WFO Tulsa Area 1950-2023

• Most and Fewest Tornados in a Year
• Most Consecutive Days with Tornadoes
• Most Tornadoes in a 24 and 48 Hour Period
• Most Tornadoes in a Month and in a 7 Day Period
• County's Years with the Most Tornadoes
• Latest Date of the First Tornado
• Yearly Rank of Number of Monthly Tornadoes

Tornado Count for the Year 2023

• - 11 tornadoes ( 8 in Eastern Oklahoma, 3 in Northwest Arkansas, 0 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas)
• - 3 EF-?, 2 EF0 , and 6 EF1 (No tornadoes with multiple ratings)
• - 5 January tornadoes
• - First January tornado for Osage county since records started in 1950.
• - Tornadoes have occurred in 4 of the last 6 Januarys for the CWA. January 2nd is the earliest in the year a tornado has occurred. Previous record was January 7th 2008
• - 2 April tornadoes
• - 3 June tornadoes
• - 1 July tornado
• - First July tornado for Sebastian county since July 9th, 1964 with a F1. First July tornado for Northwest Arkansas since July 9th, 2015 with an EF1.

Tornado Count for the Year 2022

• - 23 tornadoes ( 12 in Eastern Oklahoma, 11 in Northwest Arkansas, 0 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas)
• - 3 EF-?, 3 EF0 , 15 EF1, 1 EF2, and 1 EF3(tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating)
• - 2 March Tornadoes
• - Washington co, AR tornado was first strong tornado (EF2+) in the CWA since May 22nd 2019 (Delaware co, E OK). This is 1,043 days between strong tornadoes for the CWA.
• - 4 April Tornadoes
• - 5 May Tornadoes
• - 1 July Tornado
• - 7 tornadoes on Oct 10th over a period of 2 hrs and 44 min.
• - 11 November tornadoes
• - 11 tornadoes (3 E OK / 8 NW AR) in the CWA is the most tornadoes for the month of November. The previous record was 7 tornadoes in 1983.
• - These 11 tornadoes occurred over a span of 3 hrs, which places it 18th over a 24hr period, 18th over a 48hr period, and tied for 24th place over a 7-day period.
• - This tornado outbreak (6+ tornadoes in a calendar day) is the second latest outbreak for the CWA since records started in 1950. Latest outbreak is November 22nd 1983 with 7 tornadoes.
• - 1 tornado in Carroll co AR. This is the first November tornado since records started in 1950.
• - Tornadoes have occurred in November in 4 of the last 5 years and 5 of the last 8 years.
• - 5 Tornadoes in Franklin co AR for the year. This is the most tornadoes in a year for the county. The previous record was 4 tornadoes in 2001.
• - 11 Tornadoes in Northwest Arkansas for the year. This ties for 2nd most tornadoes in year for Northwest Arkansas. The record is 14 tornadoes in 2011.

Tornado Count for the Year 2021

• - 22 tornadoes ( 20 in Eastern Oklahoma, 4 in Northwest Arkansas, 2 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas)
• - 7 EF-?, 4 EF0 , and 11 EF1, (tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating)
• - This is the 11th year where there were no F/EF2 or greater tornadoes, and it is the first time where this has happened in back to back years (2020-2021).
• - 4 tornadoes in January
• - All four in Nowata co. These are first tornadoes in Nowata co in January since 1950.
• - 3 tornadoes in April
• - 4 tornadoes in May
• - 2 tornadoes crossed from E OK to NW AR
• - 3 tornadoes in Crawford co AR, which ties with 2011 and 2018 for most tornadoes in a year for the county.
• - 8 tornadoes in October
• - These tornadoes set the record for most tornadoes in the month of Oct for the CWA. Previous record was 7 in 1991 and 1998.
• - 7 tornadoes on Oct 10th over a period of 2 hrs and 44 min.
• - 3 tornadoes in November

Tornado Count for the Year 2020

• - 22 tornadoes ( 19 in Eastern Oklahoma, 3 in Northwest Arkansas, 0 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas)
• - 4 EF-?, 5 EF0 , and 13 EF1, (tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating)
• - 3 tornadoes in the month of January
• - 2 tornadoes in the month of March
• - 2 tornadoes in the month of April
• - 13 tornadoes in the month of May
• - 13 tornadoes in the month of May ties for 18th most tornadoes for a single month.
• - 12 tornadoes occurred within a 7-day period May 22-28. This ties for 21st for tornadoes during a 7-day period.
• - 2 tornadoes in the month of November

