NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Okmulgee, 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 Okmulgee, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 177 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 177
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Okmulgee
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Okmulgee; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 32 miles away. The record near Okmulgee 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 Okmulgee. The strongest of the 177 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1960; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 26, 1984, killed 8 people. Of the 177, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 83 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 91. The most recent tornado was on March 29, 2025. Okmulgee has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 170 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Okmulgee has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
Compare Okmulgee's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Okmulgee
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 61 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 Okmulgee: 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 Okmulgee
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s47
- 2000s18
- 1990s35
- 1980s18(4 EF3+)
- 1970s14(4 EF3+)
- 1960s15(4 EF3+)
- 1950s12
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F5 | 24 mi | 71.8 mi | 5 / 81 |
| May 17, 1981 | F4 | 7 mi | 33.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 5 mi | 22 mi | 8 / 95 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 20 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.8 mi | 2 / 15 |
| May 17, 1981 | F3 | 20 mi | 15.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1975 | F3 | 3 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1966 | F3 | 22 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Feb 17, 1961 | F3 | 10 mi | 73 mi | 0 / 11 |
The strongest 12 of 177, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Okmulgee
The Storm Prediction Center has 170 hail reports within 10 miles of Okmulgee since 1961, made on 125 separate days. Of these, 87 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 3, 1993. The most recent report is from May 21, 2024. May has the most reports, 47.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Okmulgee
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Okemah, OK, 23 miles southwest of Okmulgee at 935 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.5 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 75 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 50 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.5 inches is more than at 60 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (73%). Beggs, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK): 42.0 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 30 | 1.8 | 4 | 2.9 |
| Feb | 55 | 34 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 65 | 43 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 73 | 51 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 60 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 68 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 71 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 70 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 63 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 52 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 41 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 52 | 33 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Year | 72 | 51 | 43.5 | 62 | 5.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Okemah, OK (935 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 Okmulgee
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 144 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Okmulgee: 90 thunderstorm wind reports, 44 flash floods and 10 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 24, 2018. May has had the most flash floods, 20 of 44. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 187 have had fewer than Okmulgee.
August 19, 2007: flash flood in Okmulgee — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Very heavy rainfall caused severe flooding of roads in and around Okmulgee. Highway 75 was closed in places for several hours.”
January 17, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Okmulgee — $200,000 damage.
June 17, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Okmulgee — $111,000 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 Okmulgee's ZIP code 74447 have filed 32 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2007, and were paid $1.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2022, with 11. 3% 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, 39 have fewer than Okmulgee.
Okmulgee County, which includes Okmulgee, has been named in 40 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 severe storms, 8 ice storms, 5 tornadoes, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on April 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Okmulgee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.4 million a year, the 28th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.8 million (33%), 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 Okmulgee
- Morris, OK7 mi
- Beggs, OK10 mi
- Henryetta, OK13 mi
- Mounds, OK16 mi
- Haskell, OK21 mi
- Glenpool, OK22 mi
- Kiefer, OK23 mi
- Okemah, OK23 mi
- Bixby, OK23 mi
- Kellyville, OK25 mi
- Taft, OK26 mi
- Jenks, OK27 mi
All Oklahoma cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Okmulgee with another place →