Spiro, OK F5 Tornado – March 26, 1976

Per the SPC database, 17 tornadoes occurred on March 26, 1976, including two rated F4 (one in Oklahoma and one in Mississippi). At 3:28 PM CT, a tornado—officially rated F5—tracked 11.9 miles across LeFlore County, Oklahoma, causing extensive damage in and around Spiro. A total of 64 injuries and 2 fatalities were reported.

One of the fatalities was Marvin Trout, 30, of Spiro. After hearing a tornado warning, he left his home with his pregnant wife and young daughter to seek shelter at his parents’ house across the street. The building collapsed during the tornado, killing Trout, critically injuring his wife, and causing a concussion to his daughter. The second fatality was Ray Dean Phillips, 35.

The tornado developed 4 miles east of Bokoshe and moved northeast, crossing Oklahoma State Highway 59 south of its junction with Highway 9, where a business and a mobile home were destroyed. It then struck the southeastern part of Spiro, producing “great destruction,” with homes, businesses, trailer homes, and railroad cars destroyed.

After crossing State Highway 9, the tornado intensified as it moved into the rural Murray Spur area east of Spiro. Damage surveys indicated F5 intensity in this area. Seven homes and a mobile home were destroyed, and one of the two fatalities occurred here. The tornado then turned more easterly near the Lock and Dam/Fort Coffey Road area, destroying three mobile homes before crossing Highway 9 a second time and dissipating shortly thereafter.

In total, 28 homes and 2 business buildings were destroyed, while 63 additional homes and a vo-tech center sustained major damage. Numerous vehicles were destroyed, along with 20 cattle and 20 horses. Eyewitnesses also reported seeing two funnels at times traveling close together along the path.