Tornado Count for the Year 2019

• - 69 tornadoes ( 62 in Eastern Oklahoma, 9 in Northwest Arkansas, 2 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas)
• - 8 EF-?, 18 EF0 , 38 EF1, and 5 EF2 (tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating)
• - 38 EF1 tornadoes in a year sets the record for most EF1 tornadoes in a year. The previous record was 30 EF1 tornadoes in 2011
• - 69 tornadoes for the year ranks 2nd most for the year. The record is 77 tornadoes in 2011.
• - 13 tornadoes in the month of April
• - April 30th is 9th latest first tornado of the year for the CWA. The previous 9th latest was April 26th 1971.
• - The 13 tornadoes ties for 3rd most tornadoes for the month of April. It ties with 13 tornadoes in 1957.
• - The 13 tornadoes on April 30 occurred in 9 hours 48 min. This ranks at 11th place in a 24-hr period.
• - 50 tornadoes in the month of May
• - 50 total tornadoes for the month of May. This sets the record for most tornadoes in the month of May. The previous record was 39 tornadoes in 2010.
• - 50 tornadoes for the month of May. This sets the record for most tornadoes of any month. The previous record was 42 tornadoes in April 2011
• - May 18th was the first tornado of the year for NW AR. This ties May 18th 1989 for the 8th latest first tornado for Northwest AR.
• - 42 tornadoes during a 7-day period of May 18th through May 22nd. This sets the record for most tornadoes during a 7-day period. The previous record was 35 tornadoes May 10th through May 16th 2010.
• - 40 tornadoes during a 7-day period of May 20th through May 26th. This is now the second most tornadoes during a 7-day period.
• - During a 48 hour period, starting with the first tornado on May 20th (2005L) through 1952L on the 22nd of May, a total of 29 tornadoes occurred over a period of 47 hours and 47 minutes. This sets the record for tornadoes in a 48-hr period. The previous record was 25 tornadoes on the 14th of April 2011.
• - 21 tornadoes occurred on May 22nd over a period of 8 hours and 14 minutes. This is the 4th most tornadoes within a 24-hr period.
• - Tornadoes occurred for 3-consecutive days from May 20 to May 22 with 32 tornadoes. This sets the record for tornadoes occurring in a 3-day consecutive. The overall record is 4 consecutive days in Aug 5 - 8 1961 with 10 total tornadoes.
• - 5 tornadoes in the month of October
• - All occurring on October 20th.
• - 1 tornado in the month of December
• - Craig county sets the record for most tornadoes in year with 5. The previous record was 4 in 1960 and 1973.
• - Mayes county sets the record for most tornadoes in year with 8. The previous record was 6 in 2013 and 2017.
• - Okfuskee county sets the record for most tornadoes in year with 6. The previous record was 5 in 2010.
• - Ottawa county tied for most tornadoes in a year with 4. This ties with the year 2015.
• - Tulsa county sets the record for most tornadoes in a year with 11. The previous record was 6 in 1960.
• - Wagoner county sets the record for most tornadoes in a year with 7. The previous record was 5 in 2004 and 2017.
• - Sebastian county Arkansas sets the record for most tornadoes in year with 4. The previous record was 3 occurring in several years with the latest being 2018.

Tornado Count for the Year 2018

• 16 tornadoes (8 in Eastern Oklahoma, 8 in Northwest Arkansas, 0 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas) - 5 EF0 , 8 EF1, and 3 EF2 (tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating)
• 2 tornadoes in the month of January - One of which is the first tornado ever in the month of January for Franklin county Arkansas
• 3 tornadoes in the month of May - Two were the first tornadoes of the year for Eastern Oklahoma which is the 6th latest first tornado for Eastern Oklahoma (tie breaker of time of day tornado occurred between May 19th 1977 puts May 19th 2018 in 6th place)
• 5 tornadoes in the month of November - Two of which were the first tornadoes ever in the month of November for Sequoyah county Oklahoma - Two of which were the first tornadoes ever in the month of November for Crawford county Arkansas - One of which was the first tornado ever in the month of November for Adair and Delaware counties Oklahoma
• Crawford county Arkansas tied for most tornadoes in a year with 3. This ties with the year 2011.
• Sebastian county Arkansas tied for most tornadoes in year with 3. This ties 6 other years, the most recent being 1999.

Tornado Count for the Year 2017

• - 35 tornadoes (31 in Eastern Oklahoma, 5 in Northwest Arkansas, 1 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas) - 3 EF0 , 27 EF1, 4 EF2 and 1 EF? (tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating) - This ranks 9th on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a year
• - 16 tornadoes occurred May 16th in a span of 2 hours 21 mins (20:46 - 23:07) - This ranks 6rd on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a 24-hr period - This ranks 5rd on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a 48-hr period - This ranks 9th on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a 7-day period
• - 16 tornadoes in the month of May - This ranks 10th on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a month - This ranks 7nd on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in the month of May
• - 4 tornadoes in the month of August - This ranks 1st on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in the month of August (previous record was 3 in 1957 & 1959)
• - 6 tornadoes occurred in Mayes county Oklahoma - This ties the record for number of tornadoes for Mayes county in a year (previous record was 6 in 2013)
• - 5 tornadoes occurred in Muskogee county Oklahoma - This ties the record for number of tornadoes for Muskogee county in a year (previous record was 5 in 1999)
• - 5 tornadoes occurred in Wagoner county Oklahoma - This ties the record for number of tornadoes for Wagoner county in a year (previous record was 5 in 2004)

Tornado Count for the Year 2016

• - 33 tornadoes (27 in Eastern Oklahoma, 7 in Northwest Arkansas, 1 crossed from Eastern Oklahoma into Northwest Arkansas) - 6 EF0 , 23 EF1, 3 EF2 and 1 EF3 (tornadoes with multiple ratings were counted with the highest rating) - This ranked 9th on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a year
• - 22 tornadoes occurred April 26-27th in a span of 3 hours 34 mins (20:44 - 00:18) - This ranked 3rd on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a 24-hr period - This ranked 3rd on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a 48-hr period - This ranked 4th on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a 7-day period
• - 22 tornadoes in the month of April - This ranked 8th on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in a month - This ranked 2nd on the list for number of tornadoes for the CWA in the month of April
• - 4 tornadoes occurred in Choctaw county Oklahoma - This broke the record for number of tornadoes for Choctaw county in a year (previous record was 3 in 1999)

About

• Tornado reports in the NWS Tulsa County warning area since 1950.
• Database statistics by Dave Jankowski
• Web page by james.frederick@noaa.gov