NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tulsa, 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 Tulsa, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 211 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 20 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 211
- EF3 or stronger
- 20
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
42 deaths in all
What the records show for Tulsa
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Tulsa; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Tulsa. The strongest of the 211 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1960; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 5 people. The deadliest, an F4 on June 8, 1974, killed 14 people. Of the 211, 20 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 88 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 76. The most recent tornado was on November 20, 2025. Tulsa has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 658 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Tulsa has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Tulsa
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 55 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 Tulsa: 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 Tulsa
By decade
- 2020s17(1 EF3+)
- 2010s52
- 2000s19
- 1990s38(4 EF3+)
- 1980s26(5 EF3+)
- 1970s21(6 EF3+)
- 1960s19(3 EF3+)
- 1950s19(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1960 | F5 | 9 mi | 71.8 mi | 5 / 81 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F4 | 21 mi | 29 mi | 14 / 150 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F4 | 6 mi | 5.5 mi | 7 / 100 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F4 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 3 / 37 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 18 mi | 32 mi | 1 / 24 |
| Apr 29, 1984 | F4 | 19 mi | 27 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 12 mi | 9.9 mi | 5 / 49 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 16 mi | 23.9 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 4 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| Apr 24, 1993 | F3 | 6 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jul 2, 1992 | F3 | 20 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 211, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tulsa
The Storm Prediction Center has 658 hail reports within 10 miles of Tulsa since 1957, made on 304 separate days. Of these, 358 were 1 inch across or larger, and 39 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 10, 1963. The most recent report is from October 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 206.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tulsa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tulsa R L Jones Jr Airport, OK, 6 miles southwest of Tulsa 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%). Catoosa, 12 miles northeast, has its own station (Tulsa International Airport, OK): 41.1 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and the same July average high, 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 Tulsa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 606 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tulsa: 437 thunderstorm wind reports, 150 flash floods, 10 floods, 7 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 4 people and injured 57, and the NWS estimated $6.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on March 25, 2015. May has had the most flash floods, 50 of 150. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 215 have had fewer than Tulsa.
August 13, 2005: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Tulsa — 1 killed.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a three foot diameter tree. The tree fell on a pick up truck that was stopped at a traffic light near the 5600 block of South Peoria.”
October 13, 2012: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Tulsa — 1 killed.
NWS: “Three teenagers were playing near rain-swollened Coal Creek in north Tulsa. Two of the three teenagers got out of the water safely but one was washed downstream and drown by the flood waters.”
April 30, 2019: flood 4 miles from the centre of Tulsa — 1 killed.
NWS: “A vehicle was driven off the road, possibly due to hydroplaning, and down an embankment. The vehicle slid into a flooded culvert and then was washed downstream into a creek.”
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 Tulsa's 26 ZIP codes have filed 2,584 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $39.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1984: 1,619 claims (63% of all) and $31.1 million. 63% 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, 91 have fewer than Tulsa.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1984 | 1,619 | $31.1 million |
Tulsa County, which includes Tulsa, has been named in 40 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 9 floods, 8 ice storms, 5 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on July 19, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Tulsa County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $292.1 million a year, the 2nd highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $137.9 million (47%), 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 Tulsa
- Jenks, OK8 mi
- Broken Arrow, OK10 mi
- Bixby, OK11 mi
- Glenpool, OK12 mi
- Catoosa, OK12 mi
- Owasso, OK13 mi
- Sapulpa, OK13 mi
- Sand Springs, OK14 mi
- Kiefer, OK14 mi
- Sperry, OK14 mi
- Mounds, OK18 mi
- Collinsville, OK18 mi
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