El Reno, OK Tornado History — 247 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has El Reno, OK had?
El Reno has had 247 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 25 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near El Reno?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of El Reno was an EF0 on June 3, 2025.
When is tornado season in El Reno?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near El Reno, with 121 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near El Reno
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 72 total, averaging 3.6 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near El Reno since December 29, 2025
These are 2 preliminary reports, not confirmed tornadoes. They have not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and are not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of El Reno. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near El Reno
60 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of El Reno since 1950, across 8 events. 999 injuries have been reported across all events. 1999 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F5 on May 3, 1999, which caused 36 fatalities along a 37.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near El Reno
About Tornadoes in El Reno
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Two people died when an F4 tornado carved a 13.3-mile path just outside El Reno on May 24, 1973, injuring four others along the way. The springs that followed kept returning to Canadian County: an F4 injured six people on a 32.9-mile track on April 17, 1976, another F4 close to a mile across churned past on May 1, 1978, and a further F4 struck near town on May 23, 1981. The outbreak of May 3, 1999 brought the area an F5 that traced a 37-mile path, killing 36 people and injuring 583. Earlier chapters include the F3 that killed a resident on May 4, 1961 and a brief F2 in February 1950.
The rhythm underneath those dates is seasonal to its core. From April into June, humid Gulf of Mexico air pools across central Oklahoma while drier air slides east off the high plains, and the dryline separating the two frequently sharpens within a short drive of El Reno. When jet-stream energy crosses the state, storms firing along that boundary inherit the wind shear they need to rotate. A quieter autumn window exists too — the F1 of October 2, 1986 arrived as summer heat faded. The fuller catalog behind this page comes from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, and the event list elsewhere on the page fills in what this sketch leaves out.