NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Newkirk, 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 Newkirk, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 169 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 169
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
103 deaths in all
What the records show for Newkirk
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Newkirk; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Newkirk. The highest rating among the 169 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 1955, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on May 25, 1955, killed 80 people. Of the 169, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 67. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2024. Newkirk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 138 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Newkirk.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Newkirk
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 10 | 69 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 Newkirk: 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 Newkirk
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s24(1 EF3+)
- 2000s17
- 1990s30(4 EF3+)
- 1980s16
- 1970s18
- 1960s27(3 EF3+)
- 1950s26(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 1955 | F5 | 4 mi | 56.4 mi | 80 / 273 |
| May 25, 1955 | F5 | 16 mi | 28.4 mi | 20 / 280 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F4 | 7 mi | 108.3 mi | 2 / 29 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 12 mi | 25 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 23 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 16, 1965 | F4 | 14 mi | 82.7 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 10, 2010 | EF3 | 17 mi | 40.66 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 8, 1993 | F3 | 5 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F3 | 15 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1965 | F3 | 20 mi | 62.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Mar 26, 1961 | F3 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 15 mi | 39.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 169, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Newkirk
The Storm Prediction Center has 138 hail reports within 10 miles of Newkirk since 1962, made on 86 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 27, 1996. The most recent report is from August 10, 2025. April has the most reports, 42.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Newkirk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newkirk 5NE, OK, 4 miles northeast of Newkirk at 1,142 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 61 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 39.3 inches is more than at 44 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (54%). Arkansas City, KS, 11 miles north, has its own station (Winfield Strother Field Airport, KS): 35.0 inches a year, 4.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 22 | 1.1 | 2 | 2.4 |
| Feb | 50 | 25 | 1.6 | 3 | 1.9 |
| Mar | 59 | 34 | 2.7 | 4 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 69 | 43 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 69 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 67 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 47 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 34 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 47 | 25 | 1.6 | 3 | 2.6 |
| Year | 69 | 45 | 39.3 | 55 | 8.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Newkirk 5NE, OK (1,142 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 Newkirk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 124 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Newkirk: 112 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods, 1 flood, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $471,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on May 7, 2019. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 55 have had fewer than Newkirk.
April 19, 2003: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Newkirk — 1 killed.
NWS: “A woman was killed when she was struck by lightning as she was walking to her car.”
July 2, 2011: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Newkirk — 2 injured, $3,000 damage.
April 27, 2009: flood 9 miles from the centre of Newkirk — $200,000 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
Kay County, which includes Newkirk, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on April 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kay 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 $33.6 million a year, the 16th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.4 million (31%), 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).
Newkirk in the notable storm records: The May 25, 1955 F5 Tornado in Oklahoma, near Arkansas City, KS
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Newkirk
- Arkansas City, KS11 mi
- Ponca City, OK14 mi
- Blackwell, OK15 mi
- Tonkawa, OK22 mi
- Winfield, KS25 mi
- Wellington, KS32 mi
- Udall, KS34 mi
- Belle Plaine, KS36 mi
- Mulvane, KS40 mi
- Pawnee, OK41 mi
- Pawhuska, OK42 mi
- Douglass, KS42 mi
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