NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Broken Arrow, 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 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 236 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 236
- EF3 or stronger
- 16
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
31 deaths in all
What the records show for Broken Arrow
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Broken Arrow; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. The record near Broken Arrow begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; 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 Broken Arrow. The strongest of the 236 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1960; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 26, 1984, killed 8 people. Of the 236, 32 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 109 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 89. The most recent tornado was on November 20, 2025. Broken Arrow has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 432 times since 1963, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Broken Arrow has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Broken Arrow
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Broken Arrow: 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 Broken Arrow
By decade
- 2020s22(1 EF3+)
- 2010s64
- 2000s23
- 1990s42(3 EF3+)
- 1980s24(4 EF3+)
- 1970s20(5 EF3+)
- 1960s25(3 EF3+)
- 1950s16
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F5 | 16 mi | 71.8 mi | 5 / 81 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F4 | 8 mi | 5.5 mi | 7 / 100 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 8 / 95 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 10 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 19 mi | 23.9 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 6 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F3 | 7 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jul 2, 1992 | F3 | 24 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 4 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Dec 5, 1975 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 38 |
| Dec 5, 1975 | F3 | 10 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 236, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Broken Arrow
The Storm Prediction Center has 432 hail reports within 10 miles of Broken Arrow since 1963, made on 193 separate days. Of these, 224 were 1 inch across or larger, and 23 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on May 1, 2002. The most recent report is from August 11, 2025. May has the most reports, 136.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Broken Arrow
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK, 12 miles west of Broken Arrow at 638 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 42.0 inches over 60 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 81 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 81 nights a year. That 42.0 inches is more than at 54 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (66%). Catoosa, 11 miles north, has its own station (Tulsa International Airport, OK): 41.1 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and the same July average high, 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 28 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Feb | 55 | 32 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 64 | 41 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 73 | 50 | 4.5 | 6 |
| May | 80 | 60 | 6.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 89 | 69 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Jul | 94 | 73 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Aug | 94 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Sep | 85 | 63 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 74 | 51 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Nov | 62 | 39 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Dec | 52 | 31 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Year | 73 | 50 | 42.0 | 60 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK (638 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 Broken Arrow
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 483 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Broken Arrow: 351 thunderstorm wind reports, 123 flash floods, 5 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 4 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 13, 2012. May has had the most flash floods, 48 of 123. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 210 have had fewer than Broken Arrow.
April 20, 2025: flood 8 miles from the centre of Broken Arrow — 2 killed.
August 13, 2005: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Broken Arrow — 1 killed.
April 30, 2019: flood 7 miles from the centre of Broken Arrow — 1 killed.
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 Broken Arrow's 3 ZIP codes have filed 241 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $7.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1986: 66 claims (27% of all) and $819,000, then Early summer storms in 2015 with 18. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 33. 35% 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, 81 have fewer than Broken Arrow.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1986 | 66 | $819,000 |
| Early summer storms2015 | 18 | $1.1 million |
Tulsa County, which includes Broken Arrow, has been named in 40 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 9 floods, 8 ice storms, 5 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on July 19, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Tulsa County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $292.1 million a year, the 2nd highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $137.9 million (47%), 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 Broken Arrow
- Bixby, OK8 mi
- Tulsa, OK10 mi
- Coweta, OK10 mi
- Catoosa, OK11 mi
- Jenks, OK12 mi
- Glenpool, OK14 mi
- Haskell, OK16 mi
- Inola, OK16 mi
- Owasso, OK17 mi
- Kiefer, OK17 mi
- Mounds, OK18 mi
- Porter, OK18 mi
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