How Often Do Tornadoes Occur In Oklahoma – Check back to the INTEGRIS on Your Health blog for the latest health and wellness news for all of Oklahoma.
In Oklahoma, tornado season is always “just around the corner.” Whether you’re a newbie or you’ve lived in Oklahoma your whole life, one thing’s for sure – storm season here is no joke.
How Often Do Tornadoes Occur In Oklahoma
Oklahoma is located in the heart of Tornado Alley, so twisters and other severe weather can be common. Although most tornadoes hit the state in the months of April and May, they can happen anytime during the year if the conditions are right.
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Tornadoes are destructive storms that can destroy buildings, toss cars around and create deadly flying debris. Violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to the ground, tornadoes can boast wind speeds of more than 200 miles per hour and can occur anywhere.
So, with spring and summer on the way, we’ve teamed up with Ready.gov to give you some emergency preparedness tips for tornado weather.
Although storm forecasting has come a long way, tornadoes can still occur with little warning. Being prepared before the storm is vital to being able to survive a violent twister.
Before the sirens go off, you should know your area’s tornado risk. Sign up for an Emergency Alert System or a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio to receive emergency alerts as they occur.
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While many people joke about meteorologists, they are the first line in predicting when conditions may be right for a tornado, so be sure you have a working radio that can pick up the weather forecast if power goes out in your home or your television. Satellite dish stops working.
Even before storm season, practice going to a safe place in your home, whether it’s a tornado shelter or a small, interior, windowless room on the lowest level of the home.
Create a plan for communication in case the family is separated, such as identifying an out-of-state person that everyone is taught to call in case of storm emergencies.
Also know the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. According to NOAA, a tornado watch means conditions are right for a twister to form. A tornado warning means that a tornado has been spotted with an imminent threat to life and property. If a warning is issued, take action immediately and find your safe shelter.
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Every school should have a tornado plan. Make sure your child’s school has a tornado plan and know how to contact the school when emergencies occur.
Educate your family members on how to turn off utilities such as gas and electricity. If you smell gas after a tornado strikes, turn off the valve and leave the area immediately.
If you have an in-ground or in-home storm shelter, be sure it’s fully stocked in case you have to spend hours (or sometimes days) in it after a tornado hits.
Fresh water (one gallon per person, per day, to last three days), snacks, phone chargers, extra blankets, flashlights, batteries, and a NOAA radio are some necessities for your storm shelter.
Blog: Oklahoma Severe Weather Coverage
This is important: if you have a shelter, be sure that you have registered its location with your municipality, so they know where to look in case the shelter is covered with debris. Keep games and books in the shelter to help distract children and keep a first-aid kit handy in case of injuries or scrapes.
It is also a good idea to keep the following items in a portable container that can be taken to your shelter or safe place.
If a tornado warning is issued, get to a strong building or shelter immediately, such as a safe room, basement or windowless indoor room. Stay away from windows and doors and use your arms to protect your head and neck.
If you are on the road, do not seek shelter under an overpass or bridge. Find a building close by or, in difficult situations, lie in a low, flat place. Ditches can flood during a storm, so don’t seek shelter in a drainage ditch or tunnel.
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Flying debris causes the most injury or death in tornadoes, so use a mattress, bike helmet or even pots and pans to protect your head.
Whatever you do, don’t panic. Calmly find your safe place, protect your head and neck and keep your weather radio close.
If your neighborhood was hit by a tornado, additional precautions are needed. Many suffer injuries from exposed debris, nails, gas leaks and more after a twister passes through.
Keep listening to your weather radio and local authorities for updated information. If you are trapped in a home or shelter, keep your mouth covered with a wet cloth to avoid breathing in dust and impurities and bang on a pipe or wall to alert your location.
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Because phone systems are usually down after a tornado, use your phone only for emergencies. Text messaging and social media can be used to communicate with your friends and family, but be prepared for the possibility that you will have no service.
Do not enter damaged buildings until they have been deemed safe by authorities and watch out for downed power lines or broken gas lines. Wear thick-soled, closed-toe shoes, long pants and gloves if you are in and around debris after a storm.
Everyone living or working in tornado-prone areas should have a weather radio in their home or place of work, especially if you live in an area that does not have tornado warning sirens. All-Weather Radios broadcast warnings and information from the National Weather Service 24 hours a day, and post-event information for all types of hazards, both natural and technological.
NOAA weather radios are available at electronics stores and online, and range in price from $25 to $100 or more. It is a sound investment to be prepared for any kind of severe weather, not just tornadoes.
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As an Oklahoman, it is wise to be prepared for seasonal storms and emergency situations that can happen at a moment’s notice. This is part two of an INTEGRIS blog series on how to prepare for emergency situations. Stay tuned for another blog coming soon with tips on staying safe during the summer. In a crazy turn of events for Oklahoma, the state reached a tornado milestone in the month of *October!*
Oklahoma’s statewide tornado count for October ranks this year as number one, followed by 1998 as second, 2007 as third, 2018 as fourth, and 2017 rounding out the top five. Typically, Oklahoma and the Great Plains experience the brunt of their tornado activity in the months of May and June. The spring dry season, as it is referred to quite often, is the height of the annual dry season. But the last few “hard seasons” have been a little different. Severe weather was quieter-than-average in the spring months in the Great Plains, but a bit busier in the fall months. Even take notice that some of the active Octobers have happened in recent years in Oklahoma.
It should be noted that these statistics are for the entire state of Oklahoma during the month of October. These stats do not necessarily represent the rest of the Plains states, or other severe-prone locations.
Related link: October 20 is the 2-year anniversary of the 2019 EF-3 tornado in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX area
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October is one of the months notorious for “second severe weather season.” Typically, October through December see a slight bump up in the number of severe storms, including tornadoes, across the Plains and Southeast. Much of this increase has to do with the intensity and location of the jet stream. The stream of fast-flowing air well above our heads starts to dive further south, while tapping into still (relatively) warm and muggy air. It is the same pattern of spring, but a little less intense. A reason for the record-setting October this season may be because of the frequent, deep jet stream waves across the areas.
Although October 2021 was busy with severe storms, this is where we typically see it for this time of year (across Oklahoma and the Southern Plains). Since October has had a record trend for tornadic storms in parts of the Plains, stay weather aware and up-to-date on the latest forecasts and alerts. We’ll bring all of that (and more) to you on our Veteranation platforms! Note: This paper was originally written in 1994 as NOAA Technical Memorandum NVS SR-160. This version was last updated in January 2022 to include 3 tornadoes that occurred in OKC on October 13, 2021, and 1 tornado that touched down in the metro area on October 26, 2021. From Storm Data, and preliminary data from the 2021 Tornado Table for Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City (OKC), due to its large area and location near the heart of “tornado alley,” has earned a reputation over the years as one of the more tornado-prone cities in the United States. In the 1960s and 1970s, news and magazine articles occasionally cited the number of times OKC was beaten.
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