0 0 0 Roger Mills 3 SW - 0.5 E Crawford
41 04/26/2009 1534-1550 10 300 EF2 0 0 Roger Mills/ Ellis 3 NE Crawford - 14 SSW Harmon
42 03/08/2010 1720-1800 10 100 EF2 0 0 Roger Mills/ Custer 6 SW Hammon - Hammon - 3 NE Hammon
43 05/09/2015 1924-1926 2 100 EF0 0 0 Beckham/ Roger Mills 6.5 N Elk City - 1 SSW Carpenter
44 05/16/2015 1549-1555 4 100 EF1 0 0 Roger Mills 12 NE - 15 NNE Strong City
45 05/16/2016 2035-2037 0.6 50 EF1 0 0 Hemphill TX/ Roger Mills OK 16 SE Glazier TX - 5 WNW Durham OK
46 05/16/2017 1718-1730 10 150 EF2 0 0 Roger Mills 6 SSE Reydon - 6 WNW Cheyenne
47 05/16/2017 1745-1746 0.8 50 EF1 0 0 Roger Mills 2 NNW Strong City
48 10/26/2021 1955 0.2 50 EF? 0 0 Roger Mills 8 WNW Leedey (16 NE Roll)
49 02/26/2023 1913-1918 7 500 EF2 1 3 Roger Mills 2 W Cheyenne - 1 W Strong City
50 06/15/2023 1747-1750 1 50 EF? 0 0 Roger Mills 4 SW Durham
 

Significant Tornadoes in Roger Mills County

  Date Time
(CST)
Length
of Path
(miles)
Width
of Path
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Location
  05/31/1947 1930 18 800   7 15 Roger Mills/Dewey Western Roger Mills County - near Leedey

This violent tornado formed at 7:30 pm CST in rural eastern Roger Mills County about 15 miles west-southwest of Leedey, OK. The tornado unroofed the Three Corner School near its touchdown point before slowly moving east-northeast and crossing into Dewey County. The tornado then hit Leedey and slowly ground through the northern two-thirds of the town before dissipating 3 miles east-northeast of Leedey. The tornado was slow moving and highly visible, and Leedey residents had 30-45 minutes to take cover from the approaching storm. A warning sounded by siren and loud-speaker sent many of the city's residents, who were busy with Saturday evening shopping, into storm cellars well before the arrival of the tornado.

The twister took about 5 minutes to cut a swath a half mile wide through Leedey, and it destroyed 75 percent of the business district, including 20 buildings in a thirty-block area. Many homes and businesses were swept clean by the tornado, and several inches of top soil were vacuumed from the ground in some of the affected areas. A total of 147 homes were destroyed and another 200 or 300 homes were damaged. Seven people were killed by the tornado and 15 people were injured. These totals may have been much higher if the tornado had occurred undetected after dark. It is possible that the slow movement of the storm lent to the F5 appearance of the damage, and winds of less than F5 intensity may have been responsible for the worst damage.

  05/25/1955 1700 46 1100 F4 2 18
(8)
Collingsworth TX/ Wheeler TX/ Roger Mills 10 N Wellington TX - 12 SW of Cheyenne

The tornado began near Shamrock, first sighted 10 miles north of Wellington, touching down in an open field. It moved northeastward through Wheeler, TX where 5 people were injured. The tornado crossed into Oklahoma 15 miles west of Wheeler, and continued through Roger Mills County in west central Oklahoma between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm CST before dissipating 12 miles west of Cheyenne. Two people were killed 12 miles west of Cheyenne and another eight were injured along the tornado’s path in Roger Mills County. The tornado caused $5,000 damage to crops and $250,000 damage to other property. Portions of a highway were lifted and hailstones to the size of baseballs were reported.

  06/09/1968 2000 0.1 10 F2 0 2 Roger Mills Crawford

A small tornado touched down briefly and unroofed the Crawford school gymnasium and a hay barn, and uprooted or toppled multiple trees. One woman was injured by flying debris while running to a storm shelter, and a man suffered face lacerations and the loss of two teeth when slammed in the face by a storm cellar door.

  05/28/1980 2045 13 200 F2 0 1 Roger Mills 4 W Reydon - 4 W Cheyenne

A funnel cloud was initially observed 5 miles west of Reydon at 8:42 pm CST. At 8:45 pm CST, a tornado touched down 4 miles west of Reydon and moved east-southeast near the southern edge of Reydon before dissipating 4 miles west of Cheyenne. One person was slightly injured by flying glass. The tornado damaged a gas well, about 20 farm houses, and 60 farm buildings. Heavy rain accompanied the tornado.

  05/05/2007 1904-1926 8 150 EF3 0 1 Beckham/ Roger Mills 2.5 S Sweetwater - Sweetwater - 5 N Sweetwater

An upper-level storm system moved slowly into south central Colorado during the afternoon. A dry line had become established and was located along the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle border. Also, favorable upper-level winds were rotating around the upper-level storm system, crossing the dryline over western Oklahoma. As the afternoon progressed, convergence along the dryline became maximized over this area. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours and they quickly became supercells. Two of the supercells produced several tornadoes. The northern tornadic storm produced five tornadoes from southwest of Roll to just east of Arnett. The southern tornadic storm also produced five tornadoes in Oklahoma from near Sweetwater to near Sharon. Large hail was also observed. The supercells moved northeast out of Oklahoma during the late evening hours. Monetary values for the tornado damage were estimated.

