NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sapulpa, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Sapulpa, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 185 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 20 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 185
- EF3 or stronger
- 20
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Sapulpa
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sapulpa; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Sapulpa. The strongest of the 185 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1960; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F4 on June 8, 1974, killed 14 people. Of the 185, 22 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 78 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 72. The most recent tornado was on November 20, 2025. Sapulpa has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 299 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Sapulpa has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
Compare Sapulpa's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sapulpa
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sapulpa: 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 Sapulpa
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s41
- 2000s22(1 EF3+)
- 1990s36(3 EF3+)
- 1980s20(5 EF3+)
- 1970s18(7 EF3+)
- 1960s17(3 EF3+)
- 1950s16(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F5 | in town | 71.8 mi | 5 / 81 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F4 | 19 mi | 29 mi | 14 / 150 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F4 | 19 mi | 5.5 mi | 7 / 100 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F4 | 18 mi | 22 mi | 3 / 37 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 21 mi | 32 mi | 1 / 24 |
| Apr 29, 1984 | F4 | 15 mi | 27 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 7 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 21 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F3 | 19 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 12 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 185, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sapulpa
The Storm Prediction Center has 299 hail reports within 10 miles of Sapulpa since 1957, made on 157 separate days. Of these, 169 were 1 inch across or larger, and 25 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 18, 1998. The most recent report is from October 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 104.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sapulpa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK, 8 miles east of Sapulpa at 638 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 42.0 inches over 60 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 81 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 81 nights a year. That 42.0 inches is more than at 54 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (66%). Kellyville, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Bristow, OK): 42.1 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 28 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Feb | 55 | 32 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 64 | 41 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 73 | 50 | 4.5 | 6 |
| May | 80 | 60 | 6.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 89 | 69 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Jul | 94 | 73 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Aug | 94 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Sep | 85 | 63 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 74 | 51 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Nov | 62 | 39 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Dec | 52 | 31 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Year | 73 | 50 | 42.0 | 60 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK (638 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 Sapulpa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 212 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sapulpa: 155 thunderstorm wind reports, 40 flash floods, 14 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 4 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on July 14, 2016. May has had the most flash floods, 14 of 40. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 180 have had fewer than Sapulpa.
May 21, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Sapulpa — 2 killed.
August 1, 2003: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Sapulpa — 1 killed.
May 24, 2015: flood 2 miles from the centre of Sapulpa — 1 killed.
NWS: “Several homes were evacuated by boat near Park and Washington Streets. A man drown in flood water near the intersection of S Hickory Road and W 186th Street S.”
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 Sapulpa's ZIP code 74066 have filed 210 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $2.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 14 claims (7% of all) and $43,000. The year with the most claims was 2000, with 80. 7% 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, 80 have fewer than Sapulpa.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1985 | 14 | $43,000 |
Creek County, which includes Sapulpa, has been named in 47 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 11 severe storms, 9 ice storms, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Creek County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $44.0 million a year, the 8th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.5 million (28%), 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 Sapulpa
- Kiefer, OK5 mi
- Glenpool, OK7 mi
- Kellyville, OK8 mi
- Jenks, OK8 mi
- Sand Springs, OK10 mi
- Mounds, OK12 mi
- Tulsa, OK13 mi
- Bixby, OK14 mi
- Mannford, OK16 mi
- Beggs, OK17 mi
- Bristow, OK18 mi
- Broken Arrow, OK19 mi
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