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Back-to-back powerful Pacific storm systems to impact the Pacific Northwest and northern California through the end of this week with heavy rain, flooding, strong winds, and higher elevation mountain snow. A strong, long-duration atmospheric river will accompany the Pacific storms, bringing excessive rainfall and flash flooding to southwest Oregon and northwest California through the week. Read More >

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Tornado Track Map for Stephens County, OK
 
Stephens County, OK Tornadoes Prior to 1950
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
  04/30/1898 2230 3 1320   1 19 Stephens Near Duncan
  05/28/1908 Aft   167       Stephens Near Duncan and "Nellie" (10 NW Duncan)
  02/21/1925 1930       1 5 Stephens Near Loco
  04/04/1928 1600           Stephens 3 W Stephens
  05/05/1930 2015   1320   0 3 Stephens Near Marlow Junction
  05/05/1930 2030 6 1760   0 3 Stephens Near Empire
  11/19/1930 1000 1 100   0 1 Stephens N of Marlow
  06/05/1936 2100 20 880   3 5 Jefferson/ Stephens Near Hastings
  04/30/1949 1720   300   0 0 Stephens 12 S Duncan
Stephens County, OK Tornadoes (1950-Present*)
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
1 04/30/1951 2030 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Stephens Central High and Denton areas
2 06/19/1953 1720 0.3 50 F1 0 1 Stephens S of Duncan (Meridian school community)
3 04/29/1954 2145 0.1 20 F1 0 0 Comanche/ Stephens near Lawton - near Marlow
4 05/01/1954 1745 6 100 F3 0 0 Stephens Near Marlow
5 05/01/1954 1745 8 300 F3 0 0 Cotton/ Jefferson/ Stephens southern Cotton county - S of Hastings - near Addington - southern Stephens County
6 04/11/1955 2130 2 10 F0 0 0 Stephens Near Comanche
7 04/11/1955 2130 15 10 F0 0 0 Stephens Near Duncan
8 04/22/1955 1900 0.1 10 F1 0 2 Stephens Near Duncan
9 05/26/1955 0230 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Stephens near Velma
10 04/20/1957 1830 0.1 10 F1 0 1 Stephens 6 W Duncan
11 05/24/1957 2100 0.1 10 F2 0 0 Stephens Denton community (just W of Marlow)
12 05/24/1957 2225 3 10 F2 0 0 Stephens 1.5 SW Duncan - Duncan
13 09/20/1957 2200 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Stephens 2 E Marlow
14 05/04/1960 1858 0.1 10 F3 0 0 Stephens 6 SW - 3 SE Marlow
15 05/19/1960 1650 0.1 10 F? 0 0 Stephens 2 E Duncan
16 05/23/1960 2100 0.1 10 F? 0 0 Stephens 6 W Duncan
17 05/03/1961 0200 0.1 33 F? 0 0 Stephens Near Comanche
18 05/13/1961 1915 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Stephens Duncan
19 05/20/1962 2311 0.1 10 F? 0 0 Stephens 7 N Duncan
20 07/28/1962 1220 1 50 F2 0 1 Stephens S part of Duncan
21 03/30/1963 1630 2 50 F? 0 0 Stephens 3 NE Duncan
22 02/08/1966 1720 11 67 F2 0 2 Stephens Duncan - 2 SE Marlow
23 04/16/1969 1800 8 10 F2 0 1 Stephens 5 S- 6 E Comanche
24 06/11/1970 1445 10 167 F1 0 2 Stephens S edge of Duncan
25 09/07/1970 2030 0.2 200 F2 0 0 Stephens Duncan
26 04/19/1973 2300 2 83 F2 0 4 Stephens Near Velma
27 02/22/1975 0215 5 70 F2 0 2 Stephens 3 SW Duncan - Duncan Airport
28 02/22/1975 0215 6 70 F2 0 4 Stephens 3 W Duncan - W part of Duncan
