NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bristow, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bristow, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 163 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 21 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 163
- EF3 or stronger
- 21
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
43 deaths in all
What the records show for Bristow
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bristow; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The record near Bristow begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 36% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Bristow. The strongest of the 163 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1960; its path came within 3 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F4 on June 8, 1974, killed 14 people. Of the 163, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 76. The most recent tornado was on November 3, 2024. Bristow has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 164 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Bristow has more hail reports within 10 miles than 51% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bristow
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 10 | 69 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 Bristow: 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 Bristow
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s33
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s39(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12(4 EF3+)
- 1970s17(7 EF3+)
- 1960s19(4 EF3+)
- 1950s16(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F5 | 3 mi | 71.8 mi | 5 / 81 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F4 | 16 mi | 29 mi | 14 / 150 |
| Oct 5, 1970 | F4 | 24 mi | 25 mi | 4 / 84 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F4 | 20 mi | 22 mi | 3 / 37 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 24 mi | 32 mi | 1 / 24 |
| Apr 29, 1984 | F4 | 10 mi | 27 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 17, 1981 | F4 | 23 mi | 33.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 1, 1954 | F4 | 9 mi | 59.2 mi | 0 / 65 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 23 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 15 mi | 42.6 mi | 5 / 68 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 5 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 163, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bristow
The Storm Prediction Center has 164 hail reports within 10 miles of Bristow since 1955, made on 119 separate days. Of these, 92 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 3, 1993. The most recent report is from May 4, 2022. May has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bristow
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bristow, OK, 1 mile southwest of Bristow at 830 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.1 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 69 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 78 nights a year. Snowfall averages 6.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.1 inches is more than at 55 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (67%). Drumright, 15 miles northwest, has its own station (Cushing, OK): 37.9 inches a year, 4.2 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 26 | 1.4 | 3 | 2.1 |
| Feb | 55 | 30 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 64 | 39 | 3.1 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 72 | 47 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 57 | 5.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 69 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 67 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 59 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 47 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 37 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 51 | 29 | 2.2 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Year | 71 | 48 | 42.1 | 57 | 6.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bristow, OK (830 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 Bristow
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 76 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bristow: 72 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $553,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 25, 2019.
August 10, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Bristow — 6 injured, $75,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm wind destroyed a mobile home, injuring six people.”
June 6, 2026: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Bristow — $200,000 damage.
May 25, 2019: thunderstorm wind in Bristow — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm wind severely damaged a business on the north side of town.”
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
Creek County, which includes Bristow, has been named in 47 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 11 severe storms, 9 ice storms, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Creek County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for 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 $44.0 million a year, the 8th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.5 million (28%), 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Bristow
- Kellyville, OK10 mi
- Drumright, OK15 mi
- Stroud, OK17 mi
- Sapulpa, OK18 mi
- Mannford, OK19 mi
- Kiefer, OK19 mi
- Beggs, OK20 mi
- Mounds, OK21 mi
- Glenpool, OK22 mi
- Terlton, OK23 mi
- Cushing, OK23 mi
- Sand Springs, OK24 mi
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