46
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
38
Direct injuries
$16.5M
Property damage
Tornado in Murray County, Oklahoma: 46 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #455 nationally and #58 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Murray County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Murray County is the 1990s, when 11 of the county's 46 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 Murray County archive, tornado makes up 9.8% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #455 for this hazard and #58 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 84.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Murray County with 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-04-19 | EF4 | 28.2 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-27 | EF3 | 9.9 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-09 | EF3 | 16.6 mi | 1,500 yd | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-05 | EF3 | 16.9 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-02 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 600 yd | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-22 | EF2 | 4.7 mi | 600 yd | Crossed in |
| 1992-05-11 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-13 | EF2 | 7.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-10-21 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 60 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-11 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2024 | SULPHUR | EF3 | 1 | 30 | $10.0M |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F2 | 1 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jul 15, 1955 | F1 | 1 | 2 | $25K | |
| Dec 3, 1953 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $3K | |
| May 14, 1983 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Apr 22, 1971 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2026 | DOUGHERTY | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 20, 2025 | DOUGHERTY | EFU | $0 |
| Nov 4, 2024 | JOY | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 28, 2024 | DOUGHERTY | EF1 | $2K |
| Apr 28, 2024 | DOUGHERTY | EF1 | $200K |
| Apr 28, 2024 | SULPHUR | EF3 | $10.0M |
| Apr 22, 2020 | DOUGHERTY | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2019 | SCULLIN | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2019 | DOUGHERTY | EFU | $0 |
| Oct 7, 2018 | DAVIS | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Murray County
- Hail 222
- Thunderstorm Wind 139
- Flash Flood 52
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Sulphur tornado initially developed in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area to the southwest of Sulphur and produced tree damage as well as damage to one building in the northeast section of the park as the tornado approached Sulphur. The tornado moved into the southern part of Sulphur causing significant damage to a number of homes on Tishomingo Avenue adjacent to the Chickasaw NRA.||The tornado moved northeast through downtown Sulphur destroying or causing extensive damage to numerous businesses and buildings downtown. Many people were trapped and one woman was killed when a building housing a sports lounge collapsed downtown on this Saturday night. Damage was rated EF3 to numerous buildings downtown, as well as to some homes and buildings in neighborhoods across northeast Sulphur as the tornado continues to move northeast through town.||The tornado continued northeast out of Sulphur and damaged another home along Palmer Road in northeastern Murray County. Tree damage was also observed on the county line as the tornado moved from Murray County into Pontotoc County.
This tornado developed about 1 miles west-southwest of Drake, or about 4.5 miles east of Dougherty. It moved erratically northeast and crossed US Highway 77 about a mile and half north of Drake. Near US-77, it caused roof damage to one home and blew out windows in another. Some metal buildings were also damaged in this area. Otherwise the damage was primarily to trees with some large trees snapped along the path.
A tornado developed southeast of Dougherty and moved north-northeast likely dissipating as a waterspout over the southeast portion of Lake Of The Arbuckles. Tree damage was noted both along Big Canyon Road southeast of Dougherty near the beginning of the path, and along Goddard Youth Camp Road in the southern portion of the Chickasaw National Recreation area just south of Lake Of The Arbuckles.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Murray County, Oklahoma?
46 tornado events are recorded in Murray County between 1953 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Murray County?
The strongest tornado on record in Murray County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Murray 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 Murray County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/murray-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.