NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Poteau, 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 Poteau, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
68 deaths in all
What the records show for Poteau
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Poteau; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1902, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Poteau begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 33 miles away. Poteau has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site. The strongest of the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on March 26, 1976; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F4 on May 5, 1961, killed 16 people. Of the 110, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 45. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2025. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Poteau. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 169 times since 1957, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Poteau has more hail reports within 10 miles than 53% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Poteau
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 25 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 Poteau: 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 Poteau
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s22
- 2000s13
- 1990s15(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s17(6 EF3+)
- 1950s15(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 1976 | F5 | 11 mi | 11.9 mi | 2 / 64 |
| May 5, 1961 | F4 | 7 mi | 26.4 mi | 16 / 58 |
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 25 mi | 62.4 mi | 16 / 106 |
| Apr 19, 1968 | F4 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 14 / 270 |
| Jan 22, 1957 | F4 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 10 / 20 |
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 23 mi | 5.4 mi | 5 / 13 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F4 | 23 mi | 10.7 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Apr 21, 1996 | F3 | 25 mi | 10.1 mi | 2 / 89 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 13 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 28, 2017 | EF2 | 4 mi | 8.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Poteau
The Storm Prediction Center has 169 hail reports within 10 miles of Poteau since 1957, made on 120 separate days. Of these, 85 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 3, 1983. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Poteau
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR, 24 miles northeast of Poteau 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%). Wister, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (Wilburton 9 ENE, OK): 50.9 inches a year, 3.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 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 Poteau
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 238 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Poteau: 163 thunderstorm wind reports, 49 floods and 26 flash floods. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $852,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 19, 1998. May has had the most flash floods, 8 of 26. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 156 have had fewer than Poteau.
May 10, 2015: flood 10 miles from the centre of Poteau — 1 killed.
June 23, 2019: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Poteau — 1 killed.
NWS: “Portions of several county roads were flooded. A motorist drove into flood water on Gilmore Road east of Poteau and was drowned.”
February 20, 1997: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Poteau — 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Poteau's ZIP code 74953 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $400,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 92 Oklahoma cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 14 have fewer than Poteau.
Le Flore County, which includes Poteau, 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 Poteau
- Howe, OK7 mi
- Cameron, OK7 mi
- Heavener, OK13 mi
- Wister, OK13 mi
- Spiro, OK13 mi
- Hackett, AR15 mi
- Pocola, OK16 mi
- Keota, OK21 mi
- Mansfield, AR22 mi
- Arkoma, OK23 mi
- Greenwood, AR23 mi
- Fort Smith, AR24 mi
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