Several recorded destructive tornadoes have hit the U.S. state of Oklahoma since 1882, the year with the first recorded tornado within state boundaries. Oklahoma, located in Tornado Alley, experiences around 68 tornadoes annually, with each EF3+ tornado killing an average of 2.9 people. 497 tornadoes have been classified as "intense" in Oklahoma, being rated F3+ on the Fujita scale or EF3+ on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Oklahoma has seen thirteen F5 or EF5 tornadoes since 1905, the most recent hitting Moore in May 2013. The deadliest sliced through the Oklahoma panhandle in April 1947, hitting Woodward and killing at least 182 people.
Oklahoma was struck by several significant tornadoes prior to 1950, including an F5 tornado that hit Snyder and a large tornado that passed over Woodward and surrounding communities. The first tornado warning ever issued in the United States was sent out for the Tinker Air Force Base area on March 25, 1948, shortly before an F3 tornado hit the base. The 1950s were particularly devastating for Oklahoma, with 546 tornadoes killing a total of 154 people. A large F5-rated tornado hit Blackwell in the early hours of May 26, 1955, and an F4 tornado killed seven people west of Stonewall in May 1959. Tornadoes in the 1960s were less damaging, with a total of 581 tornadoes touching down within state boundaries, killing 57 people. An F5 tornado moved through Prague and Sapulpa in May 1960, killing five people along a track. An F3 tornado hit downtown Oklahoma City five days earlier, inflicting $2.5 million (1960 USD) in damages to the city and injuring 57 people.
The 1970s, like the 1950s, was a particularly deadly decade for tornadoes in Oklahoma, with 433 tornadoes killing a combined total of 110 people. The deadliest, rated F4, hit Wichita Falls, Texas before moving into Jefferson County on April 10, 1979. 42 people were killed by the tornado and a further 1,740 were injured. The majority of casualties took place along the tornado's track through Texas. Only 25 people were killed by tornadoes through the 1980s, eight of which were the result of an F3 tornado that moved through Morris on April 26, 1984. The strongest tornado was an F5 that moved through rural Choctaw and McCurtain counties, injuring 29.
The 1990s were a significant decade for severe weather in Oklahoma, with over 55 people being killed by a total of 688 tornadoes. The deadliest and most powerful devastated Bridge Creek, Moore and surrounding suburbs of Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999, where 41 people were killed. The tornado, which received an F5 rating, had the highest measured windspeeds ever recorded on Earth, at . The tornado inflicted a total of $1 billion (1999 USD) in damage to the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, making it the second-costliest in Oklahoma history. A large F4 tornado killed two people in Cimarron City and Mulhall on the same day; it was the largest tornado ever measured quantitatively.
The 2000s were less significant, with 483 tornadoes killing a total of 32 people. A large F4 tornado moved through southwestern Oklahoma City in May 2003, injuring 134 people. The first violent tornado to be rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale in Oklahoma hit the town of Picher on May 10, 2008, killing 21 people and inflicting an estimated $15,000,000 (2008 USD) in damages to structures and farms along a spanning from Craig County in Oklahoma to Barry County in Missouri. The 2010s would mark a broad increase in the number of tornadoes that touched down annually, jumping from 103 in 2010 to 149 in 2019; the latter was the second-worst year for tornadoes in Oklahoma history, only behind 2024, which saw 152 tornadoes. The deadliest tornado of the decade would again hit Moore on May 20, 2013, killing 24 people and receiving a rating of EF5, making it the last tornado worldwide to top the Enhanced Fujita Scale until 2025. The tornado was the costliest in Oklahoma history and the third costliest in US history, leaving an estimated $2 billion (2013 USD) worth of damages in its wake.
Tornadoes in Oklahoma have broken numerous national and worldwide records. Both the widest and most powerful tornadoes ever recorded occurred in Oklahoma. Two of the top ten costliest tornadoes in history have happened in Oklahoma and the state also has the most violent tornadoes out of any other state. Tornadoes in Oklahoma have also been extensively depicted in media; both 1996's Twister and its 2024 sequel Twisters take place primarily in Oklahoma. Into the Storm and 13 Minutes, released in 2014 and 2021 respectively, are both set in fictional Oklahoma towns that were hit by tornadoes.
