78
Recorded events
19
Direct deaths
153
Direct injuries
$12.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Le Flore County, Oklahoma: 78 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #122 nationally and #22 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Le Flore County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Le Flore County is the 2010s, when 21 of the county's 78 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 Le Flore County archive, tornado makes up 6.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #122 for this hazard and #22 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 95.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Le Flore County with 35 recorded events, while Aug 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-03-26 | EF5 | 11.9 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-05 | EF4 | 26.4 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-26 | EF4 | 10.7 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1960-05-05 | EF3 | 23.7 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-07 | EF3 | 0.5 mi | 127 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-04-28 | EF2 | 8.1 mi | 750 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-25 | EF2 | 15.5 mi | 1,700 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-24 | EF2 | 12.0 mi | 1,760 yd | Touched down here |
| 2009-04-09 | EF2 | 10.7 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 2000-03-26 | EF2 | 4.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1961 | F4 | 16 | 58 | $250K | |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F5 | 2 | 64 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F4 | 1 | 4 | $250K | |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 0 | 9 | $2.5M | |
| Nov 22, 1983 | F3 | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 10, 2009 | (PGO)PAGE | EF2 | 0 | 4 | $100K |
| Apr 15, 2011 | WISTER | EF1 | 0 | 3 | $40K |
| May 7, 1998 | CALHOUN | F1 | 0 | 2 | $100K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2025 | WILLIAMS | EF1 | $0 |
| May 20, 2025 | CALHOUN | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2024 | HODGEN | EF0 | $0 |
| Nov 4, 2022 | HEAVENER | EF1 | $75K |
| Nov 4, 2022 | LUDLOW | EF1 | $70K |
| May 2, 2022 | HEAVENER ARPT | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 12, 2022 | COMPTON | EFU | $0 |
| Nov 25, 2020 | OAK LODGE | EF1 | $5K |
| May 23, 2020 | WHITESBORO | EF1 | $0 |
| May 23, 2020 | WHITESBORO | EF1 | $30K |
Other hazards here
More from Le Flore County
- Hail 548
- Thunderstorm Wind 466
- Flash Flood 94
- Flood 63
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down 1.5 miles northwest of Hodgen and moved southeast passing near the town of Hodgen before lifting 2 miles southeast of Hodgen. Three mobile homes were destroyed and as many as eight others were damaged. In addition, two broiler houses were destroyed, killing all the chickens inside.A few other agriculture structures were damaged and a few power lines were blown down.
A tornado associated with the north end of a bowing convective line segment destroyed two chicken houses, severely damaged several homes, destroyed sheds and outbuildings, snapped and uprooted a number of trees, and blew down power lines and power poles.
This tornado developed near Kerr Mansion, south-southwest of Poteau. It moved north-northeast then turned more northward west of Poteau and eventually curved north-northwest as it moved through Shady Point and west of Panama before dissipating. Several homes were severely damaged within the path, a number of other homes received roof damage, at least two mobile homes were destroyed, barns and outbuildings were destroyed, a cellular communications tower was partially collapsed, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, and power poles were blown down by this tornado. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 110 to 120 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Le Flore County, Oklahoma?
78 tornado events are recorded in Le Flore County between 1953 and 2025, causing 19 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Le Flore County?
The strongest tornado on record in Le Flore County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Le Flore 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 Le Flore County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/le-flore-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.