65
Recorded events
14
Direct deaths
106
Direct injuries
$31.4M
Property damage
Tornado in Carter County, Oklahoma: 65 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #196 nationally and #32 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Carter County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Carter County is the 1990s, when 16 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 Carter County archive, tornado makes up 7.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 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 Carter County with 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-02-10 | EF4 | 37.0 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1972-04-19 | EF4 | 28.2 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-27 | EF4 | 26.8 mi | 900 yd | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-07 | EF3 | 34.1 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1979-10-30 | EF3 | 8.4 mi | 530 yd | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-13 | EF3 | 45.3 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-10 | EF3 | 4.9 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 22.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1979-04-10 | EF3 | 12.8 mi | 170 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-26 | EF3 | 3.3 mi | 60 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 11, 2009 | WILSON | EF4 | 8 | 46 | $3.0M |
| May 7, 1995 | Leon to | F3 | 3 | 6 | $500K |
| Oct 30, 1979 | F3 | 3 | 2 | $250K | |
| Apr 28, 2024 | ARDMORE | EF2 | 0 | 19 | $20.0M |
| May 27, 1959 | F3 | 0 | 8 | $25K | |
| Mar 3, 1977 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $25K | |
| Apr 10, 1990 | F2 | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F1 | 0 | 4 | $30 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2025 | GENE AUTRY | EF0 | $100K |
| Mar 4, 2025 | LONE GROVE | EF1 | $500K |
| Apr 28, 2024 | DICKSON | EF2 | $1.0M |
| Apr 28, 2024 | ARDMORE | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 28, 2024 | ARDMORE | EF2 | $20.0M |
| Apr 22, 2020 | SPRINGER | EF2 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2020 | SPRINGER | EF0 | $2K |
| May 28, 2017 | (ADM)ARDMORE APT | EFU | $0 |
| May 20, 2017 | SPRINGER | EFU | $0 |
| May 20, 2017 | SPRINGER | EFU | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Carter County
- Hail 512
- Thunderstorm Wind 268
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Ardmore tornado initially developed about 5 miles southwest of Ardmore, and moved north-northeast towards Ardmore. Some homes near Gateway Road had most or all of their roofs removed. Tree damage was significant along this area. ||The tornado then continued north-northeast through the west side of Ardmore especially near Plainview Road. Many homes suffered significant roof damage. Ardmore emergency management reported that 52 homes were damaged with 17 of them a total loss. The tornado moved near a Best Buy distribution center on the northwest side of Ardmore blowing over numerous trailers.||Continuing north-northeast, the tornado continued producing tree and power pole damage, and EF2 roof damage to another home near Lake Ardmore road. The tornado crossed Interstate 35 just east of Ardmore Club Lake and turned more northeast before dissipating near US Highway 77 north of Deer Creek Road.
The Marietta-Lake Murray-Dickson Tornado moved from Love County into Carter County near Scott Road just east of Lake Murray. The tornado destroyed one mobile home, heavily damaged another and damaged many trees and power poles between the county line and where it crossed US Highway 70. The tornado turned north-northeast destroying one mobile home and damaging at least two others as it approached the town of Dickson. North of Dickson, at least one other home had significant roof damage and another mobile home was rolled in addition to continued tree and power pole damage. The tornado finally dissipated near US Highway 177 near the community of Baum.
This tornado was reported by the Ratliff City Fire Department across extreme northwest Carter County. Shortly after forming, the tornado destroyed one barn and blew off the roof of another, then produced intermittent damage while moving toward Ratliff City. A shed was picked up and blown about 1/4 block on the north side of Ratliff City, while in Ratliff City, a roof was blown off a cinder block feed store; the front-facing wall and windows were blown out of a store; a haybarn was destroyed, and power poles and trees were downed. The damage path then turned more easterly with numerous large oak trees, approximately 12-14 inches in diameter, ripped out of the ground immediately east of town. In addition, a well-secured playground set made of wood was blown northeastward through a chain-linked fence. Scattered power pole and tree damage then continued to 4 1/2 miles east of Ratliff City.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Carter County, Oklahoma?
65 tornado events are recorded in Carter County between 1953 and 2025, causing 14 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Carter County?
The strongest tornado on record in Carter County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Carter 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 Carter County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/carter-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.