65
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
28
Direct injuries
$16.5M
Property damage
Tornado in Delaware County, Oklahoma: 65 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #196 nationally and #32 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Delaware County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Delaware County is the 2010s, when 26 of the county's 65 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 Delaware County archive, tornado makes up 10.2% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #196 for this hazard and #32 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 93.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Delaware County with 35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-25 | EF3 | 7.9 mi | 3,200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-22 | EF3 | 17.9 mi | 1,550 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-12 | EF3 | 25.0 mi | 700 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-12 | EF3 | 29.0 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-07 | EF3 | 24.8 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1974-06-08 | EF3 | 2.7 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-10-08 | EF3 | 6.9 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-09 | EF3 | 23.2 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-22 | EF2 | 16.6 mi | 1,100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-20 | EF2 | 21.0 mi | 2,700 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2011 | MOSELEY | EF2 | 0 | 12 | $400K |
| Mar 13, 2006 | LEACH | F3 | 0 | 8 | $3.0M |
| Apr 15, 2011 | EUCHA | EF2 | 0 | 3 | $100K |
| May 22, 2011 | DENNIS | EF3 | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| May 16, 2003 | FLINT | F1 | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| May 9, 1989 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | GROVE ARPT | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2025 | TOPSY | EF1 | $20K |
| Apr 29, 2025 | GROVE ARPT | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2025 | JAY | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 29, 2025 | GROVE | EF1 | $150K |
| Jul 21, 2024 | JAY | EFU | $0 |
| May 26, 2024 | ROW | EF1 | $150K |
| May 26, 2024 | KENWOOD | EF1 | $0 |
| Oct 11, 2021 | EUCHA | EF1 | $0 |
| May 26, 2020 | GROVE ARPT | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Delaware County
- Thunderstorm Wind 268
- Hail 261
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The first tornado, which touched down in northwestern Cherokee County, continued into southern Delaware County. Damage suggested the tornado widened and strengthened as it moved through southern Delaware County reaching a maximum width of around 1/4 of a mile. The tornado damaged 95 homes, destroying 42 of those homes. Five businesses were also damaged. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted and about 100 power poles were downed, which resulted in more than 5000 people losing power as a result of the storm. The worst damage from this tornado was found from near Twin Oaks to about 4 miles west-southwest of Colcord. The tornado injured eight people.
A tornado severely damaged several permanent homes, destroyed boat docks, damaged a number of other permanent homes, destroyed at least seven mobile homes, and snapped or uprooted many large trees. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 130 mph. ||The tornado developed south of Cleora and moved almost due east over land. It then moved across a portion of Grand Lake and back over land north of Dennis, where it appeared to move sharply to the southeast across the northern portion of a peninsula. It likely then moved back over Grand Lake where it dissipated. Storm chasers, storm spotters, and a number of citizens witnessed this tornado.
This is the first of two segments of this tornado. The tornado developed about 2.5 miles west-southwest of Zena, moved east-northeast across Grand Lake and then south of Zena crossing Highway 59 just north of the intersection with Highway 127. Permanent homes were damaged, barns and outbuildings were destroyed, mobile homes were severely damaged, and large trees were snapped or uprooted. The intensity and width of the tornado increased east of Highway 59 where several permanent homes were severely damaged, two double wide mobile homes were destroyed with only small pieces of debris remaining hundreds of yards from the homesite, and many large trees were snapped or uprooted. This extent of damage continued to the state line where a permanent home was severely damaged, two mobile homes were destroyed, and a steel-framed building was destroyed. Two people were injured in the permanent home. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 140 mph. The tornado continued into McDonald County, Missouri for about another mile before dissipating.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Delaware County, Oklahoma?
65 tornado events are recorded in Delaware County between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Delaware County?
The strongest tornado on record in Delaware County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Delaware 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 Delaware County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/delaware-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.