NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Taft, 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 Taft, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 207 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 207
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
20 deaths in all
What the records show for Taft
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Taft; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The record near Taft 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 Taft. The strongest of the 207 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 26, 1973; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 26, 1984, killed 8 people. Of the 207, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 95 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 84. The most recent tornado was on March 29, 2025. Taft has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 141 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 61% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Taft.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Taft
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 46 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 Taft: 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 Taft
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s58
- 2000s22
- 1990s36(2 EF3+)
- 1980s24(2 EF3+)
- 1970s23(3 EF3+)
- 1960s17(2 EF3+)
- 1950s12
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 1973 | F4 | 20 mi | 3.6 mi | 5 / 25 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 12 mi | 22 mi | 8 / 95 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 18 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 2 / 5 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | F3 | 23 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 6 mi | 37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1966 | F3 | 15 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 26, 1961 | F3 | 19 mi | 21.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 18, 2017 | EF2 | 9 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2015 | EF2 | 19 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2013 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 207, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Taft
The Storm Prediction Center has 141 hail reports within 10 miles of Taft since 1959, made on 104 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on March 26, 2000. The most recent report is from April 4, 2025. May has the most reports, 45.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Taft
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Muskogee, OK, 12 miles east of Taft at 518 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 43.2 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 70 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 79 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.6 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 43.2 inches is more than at 58 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (71%). Coweta, 14 miles north, has its own station (Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK): 42.0 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 26 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 54 | 30 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 63 | 39 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 72 | 48 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 79 | 59 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 72 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 70 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 62 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 49 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 38 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 30 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Year | 72 | 49 | 43.2 | 62 | 2.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Muskogee, OK (518 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 Taft
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 148 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Taft: 118 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 flash floods, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 14, 2016. April has had the most flash floods, 5 of 23. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 143 have had fewer than Taft.
November 8, 2024: flood 8 miles from the centre of Taft — 2 killed, $15,000 damage.
July 23, 2005: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Taft — 1 killed, 1 injured.
June 17, 2023: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Taft — $346,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm wind resulted in at least $346,000 in debris removal and damage to the utility infrastructure across the county during this severe thunderstorm.”
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
Muskogee County, which includes Taft, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 14, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Muskogee County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $34.0 million a year, the 14th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.0 million (38%), 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 Taft
- Porter, OK7 mi
- Haskell, OK9 mi
- Muskogee, OK11 mi
- Coweta, OK14 mi
- Wagoner, OK17 mi
- Fort Gibson, OK18 mi
- Morris, OK20 mi
- Checotah, OK22 mi
- Broken Arrow, OK23 mi
- Bixby, OK23 mi
- Warner, OK23 mi
- Okmulgee, OK26 mi
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