NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mead, 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 Mead, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 131 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 131
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Mead
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mead; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The record near Mead begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 30 miles away. Mead has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site. The highest rating among the 131 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 1966, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 2, 1957, killed 3 people. Of the 131, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on April 26, 2025. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mead. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 171 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Mead has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mead
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 10 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Mead: 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 Mead
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s20(2 EF3+)
- 2000s8
- 1990s23
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s21(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1957 | F4 | 8 mi | 7.9 mi | 3 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F4 | 4 mi | 5.2 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Apr 27, 1966 | F4 | 22 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 30, 2019 | EF3 | 19 mi | 27.6 mi | 2 / 16 |
| Mar 13, 1953 | F3 | 22 mi | 45.3 mi | 2 / 11 |
| May 25, 2015 | EF3 | 16 mi | 18.8 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 23, 1981 | F3 | 6 mi | 9.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1973 | F3 | 19 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 7 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 3, 1964 | F3 | 2 mi | 16.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 1959 | F3 | 5 mi | 13.2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 18, 1957 | F3 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 131, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mead
The Storm Prediction Center has 171 hail reports within 10 miles of Mead since 1962, made on 114 separate days. Of these, 103 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 7 days, most recently May 20, 2013. The most recent report is from September 23, 2025. April has the most reports, 61.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mead
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Durant, OK, 10 miles east of Mead at 600 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 95°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 44.2 inches over 58 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 82 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 70 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.2 inches is more than at 61 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (74%). Colbert, 10 miles south, has its own station (Sherman, TX): 44.3 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and an August average high of 93°F against 95°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 30 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 59 | 34 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 67 | 42 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 75 | 49 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 5.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 71 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 95 | 70 | 2.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 62 | 3.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 51 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 66 | 40 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 32 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.4 |
| Year | 75 | 51 | 44.2 | 58 | 2.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Durant, OK (600 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 Mead
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 117 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mead: 100 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $13.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on August 12, 2012. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 14. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 95 have had fewer than Mead.
April 29, 2009: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Mead — 1 killed, 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
February 9, 2001: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Mead — 1 killed, $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “Eight boathouses were sunk, and forty boats were damaged at Catfish Bay Marina on Lake Texoma. Nearly one-third of a 300 boat-slip and several nearby cabins were also heavily damaged.”
August 12, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Mead — 5 injured, $45,000 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 Mead's ZIP code 73449 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2007, and were paid $945,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2015, with 11. 53% 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, 22 have fewer than Mead.
Bryan County, which includes Mead, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 24, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bryan County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind, 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 $24.0 million a year, the 25th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.4 million (35%), is from tornadoes.
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 Mead
- Calera, OK8 mi
- Durant, OK9 mi
- Colbert, OK10 mi
- Kingston, OK10 mi
- Madill, OK14 mi
- Pottsboro, TX15 mi
- Denison, TX17 mi
- Caddo, OK19 mi
- Tishomingo, OK20 mi
- Sherman, TX25 mi
- Bells, TX27 mi
- Savoy, TX29 mi
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