103
Recorded events
20
Direct deaths
295
Direct injuries
$38.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Kay County, Oklahoma: 103 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #44 nationally and #6 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Kay County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Kay County is the 1950s, when 22 of the county's 103 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 Kay County archive, tornado makes up 8.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #44 for this hazard and #6 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 98.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Kay County with 39 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-05-25 | EF5 | 56.4 mi | 1,320 yd | Touched down here |
| 1955-05-25 | EF5 | 28.4 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-02 | EF4 | 108.3 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-03-16 | EF4 | 82.7 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-10 | EF3 | 40.7 mi | 1,500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1993-06-08 | EF3 | 11.5 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-26 | EF3 | 67.0 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1961-03-26 | EF3 | 8.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-17 | EF3 | 39.2 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 1955 | F5 | 20 | 280 | $25.0M | |
| Nov 20, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| May 11, 1978 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| May 10, 2010 | BRAMAN | EF3 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 13, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 21, 1972 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jun 5, 1966 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 2026 | NEWKIRK | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2026 | BRAMAN | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2026 | BRAMAN | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2026 | NARDIN | EF1 | $200K |
| Apr 17, 2026 | KAW CITY | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 17, 2026 | PONCA CITY | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | PONCA CITY | EF0 | $10K |
| May 7, 2024 | KAW CITY | EF1 | $100K |
| May 7, 2024 | PONCA CITY | EF0 | $50K |
| Apr 27, 2024 | NEWKIRK | EF1 | $75K |
Other hazards here
More from Kay County
- Hail 562
- Thunderstorm Wind 507
- Flash Flood 75
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
While the tornado that formed west of Ponca City was passing to the south of Kaw Lake, observers witnessed a second tornado develop near the southwest portion of Kaw Lake. The witnesses watched the tornado develop on a hill just northwest of McFadden Cove, and then move southeast across Hideaway Marina causing damage to boat shelters and docks at the marina. The tornado continued southeast as a waterspout over the southwestern portion of Kaw Lake, then moved into Osage County just east of the dam. See the Storm Data report from the NWS office in Tulsa for details of this tornado in Osage County.
A tornado developed west of Kaw Lake near Tower Road and Lake Road, then moved northeast through the Coon Creek Cove area of Kaw Lake producing tree damage, damage to a boat dock, and overturned a camper. The tornado then moved over Kaw Lake and likely dissipated north of the northeastern arm of the lake in northeastern Kay County.
A storm associated with a Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) produced a wide swath of wind damage and an embedded tornado in and near Newkirk. The tornado developed on the southwest side of town, moved northeast to just southeast of downtown, then turned north along Pine Avenue dissipating just northeast of town. A few houses had some minor damage and a number of sheds and outbuildings were damaged. Tree and power line damage was also observed along the path.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Kay County, Oklahoma?
103 tornado events are recorded in Kay County between 1950 and 2026, causing 20 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Kay County?
The strongest tornado on record in Kay County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Kay 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 Kay County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/kay-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.