NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Park Hill, 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 Park Hill, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 145 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 145
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
25 deaths in all
What the records show for Park Hill
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Park Hill; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Park Hill begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 71 miles away. Park Hill has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site. The highest rating among the 145 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 26, 1973, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 5, 1960, killed 16 people. Of the 145, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 74 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 61. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Park Hill. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 97 times since 1964, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Park Hill.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Park Hill
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 19 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 Park Hill: 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 Park Hill
By decade
- 2020s27
- 2010s33
- 2000s14
- 1990s22(1 EF3+)
- 1980s15(2 EF3+)
- 1970s10(4 EF3+)
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 22 mi | 62.4 mi | 16 / 106 |
| May 26, 1973 | F4 | 20 mi | 3.6 mi | 5 / 25 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 2 / 5 |
| Jun 11, 1970 | F3 | 12 mi | 51.8 mi | 1 / 45 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 22 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1983 | F3 | 14 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1973 | F3 | 11 mi | 18.7 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 14 mi | 37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1964 | F3 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1957 | F3 | 22 mi | 20.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 4, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 32.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 145, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Park Hill
The Storm Prediction Center has 97 hail reports within 10 miles of Park Hill since 1964, made on 79 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 10, 2010. The most recent report is from August 17, 2024. March has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Park Hill
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tahlequah, OK, 13 miles north of Park Hill at 850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 51.0 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 52 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 74 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 51.0 inches is more than at 78 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (95%). Vian, 14 miles south, has its own station (Sallisaw 2 NW, OK): 47.5 inches a year, 3.5 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 28 | 2.5 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 56 | 32 | 3.0 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Mar | 65 | 40 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 57 | 6.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 69 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 68 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 61 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 49 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 39 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 53 | 31 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Year | 73 | 49 | 51.0 | 67 | 4.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tahlequah, OK (850 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 Park Hill
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 65 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Park Hill: 60 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $477,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 19, 2025.
May 11, 2016: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Park Hill — 1 injured, $250,000 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
Cherokee County, which includes Park Hill, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 29, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cherokee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.3 million a year, the 20th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.5 million (48%), 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 Park Hill
- Tahlequah, OK12 mi
- Vian, OK14 mi
- Gore, OK14 mi
- Fort Gibson, OK15 mi
- Stilwell, OK18 mi
- Hulbert, OK19 mi
- Sallisaw, OK22 mi
- Muskogee, OK22 mi
- Warner, OK26 mi
- Wagoner, OK27 mi
- Westville, OK27 mi
- Locust Grove, OK30 mi
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