States › Oklahoma › 1973

Oklahoma, 1973

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

257events recorded82 in 1972

12deaths recorded220 injuries

$33Mproperty damage (estimates)

3disaster declarations0 NFIP claims, $0 paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.

Events by hazard

Wind108

Tornado85

Hail64

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1973 was 257 against 82 in 1972.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1973
Kay County	13
McCurtain County	11
Oklahoma County	11
Garfield County	10
Osage County	9
Cleveland County	8
Craig County	8
Stephens County	8
Tillman County	8
Creek County	7
Muskogee County	7
Payne County	7
Comanche County	6
Garvin County	6
Love County	6
McIntosh County	6
Tulsa County	6
Washita County	6
Bryan County	5
Canadian County	5
Cotton County	5
Jackson County	5
Mayes County	5
Pittsburg County	5
Caddo County	4

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
26 May 1973	Muskogee	Tornado	F4	$250,000	5	25
19 Nov 1973	Cleveland	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	3	28
19 Nov 1973	McClain	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	2	18
24 May 1973	Canadian	Tornado	F4	$2,500,000	2	4
18 Jun 1973	Tillman	Tornado	F0	$2,500,000	—	29
18 Jun 1973	Tillman	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	29
20 Apr 1973	Pontotoc	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	21
24 Sep 1973	Ottawa	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	14
20 Nov 1973	Roger Mills	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	7
19 Nov 1973	Kay	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	6
30 Apr 1973	Alfalfa	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	6
26 May 1973	Sequoyah	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	6
13 Mar 1973	Comanche	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	5
18 Jan 1973	Seminole	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	4
19 Apr 1973	Stephens	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	4
26 May 1973	Washington	Tornado	F3	$2,500	—	3
19 Apr 1973	Garvin	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	2
19 Nov 1973	Kingfisher	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	2
2 Jun 1973	Cotton	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	2
16 Jun 1973	Pittsburg	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	2
13 Mar 1973	Kay	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	1
4 Jun 1973	Carter	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	1
18 Jun 1973	Grady	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	1
19 Nov 1973	Cleveland	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	—
19 Nov 1973	Kay	Tornado	F1	$2,500,000	—	—
19 Nov 1973	Oklahoma	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	—
18 Jun 1973	Osage	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
18 Jun 1973	Caddo	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
18 Jun 1973	Caddo	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
6 May 1973	Seminole	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
24 Sep 1973	Craig	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
24 Sep 1973	Ottawa	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
10 Oct 1973	Beckham	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
30 Apr 1973	Grant	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Oct 1973	Oklahoma	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
22 May 1973	Tillman	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
26 May 1973	McIntosh	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
2 Jun 1973	Comanche	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
6 Jul 1973	McCurtain	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
30 Apr 1973	Kay	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1973

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
10 Dec 1973	DR-409	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	15
13 Oct 1973	DR-404	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	5
13 Jun 1973	DR-392	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, & Tornadoes	31

Flood insurance claims with a 1973 date of loss

No NFIP claims in Oklahoma carry a 1973 date of loss. The NFIP claims file begins with 1978 losses.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.