NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Blackwell, OK
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Blackwell, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 166 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 166
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
103 deaths in all
What the records show for Blackwell
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Blackwell; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Blackwell. The highest rating among the 166 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 1955, came within 1 mile. The deadliest, an F5 on May 25, 1955, killed 80 people. Of the 166, 25 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 66. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Blackwell has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 261 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Blackwell has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Blackwell
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 10 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Blackwell: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Blackwell
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s18(1 EF3+)
- 2000s15
- 1990s32(6 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s20
- 1960s32(2 EF3+)
- 1950s29(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 1955 | F5 | 10 mi | 56.4 mi | 80 / 273 |
| May 25, 1955 | F5 | 1 mi | 28.4 mi | 20 / 280 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F4 | 18 mi | 108.3 mi | 2 / 29 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 20 mi | 25 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 20 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 16, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 82.7 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 10, 2010 | EF3 | 14 mi | 40.66 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 24, 1998 | F3 | 17 mi | 5.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1993 | F3 | 13 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1991 | F3 | 21 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F3 | 15 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1965 | F3 | 23 mi | 62.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 166, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Blackwell
The Storm Prediction Center has 261 hail reports within 10 miles of Blackwell since 1957, made on 168 separate days. Of these, 171 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 27, 1996. The most recent report is from June 6, 2025. April has the most reports, 69.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Blackwell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blackwell 1SSW, OK, 1 mile south of Blackwell at 1,033 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 38.8 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 72 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 96 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.8 inches is more than at 43 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (52%). Ponca City, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Ponca City Municipal Airport, OK): 33.7 inches a year, 5.1 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 22 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.0 |
| Feb | 52 | 26 | 1.4 | 3 | 1.7 |
| Mar | 61 | 34 | 2.8 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Apr | 71 | 44 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.1 |
| May | 79 | 55 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 65 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 69 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 68 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 60 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 47 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 34 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 49 | 26 | 1.7 | 3 | 2.6 |
| Year | 71 | 46 | 38.8 | 56 | 7.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Blackwell 1SSW, OK (1,033 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Blackwell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 177 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Blackwell: 162 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods, 2 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $333,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 27, 2013. April has had the most flash floods, 4 of 11. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 76 have had fewer than Blackwell.
August 12, 2002: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Blackwell — 2 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Two semi-trailers and an armored vehicle were blown over on Interstate 35, near mile markers 228 and 219. Two persons were injured.”
March 10, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Blackwell — 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Blackwell's ZIP code 74631 have filed 159 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $1.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ike in 2008: 35 claims (22% of all) and $838,000, then Flooding in 1993 with 22. 37% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 92 Oklahoma cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 75 have fewer than Blackwell.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 35 | $838,000 |
| Flooding1993 | 22 | $186,000 |
Kay County, which includes Blackwell, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on April 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kay County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.6 million a year, the 16th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.4 million (31%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Blackwell in the notable storm records: The May 25, 1955 F5 Tornado in Oklahoma, near Arkansas City, KS
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Blackwell
- Tonkawa, OK10 mi
- Ponca City, OK14 mi
- Newkirk, OK15 mi
- Arkansas City, KS24 mi
- Wellington, KS33 mi
- Perry, OK34 mi
- Winfield, KS36 mi
- Belle Plaine, KS41 mi
- Pawnee, OK42 mi
- Udall, KS42 mi
- Enid, OK43 mi
- Conway Springs, KS46 mi
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