Oklahoma Has Seen 99 Tornado Warnings So Far in 2024

Oklahomans are tired of tornadoes. And rightfully so because there has been nearly 100 tornado warnings in Oklahoma so far in 2024. Just about every county in the state has seen one or more tornado warned storms this year, and storm season isn't over yet.

Earlier this year, experts predicted an active storm season for Oklahoma, and based on this spring storm season, they were right.

Oklahoma has seen 99 tornado warnings so far in 2024.

According to the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma received its first two tornadoes on March 14, and they haven't stopped since. Since then, Oklahoma has seen 99 tornado warned storms, and based on a map from News 9, just about every county in Oklahoma has seen one or more tornado warnings this year so far.

Out of those 99 tornado warnings, Oklahoma has had 95 confirmed tornadoes.

The National Weather Service in Norman has been keeping track of the tornadoes for Oklahoma this year, and they have documented 95 confirmed tornadoes in Oklahoma so far for 2024. Out of 99 tornado warnings, that means there was a tornado that touched the ground out of just about every single tornado warned storm.

All of the 95 tornadoes for this year so far ranged from an EFU to an EF4. The tornadoes that caused some of the most damage include the following:

• April 27 - Sulphur, EF3
• April 27 - Holdenville, EF3
• April 27 - Marietta, EF4
• May 6 - Osage/Dewey, EF4

Oklahoma saw one monstrous and one rare tornado in one night.

Even though it was low on the EF Scale, because it hit open farmland, Oklahoma received possibly one of the biggest tornadoes to ever touch down. On April 30, a monster tornado struck near Hollister, Oklahoma. It was rated as an EF1 but during the coverage, meteorologists were baffled by the size of it, the look of it on radar and the preliminary data coming in.

Afterwards, meteorologists around the world couldn't believe how big that tornado was and the fact that the rotation could be seen from 18,000 feet - for context, an EF4 is typically seen from 10,000 to 12,000 feet.

This storm also spawned a second fascinating tornado, which was anticyclonic and these only occur one percent of the time. Plus, this anticyclonic tornado was a strong one, which is not typical for these types of tornadoes. Luckily, it dissipated before it hit Grandfield, Oklahoma.

This storm also sparked conversations of change amongst meteorologists about changing the EF Scale. At present, the EF Scale rates tornadoes based on damage caused, not data. It's possible that in the near future, there could be a shift in how tornadoes are rated.

This year's storm season in Oklahoma has already broken state records.

Oklahoma saw two tornadoes in March, 55 in April and 38 in May. Oklahoma can get tornadoes anytime of year, but spring is the most active time. April set a new record for Oklahoma. The previous record was from April 2012 with 54 confirmed tornadoes.

This year Oklahoma also set the record for confirmed tornadoes from the months January-May. The average was 57, and 2024's totals so far currently sits at 95.

Typically, Oklahoma will continue to see severe storms up until the end of June and then they will taper off during the warmer months of July, August and September. But October is historically an active tornado month for Oklahoma. And if it's anything like this spring, Oklahomans may want to be extra weather aware this fall.