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Severe Thunderstorms in West-Central Texas; Critical Fire Weather Threat in the Rockies and Plains

Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms capable of producing large hail and damaging wind gusts will be possible this evening across west-central Texas. Elevated to Critical fire weather conditions will persist across the southern Rockies and portions of the southern Plains through this weekend. Read More >

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Tornado Track Map for Pawnee County, OK
 
Pawnee County, OK Tornadoes Prior to 1950
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
  05/02/1942 1430 ~100 1760   3 32 Noble/ Pawnee/ Osage/ Washington/ Nowata S of Morrison - Pawhuska - near South Coffeyville
  05/21/1949 0015   n   0 1 Pawnee SW - near Cleveland
Pawnee County, OK Tornadoes (1950-Present*)
# Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
1 05/01/1954 1742 8 10 F2 0 7 Payne/ Pawnee Near Glencoe - W of Pawnee
2 04/12/1955 0200 46 10 F0 0 0 Pawnee/ Osage Near Pawnee - Near Pawhuska [not continuous]
3 04/02/1956 2130 13 100 F2 0 1 Pawnee/ Osage near Skedee - near Fairfax
4 05/20/1957 1700 0.5 100 F0 0 0 Pawnee N of Pawnee
5 05/22/1957 0858 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Pawnee 6 N Yale
6 03/31/1959 1700 0.1 10 F1 0 1 Pawnee 3 NW Pawnee
7 11/22/1963 0210 0.1 10 F1 0 0 Pawnee Near Ralston
8 04/26/1971 2000 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Pawnee 10 W Cleveland
9 05/10/1971 2000 2 73 F1 0 0 Pawnee SW of Pawnee
10 07/02/1976 1645 1 20 F1 0 0 Pawnee 3 SW Pawnee
11 08/21/1979 1840 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Pawnee 5 NE Pawnee
12 04/27/1983 2000 0.5 50 F2 0 0 Pawnee 2 W Ralston
13 04/26/1984 1932 0.1 10 F0 0 0 Pawnee 5 S Pawnee
14 04/26/1984 2205 22 880 F4 3 37 Creek/ Pawnee N of Oilton- Terlton- W of Westport
15 04/29/1984 0920 27 200 F4 1 60 Creek/ Pawnee/ Osage 7 ENE Shamrock- Olive- Mannford- New Prue- NE of New Prue
16 06/21/1990 1730 0.1 20 F0 0 0 Pawnee 2 SW Fairfax
17 06/21/1990 1812 0.1 23 F0 0 0 Pawnee 2 N Ralston
18 04/26/1991 1910-2027 32 1700 F4 1 24 Pawnee/ Osage 1.5 WSW Terlton- Westport- 1 NNW Skiatook
19 06/18/1992 1455 0.2 30 F0 0 0 Pawnee 6 W Maramec
20 05/06/1994 1940 0.8 50 F0 0 0 Pawnee 7 SW Ralston
21 09/08/1997 1620 0.1 30 F0 0 0 Pawnee 2 NW Ralston
22 10/04/1998 1838-1839 0.4 130 F1 0 0 Pawnee Pawnee
23 04/19/2003 1604 0.2 50 F0 0 0 Pawnee 3 WNW Ralston
24 05/26/2004 1837-1843 3 200 F0 0 0 Noble/ Pawnee 5.8 NNE Sumner - Sooner Lake - 13.2 NW Pawnee
25 05/01/2008 1918 0.1 75 EF0 0 0 Pawnee 1 N Pawnee
26 05/01/2008 1925-1935 3 300 EF1 0 0 Pawnee 2.5 NW - 4 N Skedee
27 02/10/2009 1635-1637 3 400 EF0 0 0 Pawnee 3 SSW - 0.5 S Pawnee
28 03/24/2009 0029-0038 4 150 EF0 0 0 Pawnee 4.5 S - 2.5 ESE Pawnee
29 03/25/2015 1621-1638 11 800 EF2 1 30 Pawnee/ Osage/ Tulsa 4 SE Westport - 0.5 SW Sand Springs
30 04/26/2016 2100-2108 7 800 EF1 0 0 Pawnee/ Osage 3.5 SW Westport - 2.5 SE Prue
 

Significant Tornadoes in Pawnee County

  Date Time
(CST)
Path
Length
(miles)
Path
Width
(yards)
F-Scale Killed Injured County Path
  05/01/1954 1742 8 10 F2 0 7 Payne/ Pawnee Near Glencoe - W of Pawnee

A tornado touched down just east of Glencoe in Payne County at 5:42 pm CST and moved northeastward for 8 miles before lifting just west of Pawnee in Pawnee County at 5:48 pm CST. Fifteen farm homes were destroyed while 11 other farm homes were damaged, and many other outbuildings were destroyed or damaged. Seven people were injured along the tornado's path.

  04/02/1956 2130 13 100 F2 0 1 Pawnee/ Osage near Skedee - near Fairfax

A tornado moving north-northeastward across parts of Pawnee and Osage counties destroyed 1 home, badly damaged 3 other homes, destroyed or damaged many outbuildings, and killed some livestock in the Skedee area. Damage to outbuildings extended into the Fairfax district in Osage County. One person was injured in Pawnee County.

  03/31/1959 1700 0.1 10 F1 0 1 Pawnee 3 NW Pawnee

One farmstead was lightly damaged when a small tornado touched briefly 3 miles northwest of Pawnee. Flying debris slightly injured one person.

  04/26/1984 2205 22 880 F4 3 37 Creek/ Pawnee N of Oilton - Terlton - W of Westport

This tornado touched down just north of Oilton, OK in Creek County and moved northeastward across Terlton, OK in Pawnee County at 10:13 pm CST. It dissipated just west of Westport, OK in Pawnee County. A total of 120 structures were either damaged or destroyed. Three people were killed and 37 more persons injured. Damages were estimated at $2.5 million.

