NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pocola, 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 Pocola, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 146 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 146
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
67 deaths in all
What the records show for Pocola
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Pocola; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1902, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 24 miles away. The record near Pocola begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 31 miles away. Pocola has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site. The strongest of the 146 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on March 26, 1976; its path came within 2 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F4 on May 5, 1961, killed 16 people. Of the 146, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 68 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on June 6, 2025. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pocola. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 306 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Pocola has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pocola
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 24 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 Pocola: 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 Pocola
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s35
- 2000s12
- 1990s20(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s21(7 EF3+)
- 1950s17(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 1976 | F5 | 2 mi | 11.9 mi | 2 / 64 |
| May 5, 1961 | F4 | 23 mi | 26.4 mi | 16 / 58 |
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 24 mi | 62.4 mi | 16 / 106 |
| Apr 19, 1968 | F4 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 14 / 270 |
| Jan 22, 1957 | F4 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 10 / 20 |
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 11 mi | 5.4 mi | 5 / 13 |
| Apr 21, 1996 | F3 | 10 mi | 10.1 mi | 2 / 89 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 16 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 10 mi | 4.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 4, 1999 | F3 | 23 mi | 38.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 9 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
The strongest 12 of 146, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pocola
The Storm Prediction Center has 306 hail reports within 10 miles of Pocola since 1956, made on 175 separate days. Of these, 142 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on March 11, 2006. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 81.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pocola
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR, 9 miles northeast of Pocola at 449 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.4 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 78 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 63 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.4 inches is more than at 72 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (88%). Mansfield, AR, 18 miles southeast, has its own station (Waldron, AR): 53.3 inches a year, 5.9 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 30 | 2.9 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 57 | 33 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 66 | 42 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 75 | 50 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 60 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 72 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 63 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 51 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 40 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 32 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Year | 74 | 51 | 47.4 | 66 | 2.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR (449 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 Pocola
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 297 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pocola: 253 thunderstorm wind reports, 40 flash floods and 4 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on February 20, 1997. May has had the most flash floods, 13 of 40. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 180 have had fewer than Pocola.
February 20, 1997: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Pocola — 4 injured, $540,000 damage.
February 20, 1997: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Pocola — 3 injured, $12,000 damage.
February 20, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Pocola — 2 injured, $120,000 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
Le Flore County, which includes Pocola, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 4 floods, 4 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 24, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Le Flore County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.0 million a year, the 17th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.9 million (50%), 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 Pocola
- Hackett, AR7 mi
- Arkoma, OK7 mi
- Cameron, OK8 mi
- Spiro, OK9 mi
- Fort Smith, AR9 mi
- Barling, AR11 mi
- Roland, OK12 mi
- Greenwood, AR13 mi
- Muldrow, OK14 mi
- Poteau, OK16 mi
- Van Buren, AR16 mi
- Lavaca, AR18 mi
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