29 03/02/1977 1705 4 200 F3 0 1 Stephens 3 WSW- ~2 NW Velma
30 04/18/1977 1245 0.5 33 F1 0 0 Stephens 4 SE Marlow
31 04/18/1977 1335 2 50 F1 0 0 Stephens 2 E- 4 E Velma
32 05/05/1977 1930 0.5 50 F1 0 0 Stephens NE part of Duncan
33 05/15/1977 1838 0.8 180 F3 1 2 Stephens Alma
34 04/05/1978 1955 12 150 F2 0 0 Comanche/ Stephens 6 SW- ~4 ENE Pumpkin Center
35 04/05/1978 2022 2 50 F2 0 0 Stephens 5 SW Marlow
36 04/10/1979 1555 74 10 F2 1 3 Wilbarger TX/ Wichita TX/ Tillman OK/ Cotton OK/ Comanche OK/ Stephens OK Harrold TX- 9 NNE Electra TX- Grandfield OK- Pumpkin Center OK- W of Marlow OK [One Fatality and 0 injuries in Texas. Zero fatalities and 3 injuries in Oklahoma. ]
37 04/10/1979 1955 13 170 F3 0 0 Stephens/ Carter 9 N Ringling- Pruitt City- E of Ratliff City
38 05/20/1982 2100 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Stephens Corum
39 06/27/1983 2200 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Stephens 2 W Duncan
40 03/13/1990 1801-1900 21 73 F1 0 0 Jefferson/ Stephens 5 W Waurika- 3 SW Loco
41 03/13/1990 1858-1937 22 200 F3 0 1 Jefferson/ Stephens/ Carter 5 SSW Loco- Ratliff City- 3 NE Ratliff City
42 04/02/1991 1729 0.1 30 F0 0 0 Stephens 2 W Duncan
43 05/08/1993 1605-1609 0.8 50 F0 0 0 Cotton/ Stephens 6 SE Hulen- 6 WNW Empire City
44 05/08/1993 1619-1640 8 60 F0 0 0 Stephens 8 SW- 4 WNW Duncan
45 04/17/1995 1710 0.2 30 F1 0 0 Stephens 2 W Corum
46 04/17/1995 1722 5 400 F1 0 0 Stephens 3 WNW- 3 NE Comanche
47 04/17/1995 1800 0.1 30 F1 0 0 Stephens Velma
48 05/25/1997 1736-1744 0.5 50 F1 0 0 Stephens 3 S Duncan
49 04/06/1998 1945 0.1 30 F0 0 0 Stephens 2 SE Velma
50 05/08/2003 0008-0012 3 200 F1 0 0 Stephens 7 SE - 6 E Duncan
51 05/08/2003 0017 0.5 30 F0 0 0 Stephens 3 W Velma
52 06/04/2005 1745 0.1 20 F0 0 0 Stephens 5 SW Marlow
53 06/04/2005 1753 0.1 20 F0 0 0 Stephens 1.5 SSW Marlow
54 06/04/2005 1805 0.2 75 F0 0 0 Stephens 5 ESE Marlow
55 03/30/2006 1418-1419 0.5 50 F0 0 0 Stephens 6 ESE Duncan
56 05/10/2010 1620-1627 6 700 EF1 0 0 Stephens/ Grady 3 NE Bray - 2.5 ESE Cox City
57 05/10/2010 1650-1654 2 50 EF0 0 0 Stephens 3 E - 5 E Loco
58 05/20/2013 1358-1401 1 30 EF0 0 0 Stephens 7 SSE Marlow
59 05/20/2013 1407-1422 4 200 EF1 0 0 Stephens 4 SSE Marlow - 4 W Bray
60 04/13/2014 1658-1659 0.4 50 EF0 0 0 Stephens 9 NNW Velma
61 04/13/2014 1705 0.3 40 EF0 0 0 Stephens 8.5 N Velma
62 05/08/2016 1803-1807 1.3 40 EF? 0 0 Stephens near Central High
63 05/18/2017 1800 0.2 50 EF0 0 0 Stephens 3 W Duncan
64 04/21/2020 2243-2246 1.6 100 EF1 0 0 Stephens 1.7 NW - 1.2 NE Marlow
65 11/10/2021 1835-1848 4 100 EF? 0 0 Stephens 4 ESE Bray - 2 SW Lake Fuqua Dam
66 12/13/2022 0424-0426 0.3 50 EF1 0 0 Stephens 2 NNW Duncan
67 03/16/2023 1357-1357 0.1 20 EF0 0 0 Stephens 7 N Velma
68 06/15/2023 1611-1613 1 50 EF? 0 0 Stephens 9 NNW Empire City
69 06/15/2023 1634-1636 0.8 200 EF? 0 0 Stephens 3 N - 4 NNE Comanche
70 06/15/2023 1637-1638 0.5 20 EF1 0 0 Stephens 2 WSW - 1 SW Comanche
71 06/15/2023 1703-1705 1.5 50 EF1 0 0 Stephens 6 WNW - 5 W Loco
72 06/15/2023 1716-1728 4 1000 EF2 0 0 Stephens/ Jefferson 3 SE Loco - 6 N Ringling
 

