On May 24–25, 1957, a tornado outbreak primarily affected the Western High Plains, Central Great Plains, and Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains of the United States. 45 tornadoes touched down over the area, most of which took place across northern and western Texas, in addition to southern Oklahoma. Overall activity initiated over eastern New Mexico and spread northeastward as far as southwestern Wisconsin. The strongest tornado, which occurred in southern Oklahoma on May 24, was assigned a rating of F4 near Lawton. Anomalously, some tornadoes touched down during the early morning hours, rather than late afternoon or early evening, when daytime heating typically peaks.