Severe Weather and Heavy Rain from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic; Heat Persists in the East

Widespread strong thunderstorms with damaging winds and locally heavy rain are expected from the Upper Ohio Valley into the southern Mid-Atlantic today and portions of the central Appalachians and Carolinas on Saturday. Monsoonal moisture will bring a flash flooding threat to the Desert Southwest. Sweltering heat persists from the Plains to the southern Mid-Atlantic through tonight. Read More >

Note: The original news item was issued in June 2005, but was last edited in May 2026.

For the first time since official records began in 1950, no tornadoes were reported in the state of Oklahoma in the month of May 2005.

Prior to 2005, the record lowest number of reported tornadoes in May was two, in 1988.

Up until 2005, May was the only month of the year that always had at least one tornado. Every other month has two or more years with no tornadoes in the records.

The most tornadoes ever recorded in May occurred in 2019, when 105 tornadoes were reported. The previous high total for May occurred in 2010, when 91 tornadoes were documented.

May typically marks the peak of tornado season in Oklahoma. During the period from 1950 to 2025, an average of 24 tornadoes have been reported in the month of May. May typically brings about 41 percent of the year's annual average tornado total of 59.

Other years with low May totals include:

May 1988 - 2
May 2012 - 3
May 1958 - 4
May 1967 - 4
May 2006 - 4
May 2009 - 4
May 2014 - 4
May 2026 - 2

The months of May in 1952, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1978, and 1987 each saw only five tornadoes.

An average of 42 tornadoes occur for the 5-month period from January through May.

The most tornadoes ever recorded during the January through May time frame occurred in 1999, when 116 tornadoes were tallied.

The lowest January-May totals include:

January-May 1988 - 7
January-May 2014 - 8
January-May 1958 - 10
January-May 1989 - 10

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Severe Weather and Heavy Rain from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic; Heat Persists in the East

No Oklahoma Tornadoes in May 2005