92
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
27
Direct injuries
$45.5M
Property damage
Tornado in Mayes County, Oklahoma: 92 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #72 nationally and #12 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Mayes County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Mayes County is the 2010s, when 32 of the county's 92 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 Mayes County archive, tornado makes up 11.1% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #72 for this hazard and #12 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 97.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Mayes County with 45 recorded events, while Feb 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 | 23.9 mi | 2,000 yd | Crossed in |
| 1974-06-08 | EF3 | 63.6 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-07 | EF3 | 24.8 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-08 | EF3 | 48.9 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-09 | EF3 | 23.2 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-08-10 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-13 | EF2 | 8.7 mi | 1,000 yd | Crossed in |
| 1993-04-24 | EF2 | 4.5 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-15 | EF2 | 8.0 mi | 123 yd | Touched down here |
| 1986-04-07 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2024 | PRYOR | EF3 | 2 | 4 | $5.0M |
| Aug 10, 2011 | LOCUST GROVE | EF2 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 9, 1974 | F3 | 0 | 7 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 30, 1985 | F1 | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 9, 1959 | F3 | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 13, 2010 | CHOUTEAU | EF2 | 0 | 2 | $300K |
| May 2, 2008 | PRYOR | EF1 | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| Apr 25, 1993 | Locust Grove | F2 | 0 | 1 | $5.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | CHOUTEAU | EF1 | $10K |
| Jun 18, 2025 | BOATMAN | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2025 | PRYOR | EF1 | $300K |
| Jun 6, 2025 | MURPHY | EF1 | $75K |
| May 26, 2024 | SALINA | EF1 | $3.8M |
| May 26, 2024 | SALINA | EF1 | $1.0M |
| May 26, 2024 | PRYOR | EF3 | $5.0M |
| Jun 18, 2023 | TIP | EF1 | $0 |
| Jan 2, 2023 | GREEN | EF0 | $50K |
| Jan 10, 2020 | MURPHY | EFU | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Mayes County
- Hail 341
- Thunderstorm Wind 325
- Flash Flood 56
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This is the second segment of a two-segment tornado. The tornado moved into Mayes County at about the W 470 Road, and continued to produce significant damage, snapping many trees at the county line. As it moved east-southeast, the tornado destroyed a mobile home less than a mile east of the county line, where two fatalities and four injuries occurred. The tornado destroyed several homes near the N 428 Road, about four miles northwest of Pryor, and then dissipated about two miles northwest of Pryor. In total, about 60 homes were damaged, eighteen of which were destroyed, more than 50 outbuildings were destroyed, and many power poles were blown down. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 145 to 155 mph.
This is the third of three segments of this tornado. As the tornado crossed back into Mayes County, it destroyed a double wide mobile home and damaged a single wide mobile home just north of the E590 Road. A woman was killed in the double wide mobile home and two people were injured in the other mobile home. Trees were uprooted and snapped and debris from the double wide mobile home was transported several hundred yards downstream. The tornado damaged another mobile home south of the E580 Road where it destroyed a greenhouse. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped along the path until the tornado dissipated just south of the E570 Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was about 125 mph. ||August is one of the least active months for tornadoes in this part of the country so the intensity of this tornado was even more unusual. In fact, this is only the 4th strong tornado (EF-2 or EF-3) that has been confirmed in eastern Oklahoma since 1950.
This tornado developed just north of Salina, and moved south-southeast across town, dissipating over an inlet of Lake Hudson. The tornado damaged about 40 homes and businesses, of which seven were destroyed, damaged more than a dozen government and commercial buildings, destroyed about twenty outbuildings, uprooted and snapped trees, and blew down power poles. It produced a tornadic debris signature from the KINX WSR-88D. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Mayes County, Oklahoma?
92 tornado events are recorded in Mayes County between 1950 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Mayes County?
The strongest tornado on record in Mayes County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Mayes 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 Mayes County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/mayes-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.