NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Heavener, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Heavener, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 81 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 81
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
20 deaths in all
What the records show for Heavener
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Heavener; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 26 miles away. The record near Heavener begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Heavener has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site. The strongest of the 81 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on March 26, 1976; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F4 on May 5, 1961, killed 16 people. Of the 81, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2025. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 96% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Heavener. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Heavener.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Heavener
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 59 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 Heavener: 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 Heavener
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s21
- 2000s10
- 1990s8
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s8(2 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 1976 | F5 | 24 mi | 11.9 mi | 2 / 64 |
| May 5, 1961 | F4 | 7 mi | 26.4 mi | 16 / 58 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F4 | 21 mi | 10.7 mi | 1 / 4 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 24 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 28, 2017 | EF2 | 16 mi | 8.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2015 | EF2 | 9 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2011 | EF2 | 5 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2009 | EF2 | 17 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 26, 2000 | F2 | 3 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1982 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 81, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Heavener
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Heavener since 1961, made on 76 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 13, 1981. The most recent report is from September 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Heavener
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 95 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Heavener: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 5 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $11.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 4, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 17. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 111 have had fewer than Heavener.
May 30, 2013: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Heavener — 5 killed, 1 injured, $9.2 million damage.
NWS: “Severe flash flooding occurred across a large part of Scott County. Soon after Midnight CDT on the 31st, two women called 911 after flooding from Mill Creek trapped them in their house at Y City.”
October 29, 2009: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Heavener — $525,000 damage.
NWS: “Arkansas Highways 28 and 248 were flooded. A number of county roads were damaged by flash flooding.”
May 1, 2011: flood 9 miles from the centre of Heavener — $500,000 damage.
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 Heavener's ZIP code 74937 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1996, and were paid $206,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 9% 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, 2 have fewer than Heavener.
Le Flore County, which includes Heavener, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 4 floods, 4 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 24, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Le Flore County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.0 million a year, the 17th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.9 million (50%), 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 Heavener
- Howe, OK7 mi
- Poteau, OK13 mi
- Wister, OK14 mi
- Cameron, OK19 mi
- Hackett, AR23 mi
- Mansfield, AR24 mi
- Waldron, AR26 mi
- Spiro, OK26 mi
- Pocola, OK27 mi
- Talihina, OK27 mi
- Mena, AR29 mi
- Greenwood, AR30 mi
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