NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Checotah, 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 Checotah, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 168 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 168
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Checotah
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Checotah; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 6 miles away. The record near Checotah 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 Checotah. The strongest of the 168 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 26, 1973; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 26, 1984, killed 8 people. Of the 168, 22 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 74 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 72. The most recent tornado was on June 6, 2025. Checotah has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 153 times since 1955, with stones up to 5.5 inches. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Checotah.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Checotah
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 34 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 Checotah: 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 Checotah
By decade
- 2020s22
- 2010s34
- 2000s18
- 1990s35(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(1 EF3+)
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s15
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 1973 | F4 | 15 mi | 3.6 mi | 5 / 25 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 21 mi | 22 mi | 8 / 95 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 17 mi | 0.8 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1961 | F3 | in town | 21.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 17, 1961 | F3 | 24 mi | 73 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 5, 1960 | F2 | 9 mi | 11.7 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Jun 11, 1970 | F2 | 12 mi | 5.2 mi | 1 / 14 |
| May 18, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2017 | EF2 | 13 mi | 13.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2011 | EF2 | 25 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 168, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Checotah
The Storm Prediction Center has 153 hail reports within 10 miles of Checotah since 1955, made on 106 separate days. Of these, 92 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5.5 inches, fell on June 16, 1997. The most recent report is from October 18, 2025. April has the most reports, 51.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Checotah
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Muskogee Davis Field, OK, 18 miles northeast of Checotah at 610 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 43.3 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 68 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 72 nights a year. That 43.3 inches is more than at 59 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (72%). Warner, 14 miles east, has its own station (Webbers Falls 5 WSW, OK): 47.4 inches a year, 4.1 more than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 28 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Feb | 54 | 32 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Mar | 64 | 41 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Apr | 72 | 49 | 4.1 | 6 |
| May | 79 | 58 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Jun | 87 | 67 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Aug | 92 | 70 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Sep | 85 | 62 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Oct | 74 | 50 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 62 | 39 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 52 | 31 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Year | 72 | 50 | 43.3 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Muskogee Davis Field, OK (610 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 Checotah
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Checotah: 97 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on August 9, 2008. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 133 have had fewer than Checotah.
May 23, 2015: flood 3 miles from the centre of Checotah — 2 killed.
NWS: “Two men were drown on the Onapa Boat Ramp when the rising water of Lake Eufaula inundated their vehicle. The men were missing until June 7th when the lake receded enough for their vehicle to be found.”
August 9, 2008: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Checotah — 4 injured, $1.0 million damage.
May 16, 2003: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Checotah — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew trees and power lines down. One tree at nearby Hudson Lake Marina fell onto a car and into a bedroom of a home.”
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
McIntosh County, which includes Checotah, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 6 ice storms, 5 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on July 19, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McIntosh County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind 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 $14.0 million a year, the 39th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.0 million (36%), 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 Checotah
- Eufaula, OK11 mi
- Warner, OK14 mi
- Porum, OK16 mi
- Morris, OK21 mi
- Muskogee, OK22 mi
- Taft, OK22 mi
- Henryetta, OK23 mi
- Stigler, OK24 mi
- Gore, OK27 mi
- Haskell, OK27 mi
- Okmulgee, OK27 mi
- Porter, OK29 mi
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