NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kiefer, 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 Kiefer, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 199 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 21 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 199
- EF3 or stronger
- 21
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
48 deaths in all
What the records show for Kiefer
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kiefer; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Kiefer. The strongest of the 199 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1960; its path came within 5 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F4 on June 8, 1974, killed 14 people. Of the 199, 24 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 87 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 80. The most recent tornado was on November 20, 2025. Kiefer has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 313 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Kiefer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
Compare Kiefer's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kiefer
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 51 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 Kiefer: 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 Kiefer
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s46
- 2000s21(1 EF3+)
- 1990s36(2 EF3+)
- 1980s26(7 EF3+)
- 1970s17(7 EF3+)
- 1960s17(3 EF3+)
- 1950s16(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F5 | 5 mi | 71.8 mi | 5 / 81 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F4 | 23 mi | 29 mi | 14 / 150 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F4 | 19 mi | 5.5 mi | 7 / 100 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F4 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 3 / 37 |
| Apr 29, 1984 | F4 | 20 mi | 27 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 17, 1981 | F4 | 24 mi | 33.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 25 mi | 22 mi | 8 / 95 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 4 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 4 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 23 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F3 | 18 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 199, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kiefer
The Storm Prediction Center has 313 hail reports within 10 miles of Kiefer since 1957, made on 157 separate days. Of these, 166 were 1 inch across or larger, and 26 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 18, 1998. The most recent report is from October 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 109.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kiefer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK, 8 miles northeast of Kiefer 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%). Kellyville, 9 miles west, has its own station (Bristow, OK): 42.1 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 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 Kiefer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 241 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kiefer: 183 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 flash floods, 12 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on July 14, 2016. May has had the most flash floods, 18 of 43. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 186 have had fewer than Kiefer.
August 1, 2003: lightning strike in Kiefer — 1 killed.
NWS: “A man was struck by lightning while standing in a parking lot near Eufaula Cove on Lake Eufaula. The man was attending a festival at the time.”
May 24, 2015: flood 6 miles from the centre of Kiefer — 1 killed.
August 1, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Kiefer — 1 injured, $50,000 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
Creek County, which includes Kiefer, 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.