Climatology Oklahoma is located in Tornado Alley, an expanse of land stretching from South Dakota to Texas. Tornadoes are more frequent in Tornado Alley than anywhere else in the world, and Oklahoma sees the second-highest number of tornadoes out of any state. In the alley, warm and humid air from the Gulf of Mexico meets cold, dry air from Canada and produced by the Rocky Mountains. This creates an ideal environment for tornadoes to form within supercellular thunderstorms. +Worst tornado years for OklahomaYearMax F/EF#TornadoesDeaths2024 EF415282019 EF314941999 F5145422011 EF5119142015 EF311121957 F410722
Deadliest tornadoes +Ten deadliest Oklahoma tornadoesDateF/EF#DeathsInjuriesHardest-hit communityApril 9, 1947 F5116782WoodwardThe deadliest tornado to strike within the borders of the state of Oklahoma occurred on April 9, 1947, in the city of Woodward. The Woodward tornadic supercell thunderstorm began in the Texas Panhandle during the afternoon of April 9, 1947, and produced at least six tornadoes along a path that stretched from White Deer, Texas to St. Leo, Kansas. At least 116 lives were lost in Oklahoma and another 68 deaths were recorded in Texas as a direct result of the tornado.May 10, 1905 F59758SnyderThis tornado developed about southeast of the Frances school house in Greer County (now Jackson County). Homes were swept away about southeast of Altus. From its inception, this tornado moved east-northeast crossing the North Fork of the Red River near the mouth of Otter Creek. The tornado followed very close to Otter Creek curving to the northeast through what is now northern Tillman County (but was still part of Kiowa County at the time). Three people were killed about southwest of Snyder. As the tornado continued northeast it struck the city of Snyder at around 8:45 pm CST. The tornado struck Snyder beginning in the southwest corner of town and destroyed or damaged homes and other buildings west of Main Street and from 6th Street northward through the city. No buildings north of the railroad were left standing. After moving through Snyder, the tornado continued to the northeast, destroying a couple of small residences within two miles of the town site, then lifted about northeast of Snyder.May 2, 1920 F471100PeggsThis violent tornado began 2 miles southwest of Peggs, moved northeast, and cut a , swath of devastation that included the entire town of 250 people. Around 8:30 pm CST, a loud roar was heard by residents just before the tornado hit Peggs at 8:35 pm CST. The town was almost completely destroyed, with only seven buildings remaining partially intact. Only a small, wood house, used as the city jail and located next to a smashed concrete store, was still standing. A cement block schoolhouse that was located west of Peggs had only partly standing walls after the tornado hit it. The tornado traveled at least as far as the Illinois River to the east of Peggs where a house was demolished. Wheat fields were scoured and trees were carried away by the storm, and scores of livestock were killed or injured. Eleven members of one family were killed by the tornado, and in one smashed house a total of 20 mud-covered bodies were recovered. A total of 71 persons were killed and another 100 were injured by the storm. Nearly 30% of the town's population was killed and another 40% were injured.April 12, 1945 F569353AntlersThis violent tornado was part of an outbreak of devastating severe weather and flooding that occurred in Oklahoma on April 12–15, 1945, and was one of the 5 violent twisters that hit the state on April 12. The tornado touched down at 5:30 pm CST in about 5 miles southwest of Antlers near the Hall Community in Pushmataha County. The tornado moved to the northeast and struck Antlers, passing from the southwest corner of the town through the northeast portion. It produced a damage swath a half-mile wide through both business and residential areas, and devastated about a third of the town. Some areas were swept completely clean of all debris. The tornado then continued for another +, striking the One Creek area before dissipating near Nashoba, Oklahoma. The tornado killed 69 persons and injured 353 more people. A total of 379 homes and 254 buildings were destroyed, and 200 more homes and buildings were damaged. Approximately 1500 people were made homeless by the tornado. Damage estimates were at $1.5 million (1945 USD). April 27, 1942 F452350Pryor CreekThis tornado touched down south of Claremore at about 3:15 pm CST, and moved storm east-northeast through rural parts of Rogers and Mayes Counties before taking aim on the town of Pryor Creek. At 3:45 pm CST, the tornado entered Pryor Creek and traveled directly through the main portion of the town, including the principal business section. Its violent winds demolished dozens of frame buildings and several brick buildings, including the First Baptist Church. After leaving Pryor Creek, the tornado caused damage to the northeast of the town, completely wrecking everything in its path before it lifted about northeast of Pryor Creek. The damage swath was a quarter of a mile in width, and about a third of Pryor Creek was destroyed by the tornado. A total of 49 people were killed in Pryor, with another three persons killed to the west-southwest of the town. A total of 350 people were injured with 192 of those being hospitalized. Damages totaled $2.3 million (1942 USD) and 500 buildings were damaged or destroyed.May 3, 1999 F536583Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore, Del City, Midwest CityThis violent, long-lived tornado was the most infamous of nearly 60 tornadoes that struck central Oklahoma during an unprecedented outbreak on the afternoon and evening of May 3, 1999. The tornado was the ninth of fourteen tornadoes produced by a supercell thunderstorm during the tornado outbreak. It formed around 5:26 pm CST about south-southwest of Amber, and grew rapidly as it headed northeast, paralleling Interstate 44. It moved across Bridge Creek and rural parts of northwest Newcastle, causing continuous F4 and sporadic F5 damage. The tornado was estimated to be a mile in diameter in this area.