Tornado record · Original Fujita scale
F4 tornado, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, May 5, 1961
RatingF4
Deaths16
Injuries58
Length26.4 mi
Width400 yd
Path
Drawn as a straight line from the recorded start point (34.73, -95.03) to the end point (34.95, -94.65), which is all NOAA's record holds. The real track may have curved.
The record
- Date
- May 5, 1961, 5:20 PM (as recorded, Central Standard Time)
- Rating
- F4
- States
- Oklahoma
- Counties
- Le Flore County
- Near the path
- Howe (approximate: towns the straight recorded line passes through)
- Path
- 26.4 miles long, up to 400 yards wide
- Casualties
- 16 deaths, 58 injuries
Other tornadoes on May 5, 1961
| Date | Rating | State | Path length | Width | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1961 | F3 | Oklahoma | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | 0 | 0 |
| May 5, 1961 | F2 | Florida | 0.5 mi | 50 yd | 0 | 0 |
| May 5, 1961 | F2 | Oklahoma | 9.5 mi | 400 yd | 0 | 0 |
| May 5, 1961 | F2 | Arkansas | 1 mi | 50 yd | 1 | 4 |
| May 5, 1961 | F2 | Arkansas | 2 mi | 300 yd | 0 | 6 |
| May 5, 1961 | F1 | Arkansas | 2.5 mi | 833 yd | 0 | 3 |
| May 5, 1961 | F0 | Colorado | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | 0 | 0 |
Tornado history nearby
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.