Significant Tornadoes in Stephens County

  Date Time
(CST)
Length
of Path
(miles)
Width
of Path
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Location
  06/19/1953 1720 0.3 50 F1 0 1 Stephens S of Duncan (Meridian school community)

A small tornado touched down briefly in the Meridian School community and damaged a hay barn and other buildings. One person was injured.

  04/22/1955 1900 0.1 10 F1 0 2 Stephens Near Duncan

A tornado touched down and moved north-northeastward at the Breckinridge community near Duncan and damaged roofs, greenhouses, and cars. Two people received head injuries when they were hit by hailstones.

  04/20/1957 1830 0.1 10 F1 0 1 Stephens 6 W Duncan

A funnel was first sighted at Empire City, southwest of Duncan. Eventually, a small tornado touched down briefly and moved southeastward at a farm 6 miles west of Duncan. Strong winds blew over a mobile home and injured 1 person, and other buildings received damage.

  07/28/1962 1220 1 50 F2 0 1 Stephens S part of Duncan

A tornado first touched on U.S. Highway 81 on the south side of Duncan, and lifted a car up before setting it back down on the other side of the highway. The funnel bounced on to the east and destroyed a 16-lane bowling alley by blowing out one wall and collapsing the roof. Along the spotty damage path, 25 other homes and buildings were damaged including an unoccupied house that was picked up off its foundation and smashed into a street. A wind gauge on the south side of Duncan registered its maximum reading of 75 mph during the storm.

A motel's "derrick" television antenna was twister around a small house and a semi-truck and trailer were overturned. Many windows were blown in southern Duncan, and downed trees caused extensive power and telephone outages. One woman was injured when blown down and cut by flying glass. Accompanying lightning struck many homes across the city and caused 7 house fires. Additional water damage was caused by 1-2.5 inches of rainfall and subsequent runoff. Total damages from the event tallied $290,000 with 80 percent attributed to the tornado.

 

  02/08/1966 1720 11 67 F2 0 2 Stephens Duncan - 2 SE Marlow

A small tornado first touched down about a mile southwest of the Duncan business section on the U.S. Highway 81 bypass. The funnel skipped along to the north along 14th Street. Two people were injured at the intersection of 14th and Main Streets where walls of a partially dismantled church collapsed onto and crushed their car. The tornado damaged at least 4 businesses, 18 homes, numerous TV antennas and signs, and many trees were uprooted and snapped off. Flying debris caused power and telephone outages for up to 3 hours. At the north of Duncan, the skipping tornado then followed a north-northeast course across the southeastern edge of the Elks Country Club golf course before lifting. The tornado touched down again 1.8 miles southeast of Marlow where most of hay barn was destroyed and a roof was blown off a shed.

  04/16/1969 1800 8 10 F2 0 1 Stephens 5 S- 6 E Comanche

A tornado began about 5 miles south of Comanche and moved northeastward along an 8-mile-long path before it dissipated 6 miles east of Comanche. Several homes were destroyed or heavily damaged. The Countryside Baptist Church on OK State Highway 53 east of Comanche was destroyed. At least 3 cars and 2 pickup trucks were damaged. One man received serious cuts when his home south of Comanche was hit by the tornado. Hailstone up to 1.75 inches in diameter were reported in the area.

  06/11/1970 1445 10 167 F1 0 2 Stephens S edge of Duncan

This tornado had an intermittent damage path and it struck the southern edge of Duncan. Damage occurred to several homes and businesses. Two small airplanes at the airport were destroyed. Television antennas and tree limbs were blown down along the damage path. Two people had minor injuries.

  04/19/1973 2300 2 83 F2 0 4 Stephens Near Velma

A tornado touched down near Velma and destroyed or damaged several homes. Four people in one family were treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.

