tornadoes

Oklahoma’s weather was mostly lamb during March, although it did have its lion moments. The state experienced only one true outbreak of severe weather, but that single event on March 14 was significant nonetheless with two confirmed tornadoes in McIntosh and McCurtain counties and hail greater than softball size in Ada. Remarkably, Oklahoma had gone nearly five months without a confirmed tornado since the previous two back on October 24, 2023, in Garvin and Potawatomie counties.

Oklahomans are growing accustomed to Mother Nature’s October weather shenanigans following a snowstorm of up to 13 inches in 2019 and a crippling ice storm in 2020. A spring severe weather motif was chosen for October 2021 with at least 31 tornadoes touching down during the month, besting the previous October record total of 27 set back in 1998. That preliminary total also surpasses the 25 twisters tallied during the first nine months of the year. While most of the tornadoes were considered weak—rated EF0 or EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale—they were damaging, nonetheless. Oct.

November’s weather struggled to live up to the level of excitement provided by October’s historic cold snap and ice storm, although it had its moments. Following that burst of moisture just before Halloween, some areas of the state went more than a month without seeing at least a quarter inch of rain in a single day. Other areas saw Oklahoma’s weather at its worst, however. Storms on the 24th brought severe weather back to the state with damaging winds and hail up to the size of golf balls. At least two tornadoes touched down that day in southeastern Oklahoma.