NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vinita, 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 Vinita, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 157 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 157
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Vinita
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Vinita; the strongest was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Vinita 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 Vinita. The highest rating among the 157 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 27, 1959, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on May 25, 2024, killed 2 people. Of the 157, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 71 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 65. The most recent tornado was on June 17, 2025. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 52% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vinita. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 131 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 216 Oklahoma cities, 67% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vinita.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Vinita
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 67 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 Vinita: 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 Vinita
By decade
- 2020s18(1 EF3+)
- 2010s45(1 EF3+)
- 2000s8
- 1990s14
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s19(3 EF3+)
- 1960s21(1 EF3+)
- 1950s18(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 27, 1959 | F4 | 16 mi | 20.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 15 mi | 41.8 mi | 0 / 59 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 24 mi | 23.9 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 2 mi | 63.6 mi | 2 / 80 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF3 | 19 mi | 17.93 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 9 mi | 24.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1973 | F3 | 4 mi | 20.8 mi | 0 / 14 |
| May 7, 1961 | F3 | 12 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 9, 1959 | F3 | 22 mi | 23.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1959 | F3 | 14 mi | 23.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 11, 1970 | F2 | 1 mi | 15.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 157, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vinita
The Storm Prediction Center has 131 hail reports within 10 miles of Vinita since 1959, made on 92 separate days. Of these, 66 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 5 days, most recently August 15, 2020. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 50.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vinita
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spavinaw, OK, 18 miles south of Vinita at 685 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 46.6 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 58 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 69 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.5 inches a year, most of it in March. That 46.6 inches is more than at 71 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (87%). Adair, 14 miles south, has its own station (Pryor, OK): 44.8 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 26 | 2.3 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 53 | 30 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 62 | 38 | 3.7 | 6 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 71 | 47 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 58 | 6.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 67 | 5.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 71 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 70 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 50 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 39 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 51 | 30 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.9 |
| Year | 71 | 49 | 46.6 | 67 | 5.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spavinaw, OK (685 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 Vinita
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vinita: 77 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $944,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on September 7, 2012. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 15. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 100 have had fewer than Vinita.
May 23, 2011: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Vinita — 10 injured.
NWS: “Numerous roads were flooded and closed north of Vinita. At least ten motorists were rescued by emergency personnel in the flood waters and at least 20 homes were evacuated due to rising flood water.”
August 6, 2002: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Vinita — 4 injured, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “A collapsing thunderstorms produced microburst winds estimated at 70 miles an hour. These winds blew down several trees and destroyed a trailer house.”
June 3, 2010: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Vinita — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning ignited a large fire at the Paint and Home Decorative Center of the TH Rogers Lumber Company in Vinita, destroying the building and all of its contents. The structure was approximately 60x200 feet and contained laminate flooring, rolls of carpet, cans of paint, and decorative doors.”
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 Vinita's ZIP code 74301 have filed 35 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 10. 6% 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, 46 have fewer than Vinita.
Craig County, which includes Vinita, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 7 ice storms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on April 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Craig County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low 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 $12.3 million a year, the 43rd highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (42%), 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 Vinita
- Afton, OK13 mi
- Adair, OK14 mi
- Chelsea, OK16 mi
- Eucha, OK20 mi
- Fairland, OK20 mi
- Grove, OK23 mi
- Salina, OK23 mi
- Miami, OK24 mi
- Pryor, OK24 mi
- Jay, OK25 mi
- Nowata, OK26 mi
- Commerce, OK27 mi
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