  02/22/1975 0215 5 70 F2 0 2 Stephens 3 SW Duncan - Duncan Airport

Two tornadoes hit the Duncan area during the early morning hours of February 22nd. The first tornado began about 3 miles southwest of Duncan and moved northeastward, destroying the airport and damaging other structures. This tornado injured 2 people.

  02/22/1975 0215 6 70 F2 0 4 Stephens 3 W Duncan - W part of Duncan

The second of 2 tornadoes that hit the Duncan area on this date dropped down about 3 miles west of Duncan and moved to the northeast. The tornado ripped off the roof from 2 residences in the western portion of Duncan and did considerable damage to the lights at the baseball and football fields. A portion of a shopping center was damaged, and the tornado injured 4 people.

  03/02/1977 1705 4 200 F3 0 1 Stephens 3 WSW- ~2 NW Velma

A tornado touched down about 3 miles west-southwest of Velma and moved northeastward for 4 miles before dissipating 2 miles northwest of Velma. Two homes were destroyed while 3 homes and 2 mobile homes were heavily damaged. Several houses, barns, and outbuildings were slightly damaged, and many utility lines were knocked down. Most of the damage occurred at the beginning of the tornado track, and one person was injured. The tornado was fully on the ground at the beginning of the path, but had a skipping motion thereafter.

  05/15/1977 1838 0.8 180 F3 1 2 Stephens Alma

A tornado hit the community of Alma with the tornado moving northward through the town. Three houses and one mobile home were destroyed, and 6 homes and 1 school were damaged. A woman was fatally injured when her framed home was swept away.

  04/10/1979 1555 74 10 F2 1 3 Wilbarger TX/ Wichita TX/ Tillman OK/ Cotton OK/ Comanche OK/ Stephens OK Harrold TX- 9 NNE Electra TX- Grandfield OK- Pumpkin Center OK- W of Marlow OK [One Fatality and 0 injuries in Texas. Zero fatalities and 3 injuries in Oklahoma. ]

The tornado first touched down in the vicinity of Harrold, Texas at about 3:55 pm CST. One person was killed as the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 287 near Harrold. The tornado moved northeast and crossed the Red River at about 4:10 pm CST. It then began to intensify and reached maximum strength at the Grandfield Airport at about 4:30 pm CST and then crossed OK State Highway 5 west of Walters. It continued northeast and crossed U.S. Highway 281/177 about 11 miles south of the Lawton Airport. The tornado passed through the Pumpkin Center area around 5:30 pm CST and moved across OK State Highway 7, where it damaged homes on both sides of the highway.

This was a very wide tornado, and 55 miles of its of 64-mile path were traversed in Oklahoma. Large hail was reported with the storm. In the Grandfield area, it damaged or destroyed 8 homes and 4 mobile homes. The Grandfield Airport was demolished, with 8 planes being destroyed and 1 damaged. Near Grandfield, 1 man was seriously injured when he tried to outrun the tornado but was overtaken. Two additional injuries were reported in the area.

Northwest of Walters, 4 houses and 1 mobile home were destroyed and 4 other homes were damaged. A grain elevator was demolished on OK State Highway 5, and another was destroyed near Hulen. In the Pumpkin Center area, 5 homes and 8 mobile homes were destroyed. Some of these homes had been hit by a tornado on April 5, 1978.

  03/13/1990 1858-1937 22 200 F3 0 1 Jefferson/ Stephens/ Carter 5 SSW Loco- Ratliff City- 3 NE Ratliff City

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes occurred in Oklahoma during the after and evening hours of March 13th and into the early morning hours of March 14th. Many reports of large hail were received, with some hailstones reaching the size of softballs. A total of 10 tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma.

This tornado touched down at 5 miles south-southwest of Loco in Jefferson County at 6:58 pm CST and moved northeastward through southeastern Stephens County and northwestern Carter County. The tornado produced damage in Ratliff City in Carter County before dissipating at 7:37 pm CST 3 miles northeast of Ratliff City. The damage in Ratliff City included 5 destroyed mobile homes, a motor home that was rolled 100 feet and destroyed, and severe damage to a gas compressor station. At this station a large metal building and a mobile home were destroyed. In addition, a 5-ton crane was overturned, several vehicles were damaged, and debris was found over a mile to the northeast. One injury occurred to a worker at the gas compressor station. Total damage in the Ratliff City area was estimated at $500,000 to $750,000.

 

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.