This is the first tornado that occurred in Oklahoma with the southern tornadic supercell. The tornado appears to have developed 1/2 mile north of E1130 road and along Highway 30 in northern Beckham County, about 2 1/2 miles south of Sweetwater. The first evidence of a tornado was damage to an outbuilding at a gas facility on the west side of the highway along with some tree damage. The tornado moved north along and parallel to Highway 30, damaging trees, homes and some outbuildings. Damage in this area was mainly in the EF0 range.

The most significant damage occurred when the tornado struck the Sweetwater school. At this location, the tornado is estimated to have been 100-150 yards wide. The most significant damage was to a metal building that was the school's multi-purpose building, which was almost completely destroyed. The anchoring that connected the building to the foundation appeared to have failed, allowing all but the most northern section of the building to collapse. A small building that connected this building with the school's gymnasium suffered only slight damage. The gymnasium, at the northwest corner of the school, suffered substantial roof damage, which appeared to have caused the west masonry wall of the school to collapse outward.

Other damage on the school property consisted of a small storage building of similar construction as the multi-purpose building being completely destroyed, a bus barn/garage structure suffering damage when the large garage doors blew inward, and damage to trees, power lines and fences. A pickup truck, which had been parked in the school's parking lot, was rolled/tossed approximately 100 yards to the north. A horse trailer that had been near the storage building at the southwest edge of the school property was found more than one quarter mile away in a field. A man suffered minor injuries near this location.

Just north of the school, a home was damaged and an oil storage facility was also hit. An oil tank from this location was found approximately 500 yards away. Several animals were killed when a garage was destroyed. A RV was also destroyed. Numerous cars and school buses were damaged or destroyed. The damage to the multi-purpose building at the Sweetwater school is consistent with damage at the low end of the EF-3 scale. The remainder of the damage was primarily in the EF0-EF1 category. The tornado continued and crossed into Roger Mills County.

The tornado continued to produce damage as it moved north along Highway 30 into Sweetwater. The church and post office were damaged, as were several outbuildings and businesses. Damage continued for approximately 5 miles north of Sweetwater, with some substantial tree damage noted on the west side of Highway 30...and numerous power lines downed. The tornado appeared to have dissipated just south of E1040 road in southern Roger Mills County. Monetary damages were estimated.

  05/05/2007 2034-2058 8 300 EF2 0 1 Roger Mills/ Ellis 4.5 NNE Roll - 17 SSW Harmon

An upper-level storm system moved slowly into south central Colorado during the afternoon. A dry line had become established and was located along the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle border. Also, favorable upper-level winds were rotating around the upper-level storm system, crossing the dryline over western Oklahoma. As the afternoon progressed, convergence along the dryline became maximized over this area. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours and they quickly became supercells. Two of the supercells produced several tornadoes.

A tornado touched down in far northern Roger Mills County at 8:34 pm CST, and moved northeast crossing the Canadian River into Ellis County. Some tree damage was noted about 4.5 miles north-northeast of Roll in Roger Mills County. This is the fourth tornado in Oklahoma from the southern supercell.

This tornado crossed the Canadian River into southern Ellis County at 8:36 pm CST. Two houses and two mobile homes were destroyed in the Packsaddle area of southern Ellis County to the east of US Highway 283 (about 18 miles south-southwest of Harmon), and a roof was removed from another mobile home. At least one of these homes suffered a complete removal of the roof and some damage to the exterior walls. Several cars were damaged or destroyed, as well as trees and power lines.

  03/08/2010 1720-1800 10 100 EF2 0 0 Roger Mills/ Custer 6 SW Hammon - Hammon - 3 NE Hammon

A strong upper level storm system moved east through New Mexico and into the Texas Panhandle during the day on the March 8, 2010. Thunderstorms developed over northern Texas and crossed into southern Oklahoma during the morning and early afternoon hours. This area of thunderstorms weakened as they crossed the Red River, leaving widespread cloud cover over the region. However, later in the afternoon, the skies cleared over western Oklahoma, and this allowed for heating to commence in advance of the dry line that was sharpening up over the Texas Panhandle. Thunderstorms moved into western Oklahoma and became severe over Roger Mills County. Initially, marginally severe hail up to quarter size was reported, but the storm eventually spawned two tornadoes, one of them significant. The first tornado occurred southwest of Hammon, with EF2 damage reported on the southeast side of Hammon. The second tornado occurred farther east, but did not produce any damage.

A relatively long track tornado touched down in a rural area to the southwest of Hammon, and then tracked to the northeast towards the town of Hammon. This tornado was on the ground for around 40 minutes, moving mainly over rural areas. Initially, the only damage from the tornado was snapped trees and power poles/lines. As the tornado tracked northeast near the end of the tornado track, the tornado clipped the southeastern edge of the town of Hammon. A couple of trailers, the county barn, and a home sustained major damage. Other buildings, trees, power lines/poles, and cars also received significant damage near and around the town of Hammon. The tornado moved into Custer County and finally dissipated to the northeast of Hammon. No significant damage occurred in Custer County.

 

Records taken from the Storm Prediction Center archive data, "Storm Data", and data from the National Weather Service office in Norman. Data modified as described in NOAA Tech Memo NWS SR-209 (Speheger, D., 2001: "Corrections to the Historic Tornado Database").

Historic data, especially before 1950, are likely incomplete.