National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Rain Providing Some Relief to Drought-Stricken Southern U.S.

A storm tracking across the southern U.S. will continue to bring areas of heavy thunderstorms with risks for severe weather and excessive rainfall from Texas to Florida through this weekend. While much of this rainfall will be beneficial to the drought, excessive rainfall may bring areas of flash and urban flooding. Read More >

Rank Location Date Damage ($)
1. Newcastle-South OKC-Moore tornado 05/20/2013 $2 billion
2. Bridge Creek-OKC-Moore-Del City tornado 05/03/1999 $1 billion
3. Moore-OKC-Choctaw tornado 05/08/2003 $370 million
4. Altus-Altus AFB tornado 05/11/1982 $200 million
5. Ardmore tornado 05/07/1995 $100+ million
6. Cordell tornado 10/09/2001 $100 million
7. Tulsa tornado 04/19/1981 $75-100 million
8. Stroud tornado 05/03/1999 $60 million
9. Catoosa tornado 04/24/1993 $50+ million
10. Downtown Bartlesville 03/15/1982 $30-40 million
Note: Some of the damage costs listed here are estimates. Tornado climatologists are continuing their research to determine better damage costs for some of the events. In addition, the damage costs listed have not been adjusted for inflation to current dollar amounts.