NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Walters, 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 Walters, Oklahoma since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 163 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 163
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
53 deaths in all
What the records show for Walters
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Walters; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Walters. The highest rating among the 163 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 10, 1979, came within 22 miles. Of the 163, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 63. The most recent tornado was on August 28, 2025. Walters has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 216 Oklahoma cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 177 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Walters has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 216 Oklahoma cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Walters
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 10 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Walters: 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 Walters
By decade
- 2020s15(1 EF3+)
- 2010s23
- 2000s10
- 1990s26
- 1980s15
- 1970s25(3 EF3+)
- 1960s28(1 EF3+)
- 1950s21(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 1979 | F4 | 22 mi | 46.9 mi | 42 / 1740 |
| May 24, 1957 | F4 | 7 mi | 21.6 mi | 4 / 5 |
| May 26, 1962 | F4 | 6 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 10, 1979 | F3 | 15 mi | 4.5 mi | 3 / 100 |
| May 1, 1954 | F3 | 7 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 3 |
| Nov 3, 2024 | EF3 | 22 mi | 21.7 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 20, 1974 | F3 | 20 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1959 | F3 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 1 mi | 65.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 1, 1954 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 1, 1954 | F3 | 14 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 1979 | F2 | 5 mi | 74.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 163, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Walters
The Storm Prediction Center has 177 hail reports within 10 miles of Walters since 1962, made on 116 separate days. Of these, 113 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on March 22, 1984. The most recent report is from May 22, 2025. April has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Walters
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Walters, OK, 3 miles east of Walters at 1,005 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 33.5 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 97 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 75 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.2 inches a year, most of it in February and December. That 33.5 inches is more than at 23 of the 82 Oklahoma stations used on this site (28%). Lawton, 18 miles north, has its own station (Lawton, OK): 34.2 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 27 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 58 | 30 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Mar | 67 | 39 | 2.7 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 75 | 48 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| May | 83 | 58 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 91 | 67 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 97 | 71 | 2.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 97 | 71 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 63 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 51 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 38 | 2.6 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 54 | 29 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Year | 75 | 49 | 33.5 | 46 | 2.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Walters, OK (1,005 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 Walters
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Walters: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on May 18, 2017. March has had the most flash floods, 3 of 9. Of the 216 Oklahoma cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 55 have had fewer than Walters.
May 26, 2000: thunderstorm wind in Walters — 3 injured, $42,000 damage.
NWS: “Two mobile homes were destroyed, with one of them occupied by a family of 3 at the time. The 3 family members were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.”
May 12, 2016: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Walters — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Power lines and power poles were downed. Roof damage was also reported at the elementary school.”
May 26, 2000: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Walters — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Five large transmission poles were downed on the north side of Walters. The high school lost about one third of its overlayment on the west side of the gym.”
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 Walters's ZIP code 73572 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2001, and were paid $161,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 69% 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, 18 have fewer than Walters.
Cotton County, which includes Walters, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 29 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 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 Cotton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.9 million a year, the 77th highest of 77 Oklahoma counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $880,000 (31%), 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 Walters
- Lawton, OK18 mi
- Comanche, OK21 mi
- Burkburnett, TX24 mi
- Cache, OK24 mi
- Waurika, OK24 mi
- Fort Sill, OK24 mi
- Duncan, OK25 mi
- Elgin, OK27 mi
- Sheppard Afb, TX28 mi
- Marlow, OK30 mi
- Fletcher, OK32 mi
- Iowa Park, TX34 mi
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