  04/29/1984 0920 27 200 F4 1 60 Creek/ Pawnee/ Osage 7 ENE Shamrock - Olive - Mannford - New Prue - NE of New Prue

This tornado touched down 2.8 miles north and 6.3 miles east of Shamrock, OK in Creek County and moved northward along a 26-mile path through Pawnee and Osage counties. The tornado struck the Olive, OK area, then moved through Mannford, OK and New Prue, OK before dissipating just northeast of New Prue. The storm did considerable damage in Mannford and New Prue. One person was killed and 60 people were injured. Damage estimates for the storm were near $10 million.

  04/26/1991 1910 32 1700 F4 1 24 Pawnee/ Osage 1.5 WSW Terlton - Westport - 1 NNW Skiatook

The "Westport" tornado was the sixth in a series of 9 tornadoes that occurred in Oklahoma during the April 26, 1991 tornado outbreak. This tornado went along a 32-mile path from 1.5 miles west-southwest of Terlton, OK to 1 mile north-northwest of Skiatook. It began at 7:10 pm CST and ended at 8:27 pm CST. The tornado narrowly missed the town of Terlton as it moved east-northeast. Northeast of Terlton and west of OK State Highway 48, the tornado was weak (F0 damage to trees.) The tornado strengthened as it crossed OK State Highway 48, 0.5 miles south of the Cimarron Turnpike, and produced F1 and F2 intensity damage to structures and power poles. Up to that point it had been one-eighth mile in width.

After crossing OK State Highway 48, the tornado widened rapidly to about 1 mile and intensity increased to F4 strength as it crossed the turnpike. Several cars were swept off the turnpike with five injuries and one fatality. A man was killed when his car was overturned.

The tornado then crossed into the Keystone Airpark at 7:30 pm CST and caused significant damage to four hangers, and seven aircraft were destroyed. Two of the planes were tossed into trees. The fire station at the airport was demolished, with one of the fire engines pushed across the runway and flung into an area of trees about 0.25 miles away.

The Ridgemont Estates Subdivision 1 mile east of Westport, OK was hard hit, with F4 damage occurring to homes and trees. In the Westport area, 54 homes were completely demolished, 8 homes suffered substantial damage, and 32 homes suffered minor damage. Also destroyed were 70 vehicles, 5 mobile homes, 18 outbuildings, and 3 travel trailers. The community center at Westport suffered damage. There were no fatalities and no reported injuries at Westport. The tornado was 400-yards wide in the Westport area.

The tornado crossed Keystone Lake into Osage County at 7:44 pm CST, and briefly lifted in the vicinity of New Prue, OK. The tornado then touched down again east-northeast of New Prue, 0.5 miles southwest of the John Zink Scout Ranch and destroyed the lodge there, where a group of Girl Scouts had taken cover. There were no reported injuries among the scouts. All trees along the path of the tornado were snapped off or uprooted, as it continued to the northeast, to the extreme south edge of Skiatook Lake, where some boat docks and a marina were damaged. The tornado continued to 1.5 miles west of Skiatook on OK State Highway 20 where there was damage to a propane company at 8:15 pm CST.

The tornado moved on to a subdivision 1 mile west-northwest of Skiatook, OK, where 32 homes were destroyed, 11 homes suffered major damage, and 45 homes suffered minor damage. There were 19 injuries in the Skiatook area. The damage was rated at F3 intensity. The tornado continued northeast for a short time and lifted at 8:27 pm CST, shortly before crossing the Tulsa County line. Damage was estimated from this storm at close to $3 million.

  03/25/2015 1621-1638 11.1 800 EF2 1 30 Pawnee/ Osage/ Tulsa 4 SE Westport - 0.6 SW Sand Springs

The tornado developed over Keystone Lake, west of Appalachia Bay Recreation Area. The beginning of this tornado was filmed by storm chasers. The tornado moved east-southeast across the lake waters and adjacent uninhabited land areas. Damage is strongly suspected to trees in this segment of the tornado but those suspected areas were not accessible by road.

The tornado crossed into Osage County over Keystone Lake and quickly crossed U.S. Highway 412. It then moved through a wooded area that was inaccessible by road. The first damage that was accessible by the survey team was at S 209th W Avenue, where the tornado damaged a church, snapped large tree limbs, and damaged a home. It moved east- southeast toward W Archer Road snapping or uprooting trees and damaging homes.

The tornado moved into Tulsa County at W Archer Road to the east of S 209th W Avenue. The roofs of several homes were damaged and trees were uprooted as it crossed S 193rd W Avenue. The tornado moved southeast crossing U.S. Highway 412, where it snapped or uprooted numerous trees and blew a tractor trailer off the road . A doughnut shop was destroyed at S 177th W Avenue, homes were damaged, and trees and poles were snapped. It crossed the Arkansas River and moved through the River Oaks Estates Mobile Home Park where it destroyed 58 mobile homes and two permanent homes. One fatality and about 30 injuries occurred in this park. The tornado crossed the Arkansas River again as it moved east-southeast toward Sand Springs, uprooting numerous trees before dissipating on the south side of Sand Springs, OK, south of U.S. Highway 412 and just west of OK State Highway 97. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 125 to 135 mph.

 

Records taken from the Storm Prediction Center archive data, "Storm Data", and data from the National Weather Service office in Norman. Data modified as described in NOAA Tech Memo NWS SR-209 (Speheger, D., 2001: "Corrections to the Historic Tornado Database").

Historic data, especially before 1950, are likely incomplete.