NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Quapaw, 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 Quapaw, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 175 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 175
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
192 deaths in all
What the records show for Quapaw
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Quapaw; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Quapaw 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 Quapaw. The strongest of the 175 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF5 on May 22, 2011; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 158 people. Of the 175, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 80 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 63. The most recent tornado was on April 29, 2025. Quapaw has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 211 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Quapaw has more hail reports within 10 miles than 72% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
Compare Quapaw's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Quapaw
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 64 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 Quapaw: 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 Quapaw
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s33(2 EF3+)
- 2000s30(2 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s20(3 EF3+)
- 1960s25(2 EF3+)
- 1950s21(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2011 | EF5 | 10 mi | 21.62 mi | 158 / 1150 |
| May 10, 2008 | EF4 | in town | 75.51 mi | 21 / 350 |
| Apr 24, 1975 | F4 | 12 mi | 11.9 mi | 3 / 22 |
| Sep 27, 1959 | F4 | 24 mi | 20.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | in town | 41.8 mi | 0 / 59 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 13 mi | 25 mi | 5 / 34 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 21 mi | 30 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 13 mi | 13.1 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF3 | 13 mi | 9.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 24.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Sep 24, 1973 | F3 | 10 mi | 20.8 mi | 0 / 14 |
| May 7, 1961 | F3 | 14 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 175, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Quapaw
The Storm Prediction Center has 211 hail reports within 10 miles of Quapaw since 1955, made on 129 separate days. Of these, 121 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on May 4, 2003. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 68.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Quapaw
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbus, KS, 17 miles north of Quapaw at 893 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 46.2 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 46 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 95 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.2 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 46.2 inches is more than at 70 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (85%). Galena, KS, 11 miles north, has its own station (Joplin Regional Airport, MO): 45.7 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Feb | 49 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 58 | 36 | 3.4 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Apr | 68 | 46 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 56 | 7.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 59 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 48 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 36 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 47 | 28 | 2.4 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Year | 68 | 47 | 46.2 | 68 | 7.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbus, KS (893 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 Quapaw
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 254 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Quapaw: 160 thunderstorm wind reports, 61 flash floods, 26 floods and 7 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $34.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 107 mph, on April 28, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 17 of 61. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 193 have had fewer than Quapaw.
May 23, 2011: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Quapaw — 4 injured, $50,000 damage.
September 7, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Quapaw — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
July 23, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Quapaw — 1 injured, $1,000 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
Ottawa County, which includes Quapaw, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 4 floods, 4 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on April 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ottawa County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.6 million a year, the 26th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.0 million (51%), 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).
Quapaw in the notable storm records: The May 22, 2011 EF5 Tornado in Missouri, near Joplin
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.