April 25, 1893: A violent tornado formed northwest of Newcastle in McClain County and moved east-northeast into Cleveland County between Moore and Norman before it dissipated in what now is part of southeast Oklahoma City. This massive tornado, reportedly over a mile and a quarter wide at one point, swept away at least 30 homes, killed 31 people, and injured 100 more people.

May 10, 1905: A violent tornado struck the town of Snyder in the Oklahoma Territory. The official death toll is 97, making it the 2nd most deadly tornado in Oklahoma history, and one of the most deadly tornadoes in US history.

October 13-16, 1923: Severe flooding along the North Canadian River in Oklahoma City caused a breach in the Lake Overholser Dam. This flooding forced the evacuation of about 15,000 residents.

March 1924 Heavy snowfall for the month almost statewide. Alva had 37 inches on the month. Even Norman logged 2 feet of snow, and Oklahoma City measured 20.3 inches for the month.

February to April 1935 Severe dust storms impacted parts of the state. On April 10-11, a widespread dust storm swept across most of the state, reducing visibilities as low as a city block. The famous "Black Sunday" dust storm on April 14th was one of the most severe ever in the region. It impacted mainly northwest Oklahoma. Visibilities were zero from Kenton to Arnett and lasted about an hour.

June 12, 1942 The most deadly tornado on record in the Oklahoma City area until the May 3, 1999 F5 tornado. The funnel cut a twisting, erratic path through the SW part of OKC. A total of 73 homes were destroyed and 31 damaged, with most of the damage in the 27-29th Street areas between Portland and Goff Avenues.

April 9, 1947 The most deadly tornado to ever strike within the borders of the state of Oklahoma hit Woodward at 8:42pm. Over 100 city blocks on the west and north sides of the city were destroyed with lesser damage in the southeast portion of the town. Confusion and fires reigned in the aftermath with over 1000 homes and businesses destroyed, at least 107 people killed in and around Woodward, and nearly 1000 additional injuries.

March 20 & 25, 1948 The famously "first correct tornado forecast" by Air Force weather officers E.J. Fawbush and R.C. Miller. A tornado struck Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City on March 20th. Noticing similar conditions on March 25th, Fawbush and Miller correctly forecast conditions favorable for another tornado on March 25th.

May 25, 1955 An F5 tornado hit the town of Blackwell, Oklahoma. For more, visit the NWS Norman Writeup on the event.

February 21-22, 1971 A blizzard struck Northwest Oklahoma. Buffalo received 36 inches of snow, a state record for storm total snowfall.

June 24, 1973 A tornado strikes Union City, Oklahoma. NSSL storm chase teams intercept and document the entire life cycle of a tornado for the first time. Click here for the NSSL story.

October 11, 1973 15.68 inches of rain falls at Enid in 13 hours, setting the Oklahoma's daily and 24-hour rainfall records. 12 inches of the rainfall fell in only 3 hours leading to severe flash flooding.

April 10, 1979 The famous "Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak" in which numerous tornadoes struck North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. The most notable tornado was the large, wide F4 tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas. This tornado was famously a large black wedge.

Summer of 1980 Brutal heat occurred during this period, with the temperatures at Oklahoma City topping the century mark 50 times.

December 15-31, 1983 A series of bitter cold, arctic air masses began penetrating the midsection of the United States on December 15, 1983, causing record low temperatures and extreme wind chills over much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation through the remainder of the month. The abnormally cold temperatures were responsible for at least 151 deaths throughout the country, including 4 deaths in Oklahoma.

December 1987 to January 1988 A series of significant winter storms impacted the area. On December 13-15, 1987, a snowstorm impacted the northwestern half of Oklahoma with 8-14 inches of snow and drifts up to 4 feet. On December 25-27, 1987, a severe ice storm occurred along a 40-mile wide, populated stretch from Duncan to Norman to Tulsa. Ice accumulations of 1-2 inches on trees and power lines led to $10 MIL in damages. On January 5-7, 1988, another snowstorm impacted much of Oklahoma with around 10 inches of snow.

August 17, 1994 A severe thunderstorm produced large hail and destructive winds along a path from Manchester to Minco. The Oklahoma Mesonet site at Lahoma recorded a 113 mph wind gust before the anemometer failed.

October 4, 1998 A record-breaking, widespread, fall outbreak of 27 tornadoes occurred in the state of Oklahoma.

May 3, 1999 This weather event was one of the most famous tornado outbreaks in US history. The most notable tornado that occurred was the large, violent tornado that produced F5 damage in Moore, Midwest City, Del City and South Oklahoma City. Over 70 tornadoes occurred in 21 hours. 40 people were killed and over 600 were injured. Damages totaled over $1 billion.

October 9, 2001 This was another significant fall tornado outbreak that occurred in October across Oklahoma. Three tornadoes were rated an F3 on the Fujita Scale, impacting Elk City, Cordell, and the area around Gotebo.

August 19, 2007 The remnants of Tropical Depression Erin moved over the state of Oklahoma during the early morning hours of August 19, 2007. The area of low pressure rapidly deepens on a small scale, producing strong gradient winds around Watonga. Severe weather and widespread flooding occurred across parts of the region.

December 8-11, 2007 A significant winter storm impacted the region for several days. Freezing rain accumulated on trees and power lines, causing widespread power outages and damage. Hundreds of auto accidents also occurred.

December 24, 2009 The Christmas Eve blizzard of 2009 produced snowfall totals 1 to 7 inches in most places, with 8 to 14 inches reported in Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls. Widespread blizzard conditions produced visibilities less than 100 feet and high winds created snow drifts at least 3 feet deep. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded and most major highways and interstates were shut down.

May 10, 2010 A large tornado outbreak produced 35 tornadoes in the NWS Norman forecast area alone, and a total of 55 tornadoes in Oklahoma. Two EF4 tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City metro area, killing 3 people and injuring over 80 others.

May 24, 2011 While this tornado outbreak included only 12 tornadoes in the NWS Norman forecast area, 3 of these were violent (1 EF5 and 2 EF4s). The killer tornado that went through Canadian, Kingfisher and Logan Counties was the first F5/EF5 tornado in Oklahoma since the May 3, 1999 outbreak.

May 20, 2013 An outbreak of 15 tornadoes occurred in parts of central and eastern Oklahoma. A violent, EF5 tornado struck parts of McClain and Cleveland Counties, including the cities of Newcastle, south Oklahoma City and Moore and killed a total of 24 people. Damage estimates were $2 billion, making this the most costly tornado to ever occur in Oklahoma.

The May 31-June 1, 2013 A deadly tornado and flash flood event in central Oklahoma was the final event in a two-week period of devastating tornadoes and severe weather in late May 2013. A cluster of supercell thunderstorms impacted central Oklahoma, including the OKC metro area. A total of 19 tornadoes occurred, including the El Reno tornado, which killed 8 people. In addition to the tornado, heavy rains led to flash flooding in the metro area, and claimed another 13 lives, making it one of the most deadly flash flood events to ever occur in Oklahoma City.

October 26-28, 2020 A powerful, early season ice storm occurred over a several-day period beginning on the morning of the October 26, 2020 and continuing into the evening of the October 28th. Extreme freezing rain accumulations of at least 1.5 inches were reported in west-central and central Oklahoma over the 3-day period. Hundreds of thousands of people were without power by October 28th and extensive tree and powerline damage was reported across much of the region.