45
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
17
Direct injuries
$1.8M
Property damage
Tornado in Cotton County, Oklahoma: 45 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #479 nationally and #62 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Cotton County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Cotton County is the 1960s, when 9 of the county's 45 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cotton County archive, tornado makes up 8.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #479 for this hazard and #62 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 83.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Cotton County with 16 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-05-24 | EF4 | 21.6 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-26 | EF4 | 10.1 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-01 | EF3 | 12.3 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-08-30 | EF3 | 2.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-17 | EF3 | 65.8 mi | 50 yd | Crossed in |
| 1954-05-01 | EF3 | 8.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-04-10 | EF2 | 74.1 mi | 1,056 yd | Crossed in |
| 1969-04-16 | EF2 | 24.2 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1960-05-04 | EF2 | 4.9 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1959-08-30 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1957 | F4 | 4 | 5 | $250K | |
| May 1, 1954 | F3 | 3 | 3 | $250K | |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Jun 2, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Apr 16, 1969 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| May 27, 1962 | F4 | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Aug 31, 1959 | F3 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2025 | RANDLETT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 2, 2025 | WALTERS ARPT | EF0 | $25K |
| Apr 27, 2024 | DEVOL | EF1 | $30K |
| Jun 15, 2023 | WALTERS ARPT | EF0 | $10K |
| May 3, 2018 | DEVOL | EF1 | $2K |
| May 11, 2017 | DEVOL | EFU | $0 |
| May 9, 2015 | RANDLETT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 8, 2015 | RANDLETT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 8, 2015 | RANDLETT | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2006 | RANDLETT | F1 | $5K |
Other hazards here
More from Cotton County
- Hail 299
- Thunderstorm Wind 185
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado which developed in Wichita County Texas and moved across far southeastern Tillman County Oklahoma moved into Cotton County to the southwest of Devol before dissipating about one mile east of Devol. The tornado moved northeast and then east-northeast affecting the southern portion of Devol. One house just southeast of Devol received roof damage, and trees and power poles were damaged along the path in Cotton County.
A tornado that was observed by several storm chasers and spotters touched down near Randlett on the evening on April 24,2006. Video showed that the tornado began as a dust whirl on the ground with no condensation funnel for the first few minutes. A condensation funnel eventually developed from cloud base to the ground and was described as a fat stove-pipe at times. This tornado crossed the Red River into Clay County Texas at 1938 CST (see west north Texas tornado entry) before dissipating. The tornado caused some damage in Oklahoma. A meteorologist at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas did a survey of the damage. Numerous hardwood, mainly elm, trees were snapped or uprooted, with large limbs also downed. One large elm tree, about 2.5 foot in diameter, was snapped about 4 feet above the ground. One large tree was partially debarked. Power poles were also snapped. A few calves were also missing.
A tornado developed about 5 miles east-northeast of Loveland and moved northeast crossing into Cotton County and dissipating about 5 miles south of Chattanooga. Utility poles were damaged both along State Highway 36 in Tillman County and NS243 Road in Cotton County.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Cotton County, Oklahoma?
45 tornado events are recorded in Cotton County between 1951 and 2025, causing 7 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Cotton County?
The strongest tornado on record in Cotton County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Cotton County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Cotton County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/cotton-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.