Fall brings second tornado season to Oklahoma
What to expect during an average, verses record month
As the winter jet stream drops to the south, with plenty of warm and humid air in place, Oklahoma will typically see a secondary, smaller tornado season in the fall.
This mini-tornado season is typically very small, with only 5.3 tornadoes during the months of September, October and November. On average, the monthly tornado breakdown is as follows:
- September: 1.9 tornadoes
- October: 2.0 tornadoes
- November: 1.4 tornadoes
The average data doesn't show a clear bias for which month is more likely to produce the most tornadoes. When compared to record years, however, there is a pretty strong bias that the highest chance of the fall tornado season is in October.
The most tornadoes ever to hit during the fall was in 1998, when 34 tornadoes struck Oklahoma. The record tornadoes per month are:
- September 1992, 16 tornadoes
- October 1988: 27 tornadoes
- November 1958: 12 tornadoes
One of the most memorable months in recent year was November 2011, when there were 11 tornadoes, the second most tornadoes in the month of November. When a multiple-vortex tornado touched down near Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, on Nov. 11, KOCO storm chaser Chance Coldiron was there. Check out his storm chase video here.