On June 8, 1974, a significant tornado outbreak affected portions of the southern Great Plains and the Upper Midwest.
Civil defense sirens only sounded shortly before the tornado hit, leaving residents with little time to react.
However, the death toll in Drumright would have been significantly higher had the tornado hit the nursing home a few minutes earlier, when many people were crowded into the dining hall.
The tornado began north of Glenpool and moved northeast across Tulsa before striking parts of Catoosa, Claremore, and Big Cabin.
However, the tornado was rated F3 solely on the basis of damage to an anchored, concrete, iron-pipe cattle gate.
It also unroofed homes in the Walnut Creek, Southridge Estate, and Park Plaza housing additions.
[3] The supercell that spawned the Tulsa tornadoes originated in western Oklahoma and traveled 300 mi (480 km) in 12 hours across the entire state, dissipating in Delaware County.
[3] This devastating, long-tracked tornado first struck the northwest side of Emporia, touching down in the Flint Hills Shopping Center (now the Flinthills Mall).