Cherokee County, Oklahoma

What hazards hit Cherokee County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 315 since 1955. The rank column places the county among Oklahoma's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Cherokee County had?

NOAA records 52 tornadoes in Cherokee County from 1956 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 2 deaths and 11 injuries recorded in the county. That is 39th of 77 Oklahoma counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 49 tornadoes whose track touched Cherokee County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 52: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people, 2 of them in Cherokee County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Oklahoma.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Cherokee County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 14, 2026 tornado ($150,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado developed west of the S 490 Road and south of the W 830 Road. It moved northeast toward Park Hill, crossed Highway 82 and Murrel Road. The tornado uprooted numerous trees, damaged outbuildings, snapped numerous large tree limbs, and blew down power poles. A few trees were uprooted as it moved across Willis Road, then crossed the Illinois River and dissipated after producing more tree damage on the E 785 Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1325203)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Cherokee County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Cherokee County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Cherokee County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Cherokee County: 20 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and severe ice storm (7).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Cherokee County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 132 flood or flash flood records for Cherokee County from 1996 to 2026, on 99 days, with 5 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Cherokee County ranks 1282nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.9 million on 106 claims filed in Cherokee County; the most in one year was 21 in 2015. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Cherokee County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cherokee County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $28.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Cherokee County

1. Muskogee County 1,101
2. Mayes County 999
3. Cherokee County 927
4. Wagoner County 875
5. Sequoyah County 860
6. Delaware County 782
7. Adair County 622

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in OklahomaEvery Oklahoma tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in OklahomaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Oklahoma recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Cherokee CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Cherokee County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis